Recap: C’s defense stifles Nets in 89-81 win

The Celtics began a three game road trip with a defensive-minded win in Brooklyn. Avery Bradley led the team with 21 points, while Smart and Crowder set the tone for the second half with a ton of hustle.

Per usual, the C’s got off to a slow start, falling behind by 10 points over the course of the first 10 minutes. I wouldn’t say they came out as flat like they did against Charlotte, but the game still lacked enthusiasm early and some makeable shots didn’t fall in the first quarter. Green seemed to settle for the outside shot (1-5 in the first half), and Marcus Thornton missed all three of his first-half attempts. No blame on Thornton, but this reminds me…

If you didn’t already hear, James Young found himself on the inactive list following his mini breakout game on Monday. The majority of fans have backed Stevens given the awkward roster and lack of talent — but this was a decision I’m fully against. Playing Marcus Thornton who just missed two weeks with a shoulder injury over Young doesn’t seem like an advantage on the court.Activating Gerald Wallace is certainly not necessary, and honestly, I think Gerald Wallace would understand the decision.  Maybe Danny  is trying to show a specific team that Thornton is healthy (which would assume a trade is being discussed). Even then, at this point, you know what you’re getting from him. Unfortunately Brad seems to have enrolled in the Doc Rivers school of developing rookies.

Avery Bradley had one of his ‘on switch’ quarters in the third which extended a one point halftime lead to seven. Crowder continued to out-hustle his man and be rewarded for it throughout the entire second half. It’s more of a pipe dream at this point, but I wouldn’t mind seeing a Smart-Young-Crowder group get minutes together. When on the court, Smart and Crowder restore a bit of that ‘grit and balls’ mentality we used to know…And Young could bail the other two out on the wings when the offense struggles.

In the fourth, behind a Smart-Thronton-Crowder-Bass-Olynyk lineup, the C’s defense remained surprisingly strong. Smart got to play the point for the majority of the quarter (Stevens said pregame that they want to focus his development there more), and Scal summed it up on the broadcast — calling Smart as poised and active. Even after Smart checked out of the game, the team displayed a level of hustle we haven’t seen in a while. The Celtics’ lead  kind of hovered around 10 points for the majority of the quarter. Nets’ Mason Plumlee made a streak of free throws (he’s a 47% free throw shooter), but Jeff Green hit a couple buckets late to keep the lead safe in the end. This marks the first road win since the Rondo trade.

The Green

• The Celtics held the Nets to only 81 points, the least they’ve allowed all year
• Avery Bradley had a good night shooting 7-12 for 21 points.
• Tyler Zeller had an efficient night as well: 7-14 for 18 points.
• Marcus Smart played solid at the point. Eight points on five shots, three assists, and zero turnovers across 22 minutes.

The Gross

• Jared Sullinger hustled in the second half, but still only finished 1-7 from the field.
• Jeff Green wasn’t able to get going the majority of the game. He did hit two buckets late, so it wasn’t all bad. He finished 4-11 from the field with eight points.
•  James Young’s DNP was disgustingly gross.

The Greenlights

Smart’s dish to Thornton

Green slam

The Grid

• C’s only had six turnovers. SIX! …and the Nets had 17.
• C’s shot 39.8% from the field and won the game.
•  34 bench points to the Nets’18.

Boxscore.