Boston, MA

With Kristaps Porzingis back, Celtics obliterate Clippers in 32-point win

Published

1 year ago

November 25, 2024

With Kristaps Porzingis back, Celtics obliterate Clippers in 32-point win

For the first time in 210 days, the Celtics were able to trot out their preferred starting five Monday night at TD Garden.

The result: a hero’s welcome for the now-healthy Kristaps Porzingis and a comprehensive beatdown of one of the NBA’s hottest teams.

Boston steamrolled the Los Angeles Clippers 126-94 in Porzingis’ return from offseason leg surgery to improve to 15-3.

Porzingis played 22 minutes in his season debut, showing some expected signs of rust but finishing with 16 points, six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal.

“I thought he played well,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “We were able to get back to some of our defensive versatility. Obviously, a little bit of rim protection, a little bit more physicality on the ball because he was back there, so I thought he brought that. Offensively, he just really helped our spacing. It was good to get him back.”

Jayson Tatum led all Boston starters with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Derrick White added 19 points, seven assists, four rebounds and a steal, and Jaylen Brown scored 17, plus six boards, four assists, three steals and one block.

White (5-for-9) and bench scorers Payton Pritchard (6-for-10) and Sam Hauser (3-for-3) led another explosive 3-point effort for the Celtics, who went 22-for-51 (43.1%) from downtown in the win. Pritchard scored 20 points and grabbed two steals as his NBA Sixth Man of the Year campaign continued.

The Kawhi Leonard-less Clippers, owners of the league’s fourth-best defensive rating, came in riding a five-game win streak, during which they allowed just 96.8 points per game. The Celtics surpassed that mark before the end of the third quarter.

“I think when we’re at our best, you have to have an understanding of, ‘This is what we do,’” Mazzulla said. “When we’re at our best, we do this. And how long can we stay at the best version of ourselves?”

Porzingis, who missed Boston’s first 17 games, waited until 10 minutes into warmups to take the court, doing so with a smile on his face and a paper coffee cup in his right hand. His solo entrance preceded a personalized hype video that played on the Garden Jumbotron, its final shot an all-caps declaration: “HE’S BACK.”

The fan-favorite big man remained the center of attention once the game tipped off. Porzingis attempted 3-pointers on three of the Celtics’ four possessions and four of their first seven. Though he made just one of those — after his third miss, he grinned, seemingly acknowledging the impact of his long layoff — he was immediately impactful on the defensive end.

Before being subbed out for Neemias Queta seven minutes in, Porzingis helped force misses by Ivica Zubac, Amir Coffey and Derrick Jones Jr. with strong contests at the rim.

Rim protection was one of Boston’s biggest areas of concern in Porzingis’ absence — they dropped from fifth-best last season to eighth-worst this season in opponent shooting percentage inside the restricted area and first to 14th in blocks per game — so this was a welcome sight for Mazzulla and Co.

“Eleven blocks tonight,” the coach deadpanned. “It helps.”

Queta, a healthy DNP in Sunday’s win over Minnesota, blocked two shots in the first quarter, including one by James Harden. He had some difficulties against Zubac, who was LA’s only consistent scorer in the game (23 points on 11-of-14 shooting, 10 rebounds), but was a solid second option with Al Horford (illness/rest) and Luke Kornet (hamstring) both unavailable.

The Celtics led 27-20 after one quarter, then stretched their lead to 29 points in the second by doing what they do best: flooding their opponent beneath a tsunami of threes. They went 12-for-17 from deep during a merciless 51-point quarter — the third-highest-scoring quarter in franchise history and highest since 1970. White hit four triples on his own. Brown and Pritchard made three apiece. Hauser and Jrue Holiday each had one.

The 12 made threes tied the NBA record for a single quarter. It also equaled the total number of threes the Clippers attempted in the entire first half. Boston led 78-49 at halftime.

“I just felt like we were playing with really good pace,” said Pritchard, who was a team-best plus-30 in the win. “Makes, misses, getting it out quick, running to our spots. I feel like when we play fast like that, we get great looks, and the flow was incredible.”

