BOSTON — A special gift was reserved for the first 5,000 fans who arrived at TD Garden for the Celtics’ Friday night bout against the Kings.
A limited-edition Jaylen Brown bobblehead waited for early birds.
Perhaps what damped the excitement for many was when Brown appeared on the injury report before the game. Eventually, he was ruled out for his commemorative night with left hamstring tightness and a right knee contusion. It was the fourth missed game for Brown, who has propelled the Celtics to the top of the Eastern Conference standings while franchise star Jayson Tatum recovers from an Achilles injury.
Although the Celtics were without their guest of honor, they still gave their fans reasons to cheer and celebrate the event. They jumped out to an early 15-point lead after the first quarter, ballooning it to a 112-93 blowout win in front of a sold-out crowd. Boston improved to 30-18 while the Kings dropped to 12-38 and fell to the 15th seed in the Western Conference.
Scoring around the basket was crucial for the Celtics, who scored their first two baskets off alley-oops to Neemias Queta, starting a 38-28 advantage in paint points. Queta finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds, marking his seventh double-double of the season. Luka Garza contributed off the bench by posting 11 points and eight rebounds, including a strong put-back layup at the outset of the Celtics’ 19-point lead.
Without their leading scorer, the Celtics turned to Payton Pritchard to fill their void. He answered with an efficient offensive performance, scoring 29 points on 12-of-16 shooting while dishing out eight assists. It was Pritchard’s latest example of his high-octane offensive output in Brown’s absence, entering Friday averaging 25.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.7 assists in three contests without Brown this season. Overall, the Celtics made 45.3 percent of their shots and 37.5 percent of their 3-pointers.
Baylor Scheierman, who started in place of Brown, had a hot start to the game by making four of his five attempts for 10 points in the first half en route to his 16-point game. Anfernee Simons scored 16 points off the bench on 6-of-16 shooting, most notably making only two of his 10 3-pointers.
Zach LaVine led the Kings in scoring with 17 points. Maxime Raynaud, a rookie selected in the second round of the NBA Draft by Sacramento, had 14 points and 14 rebounds.