Celtics race away from Kings to secure New Year's Day victory

Zack Cox, Boston Herald on Jan 2, 2026

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The Celtics kicked off 2026 with a win Thursday night in Sacramento, knocking off the Kings 120-106 on New Year’s Day.

Tied after three quarters, Boston outscored its hosts 32-18 in the fourth, with Derrick White scoring 14 of his 16 points in the final frame.

Jaylen Brown tallied 29 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out with two minutes remaining. Reserves Sam Hauser (15 points), Anfernee Simons (14 points) and Luka Garza (11 points) all scored in double figures on a standout night for the Celtics’ bench.

Boston’s bench players shot a combined 70.6% from 3-point range (12-for-17) in the win, offsetting shakier outside shooting from Brown (1-for-9 from three), White (2-for-7) and Payton Pritchard (2-for-8). Rookie Hugo Gonzalez attempted just two shots in his 19 minutes off the bench but pulled down seven rebounds and was a team-best plus-20.

With the win, the Celtics improved to 3-1 on their season-long five-game road trip and 21-12 overall, just two games back of the New York Knicks for second place in the Eastern Conference. They’ll visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday (10 p.m. ET) before returning home.

Slow starts have been an issue for the Celtics of late, and they got off to another one Thursday, falling behind by eight points in the first quarter for the fifth time in seven games. Brown scuffled in the opening period, starting 1-for-7 from the field with three turnovers, and Sacramento scored nine second-chance points before Boston had its first.

The Celtics trailed after one quarter for the fifth straight game, but only by one, having closed the gap with quick-strike 3-pointers by Hauser, Garza and Simons. Boston then pulled ahead early in the second amid a superb display of shot-making from its bench.

The first eight Celtics possessions of the second quarter all produced points: first a Garza layup, followed by a Simons jumper, Hauser three, Gonzalez three, two Simons threes, Garza dunk and yet another Simons three.

In the first half, Boston’s second unit racked up 35 points on 13-for-16 shooting (9-for-10 from deep). Those included 14 points from Simons and nine each from Hauser and Garza — higher than all three players’ season-long scoring averages.

The problem: Sacramento went shot-for-shot with Boston early in the second quarter, and its reserves were similarly efficient. Keon Ellis and ex-Celtic Denis Schroder combined for 20 first-half points off the Kings’ bench, going 5-for-6 from distance.

Consecutive driving layups by Brown just before halftime, sandwiched around a Neemias Queta block, put the Celtics up 62-61 at the break. Nearly all of Brown’s scoring in the game came on drives, dunks and free throws.

Timely rim protections from Queta, who began his career with Sacramento, also boosted Boston in the final seconds of the third quarter. After Brown had his pocket picked while waiting for the final shot, Queta and Gonzalez both sprinted the length of the court to deny a fast-break lob to Keegan Murray. Queta, whose momentum carried him beyond the baseline, then raced back to the opposite end to receive a pass from White and lay the ball in at the buzzer.

The last-second bucket tied the game at 88-88 heading into the fourth.

White’s scoring binge in the final quarter helped Boston pull away. The veteran guard also had seven assists, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

Other observations:

— Hauser started the second half over Jordan Walsh, who didn’t see the floor for the final three quarters. Walsh played the best basketball of his career from mid-November through mid-December, but his playing time his dipped during this road trip. He played 10, 13 and five minutes in Boston’s last three games.

— Speaking of reduced minutes, Josh Minott was a DNP-CD for the fourth consecutive game. The Celtics have moved away from their small-ball lineups — many of which featured Minott at the five — since Garza’s reemergence, and Mazzulla has favored Hauser, Gonzalez and Baylor Scheierman as his reserve options over the versatile 23-year-old.

— Chris Boucher was active but did not play after missing the previous three games for personal reasons.

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