Porzingis did not have a hand in that second-quarter 3-point parade, but impacted the game in several other areas. He threw down an acrobatic dunk off a Brown alley-oop, scored on a put-back after a Brown miss, assisted on two made threes, notched one steal and recorded one official block, plus another as the Clippers’ shot clock expired to force a 24-second violation.

The Celtics went cold to start the third quarter, surrendering a 10-0 Clippers run that spanned more than 4 1/2 minutes. Tatum ended Boston’s scoring drought with a dunk, then Porzingis went to work, manipulating post-ups to score six straight Celtics points across four possessions.

A flurry of threes from Pritchard (two) and Hauser (one) gave Boston some additional breathing room, and despite scoring just 21 points in the frame, it took a 21-point lead into the fourth quarter.

The Celtics cruised from there, with the Garden crowd reaching max volume after Pritchard slipped past a Clippers defender and lofted a lob to Porzingis, who slammed it home.

Asked whether Porzingis’ return gave Boston an emotional lift, Mazzulla replied: “Yeah, no question.”

“I think he’s a high-level personality,” he said, “but I think any time — obviously we built an identity with him last year, and I think the guys were excited to get him back. We were ready to have him back. … I think each guy likes playing with him because of just how he plays and the pressure that we can take off each other. So we definitely felt that.”

Mazzulla emptied his bench midway through the fourth, giving late minutes to the seldom-used Jaden Springer and Baylor Scheierman. Queta was a force in garbage time, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, nine rebounds, four blocks and two steals.

The Celtics are off until Friday, when they visit the Chicago Bulls in their final game of NBA Cup group play.

Originally Published: November 25, 2024 at 9:41 PM EST

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Boston, MA

Red Sox shed light on plans for outfield, including Ceddanne Rafaela’s role

Published

10 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Red Sox shed light on plans for outfield, including Ceddanne Rafaela’s role

Last year the Red Sox had a unique and enviable problem, which was that at full strength the club had more starting-caliber outfielders than it had available lineup spots.

Injuries kept that from being an issue most of the season, but for some stretches the only way the club could accommodate everyone was by playing Gold Glove center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela at second base.

With Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Masataka Yoshida and Rafaela all set to return for the 2026 campaign, the Red Sox could face a similar logjam, but both manager Alex Cora and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow signaled that they’d prefer not to move Rafaela to the infield again.

“We’ll talk about that one, but probably not,” Cora said.

“Ceddanne is an incredibly gifted athlete and can impact a game in so many ways, and it makes it really easy when you can put him at second base or play shortstop for a long time for us like in ’24 when Trevor (Story) was hurt, but he is game-changing in center field,” Breslow said. “We saw that this year, and giving him the consistency of playing the same position every day also has benefits for his offense.”

Rafaela delivered a breakout season in the outfield last year, ranking second in MLB across all positions in defensive runs saved at center (plus-20) en route to his first career Gold Glove.

His impact defensively at second, however, was much more modest. In 24 games at the position he was just plus-one defensive runs saved.

Recognizing Rafaela’s value in the outfield, it was widely expected that the Red Sox would clear a spot by trading one of their incumbent players, most likely Duran or Abreu. But up to this point that hasn’t happened, and Breslow said it was never something he considered an urgent priority.

“It was never likely in my mind,” Breslow said. “We’ve got really talented outfielders and when teams call that’s what other executives point to. They’re young, they’re controllable, they’re dynamic, they’re talented, they can impact games in multiple ways. It’s really nice to be able to say they’re also members of the Boston Red Sox.”

So how will the Red Sox accommodate everyone if Rafaela isn’t going to play second? Cora said he expects to rotate players through more regularly, though he added that Rafaela and Abreu — both Gold Glove winners — will likely play more often than not.

“I think keeping guys healthy is something we always talk about,” Cora said. “They’re good outfielders, all of them, as a unit they’re the best in baseball. We just have to figure out the stadium, workload, and all that, but Willy and Ceddanne, they’re the best in the business, they probably will be playing the most in the outfield.”

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Boston, MA

Boston woman flummoxed after rat makes a home in stroller she left on porch

Published

22 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Local News

Boston Reddit did not mince words when it came to the best way of evicting this brazen stroller squatter.

