NEW ORLEANS — Anfernee Simons displayed why the Celtics were so excited about his potential in this offense. With Jayson Tatum sidelined for months, the Celtics desperately needed a scoring boost.
Simons was a 20-point per game scorer in his final four years in Portland. He is a premium scorer and after three uneven games, Simons delivered in the fourth quarter to get the Celtics a much-needed 122-90 win Monday night at Smoothie King Center.
He scored 12 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter as the Celtics went on a 18-point surge and pulled away to end their three-game road trip on a positive note.
Jordan Poole’s 3-pointer with 9:14 left cut the Celtics lead to 91-86 but Sam Hauser quickly countered with a triple, beginning a 31-4 game-ending run, all with Jaylen Brown on the bench with five fouls. Josh Minott, making his first NBA start, added 15 points and nine rebounds and was a plus-42 in his 28 minutes.
Luka Garza, the other acquisition from Minnesota, tallied 16 and hit three 3-pointers. It snapped the Celtics’ first three-game losing streak since 2023.
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The Celtics had their chances to pull away in the third quarter but couldn’t put together consecutive defensive stops, and the Pelicans, behind Celtics nemesis Saddiq Bey, went on a 7-0 run to slice the lead to 75-71.
Sam Hauser, off to a difficult offensive start this season, countered with a 3-pointer and Baylor Scheierman followed with another, his first basket of the season, to maintain the lead. Simons canned a late bucket and the Celtics led, 87-78, entering the fourth.
The 3-point shots were open but just not going down as the Celtics missed 29 of 41 in the first three quarters.
The Celtics’ strengths and weaknesses are becoming profound in the early season and they have shown a propensity for fouling. New Orleans went to the free throw line 22 times in the first half — it averaged 30 in its first two games — and that prevented Boston from pulling away.
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Veteran DeAndre Jordan, signed this weekend to supplement the frontcourt, gave New Orleans a spark with 7 points and three rebounds in seven second-period minutes as the Pelicans drew to within 34-32.
The Celtics gathered themselves, began knocking down shots, and were able to extend the halftime lead to 11. Simons scored 11 points off the bench in the first half while Payton Pritchard, off to a slow start, led the Celtics with 14, including the final 4 of the half.
The 3-pointer remains their primary weapon, and the Celtics made 10 of 28 in the first half, and they dominated the boards (28-16). New Orleans made just 37.5 percent of its field goals but scored 19 points on free throws.
As they did in New York and Detroit, the Celtics punched first against the Pelicans, jumping out to a 17-5 lead behind 6 points from Jaylen Brown and a bucket and two free throws from Josh Minott, making his first NBA start.
But as has been the pattern, the offense began to struggle when threes weren’t falling, allowing New Orleans to cut into the lead. The Celtics led, 34-26, after the opening period, shooting 50 percent and getting 9 points from Brown. The Pelicans were shorthanded without star forward Zion Williamson, who missed his first game of the season with a foot bruise.
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.
Celtics start fast, cruise past Pelicans for first win of the season
