The Boston Celtics defeated the Portland Trail Blazers, 128-124, on Sunday at Orlando.

The Celtics (44-21) and the Trail Blazers (29-38) played a tight contest that felt like a playoff matchup during most of the contest, as both teams played with intensity from start to finish. The Blazers started better, but the Celtics didn't need a lot of time to righten the ship and finished the first quarter up by 13 points (37-24). Boston would increase its lead and it was up by as much as 24 points midway through the second quarter, ultimately leading by 19 points at the break. The Blazers mounted a comeback in the second half, though, and won the third quarter by a 38-27 score. They even held a four-point lead in the fourth quarter, but the Celtics tightened things up defensively and managed to execute better in crunch time. That was enough to carry them to a tight 128-124 win.

Jayson Tatum posted a strong performance and delivered 34 points with eight assists, four rebounds, two steals and one block, while Jaylen Brown registered 30 points, six rebounds, and two steals. Gordon Hayward notched 22 points with eight rebounds while shooting 4-of-5 from three-point range, while Kemba Walker registered 14 points with two assists in 23 minutes. Enes Kanter had 11 points with eight rebounds off the bench.

Damian Lillard registered 30 points and a season-high 16 assists in 45 minutes, while Jusuf Nurkic posted 30 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block. C.J. McCollum finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals, while Carmelo Anthony ended with 13 points, three rebounds and two assists. Gary Trent Jr. was impressive off the bench, as he finished with 21 points while shooting 7-of-12 in 34 minutes off the bench.