A Boston woman is dealing with an unwelcome tenant on her front porch — a rat that has turned a baby stroller into a cozy winter hideaway.

The woman shared her ordeal Thursday on the r/Boston subreddit, explaining that she had left her stroller, complete with a muff, on her second-floor porch. When she checked on it later, she discovered a rat had moved in.

“I stupidly left our stroller with a muff out on the porch,” she wrote. “Today I found a big rat is nested in there. I can’t see clearly, but it seems it has chewed up the muff lining and is using the filling for a nest.”

The woman said she’s called a few pest control companies, but instead of offering immediate removal, they just tried to sell her a long-term bait boxing service.

“…Which is fine, but I urgently need someone to just safely remove the rat and the nest so I can clean or dispose of the stroller if needed,” she wrote, adding that she couldn’t secure a next-day appointment and felt Monday was too far away.

Turning to Reddit for advice, the woman asked whether she should attempt to remove the rat herself, saying she was worried about being bitten or contracting a disease. “Which professional can I call?” she asked.

Redditors reacted with a mix of humor and practical advice. The top comment began, “Sounds like it’s their porch now,” before offering an elaborate plan involving a bucket trap and joking that the rat could then “go on to be a Michelin star chef at a French restaurant,” a nod to the 2007 film “Ratatouille.”

Others suggested she evict the rat by vigorously shaking the stroller or whacking it with a broom, while many urged her to cut her losses entirely and throw the stroller out.

“I honestly wouldn’t ever use it for a small child after a rat had been cribbed up there,” one commenter wrote.

Pest control experts generally advise against handling rats without professional help. According to Terminix, rodents can become aggressive and scratch when threatened and may carry diseases such as hantavirus and leptospirosis.

“When it comes to getting rid of a rat’s nest in the house, DIY treatments won’t cut it,” the company warns on its website.

Boston has been grappling with heightened rat activity in recent years, prompting a citywide rodent action plan known as BRAP. City officials urge residents to “see something, squeak something!” and report rodent activity to 311. Officials said response teams are typically dispatched within one to two days.

Morgan Rousseau is a freelance writer for Boston.com, where she reports on a variety of local and regional news.

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Boston, MA

Boston’s new city council president talks about election and upcoming term

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Boston’s new city council president talks about election and upcoming term

The Boston City Council is setting out on a new two-year term with a new council president at the helm.

City Councilor Liz Breadon, who represents District 9, won the gavel on a 7-6 contested vote, cobbling together her candidacy just hours before the council was set to vote.

“An opportunity presented itself and I took it,” Breadon said. “We’re in a very critical time, given politics, and I really feel that in this moment, we need to set steady leadership, and really to bring the council together.”

The process apparently including backroom conversations and late-night meetings as City Councilors Gabriella Coletta Zapata and Brian Worrell both pushed to become the next council president.

Breadon spoke on why support waned for her two colleagues.

“I think they had support that was moving,” said Breadon. “It was moving back and forward, it hadn’t solidified solidly in one place. There’s a lot of uncertainty in the moment.”

Political commentator Sue O’Connell talks about the last-minute maneuvering before the upset vote and what it says about Mayor Michelle Wu’s influence.

Some speculated that Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration was lobbying for a compromise candidate after Coletta Zapata dropped out of the race. Breadon disputes the mayor’s involvement.

“I would say not,” said Breadon. “I wasn’t in conversation with the mayor about any of this.”

Beyond the election, Breadon took a look ahead to how she will lead the body. Controversy has been known to crop up at City Hall, most recently when former District 7 Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges tied to a kickback scheme involving taxpayer dollars.

Breadon said it’s critical to stay calm and allow the facts to come out in those situations.

“I feel that it’s very important to be very deliberative in how we handle these things and not to sort of shoot from the hip and have a knee-jerk reaction to what’s happening,” said Breadon.

Tune in Sunday at 9:30 am for our extended @Issue Sitdown with Breadon, when we dig deeper into how her candidacy came together, the priorities she’ll pursue in the role and which colleagues she’ll place in key council positions.

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