Jayson Tatum scores 30 to help Celtics power past Blazers 115-93

BOSTON (AP) —Jayson Tatum scored 30 points and made six 3-pointers, and theBoston Celtics beat the Portland Trail Blazers 115-93 to snap athree-game losing streak Wednesday night.

Tatum’s 36thgame this season with 30 or more points helped the Celtics avoidtheir first four-game losing streak. Derrick White added 21 pointsand five assists. Al Horford finished with 17 points, six reboundsand assists.

The Celticsplayed without big man Robert Williams for the third straight gameas he recovers from a strained left hamstring. But they got backTatum and Horford, who sat out Monday’s overtime loss at Clevelandnursing a sore knee and back, respectively.

Both wereactive during an 18-7 second quarter run that gave Boston a 53-35cushion. The lead grew to 23 points (94-72) at the end of the thirdand as high as 27 the fourth.

DamianLillard scored 27 points and had eight assists to lead the Blazers,who dropped to 14-20 on the road. Jerami Grant added 13 points.

Blazerscenter Jusuf Nurkic returned after a 14-game absence with a leftcalf strain. He’d been sidelined since Feb. 1. He started and hadfive points and six rebounds in 17 minutes.

Portland is2-2 during its current six-game road trip.

The Blazersbegan the night 12th in the Western Conference standings, but verymuch in contention to make the play-in tournament. They had thesame record as the Thunder (11th) and Pelicans (10th), and werejust one game behind the ninth-place Lakers.

WILLIAMS MAKING TRIP

Williams willtravel with Boston to begin its six-game road trip Saturday atAtlanta. Coach Joe Mazzulla said the hope is Williams will be ableto return in the original 7 to 10 days that was projected after hewas injured during the Celtics’ win over Brooklyn on March 3.

MOVING ON

Celticsforward Grant Williams said before the game he isn’t worried aboutany lingering effects after he missed a pair of potential go-aheadfree throws in Boston’s overtime loss at Cleveland on Monday.

Before theshots, Williams was captured on camera jawing with Cavs All-StarDonovan Mitchell, telling him, “I’m going to make both ofthem.”

“I felt likeI was super locked in and focused, even the confidence of sayingyou’ll make them both,” Williams told reporters. “It’s funnybecause when you say that and miss both, it’s even funnier.”

Williams hadeight points, but missed his lone free-throw attempt.

TIP-INS

TrailBlazers: Were outscored 25-17 in the second quarter, shooting 4 of17 from the field (24%). ... Lillard started the game hitting apair of 3-pointers. He finished the first period by missing four ofhis final six shots.

Celtics:Payton Pritchard sat with left heel pain. ... Horford knocked downtwo 3s in the first quarter to move past Isaiah Thomas (460) forninth place on the franchise’s all-time list. With a layup in thefirst quarter, Marcus Smart became the 25th player in team historyto score 6,000 points. ... Started the game 9 of 15 from 3 beforemissing 12 straight to end the first half. … Celtics led 35-28 atthe end of the first, shooting 58% (11 of 19).

UPNEXT

TrailBlazers: At 76ers on Friday.

Celtics: AtAtlanta on Saturday.