No Tatum? No Porzingis? No Holiday? No Problem for the Celtics in cooling off the Red-hot Blazers

Boston got a career game from Payton Pritchard (43 points) as Jayson Tatum watched from the sideline due to a right shoulder impingement.

BOSTON — There is a world in which the Boston Celtics from time to time have to be comfortable playing without Jayson Tatum.

We saw what that world looked like on Wednesday when the Jayson Tatum-less Boston Celtics faced a much-improved, hard-charging Portland Trail Blazers squad.

What we saw was more than just the Celtics finding a pathway towards success without their best player.

The Celtics delivered a historical performance in defeating Portland 128-118, the kind of performance that serves as yet another reminder of how potent this Celtics team can be - with or without their best players.