The Celtics have extraordinary depth and virtually no weaknesses. They also have players off the bench — most notably Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet and Al Horford — who play their role extremely well. It also helps to have two All-NBA caliber stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

BOSTON — Josh Hart finished one assist short of a triple-double with 20 points in his return from a two-game absence to rest his sore knee, an issue he’s been dealing with throughout his career and which required extended time off around the All-Star break to calm down.