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Recap: Double overtime heartbreak at the Garden

Chuck - Red's Army December 11, 2015 Recaps 18 Comments

The ever-scrappy Celtics pushed the depleted Warriors to the limit and then some tonight at the Garden, but ended up on the losing end, 124-119 in 2 OT.

The Celtics had good opportunities to win this game at the end of regulation and the 1st OT but Isaiah Thomas (18 points, 7-22 FG) failed on both possessions. At the end of regulation we (painfully) watched Thomas dribble off 15 some seconds and then attempt a 22 footer over Shaun Livingston which was blocked. At the end of OT, the Thomas isolation led to a floater in the paint which came up short. I’m willing to give Thomas one crack at the game winner, but I would have preferred Brad Stevens diagram a play with ball movement on the second.

Steph Curry led all scorers with 38 points but shot 9-27 with 8 TOs. All things considered, Avery Bradley and Evan Turner did an admirable job defending the reigning MVP. Draymond Green (24 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 blocks, 5 steals) was a killer. Boston has no one who can match his size (man, is he a long 6-7) and versatility. He also led all players in chest pounding screams.

Green

Kelly Olynyk led the Celtics with 28 on 11-21 shooting. He dropped 8 points in the 4th quarter as the C’s overcame a 7 point deficit. His scoring was enough to almost make you forget about his atrocious rebounding.

David Lee had 10 points (5-8 FG) including a couple of huge buckets during the Celtics 4th quarter run.

While he’s good for 2-3 mind boggling turnovers per game. Evan Turner had a strong all-around game (13 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks). He had 3 key defensive plays (2 blocks, steal) on Steph Curry during the 4th.

Gross

After scoring 15 points in the opening quarter, Bradley tallied just 4 points the rest of the way. I understand his primary focus is defending Curry, but AB cannot disappear on offense for such a long stretch.

Greenlights

David Lee with the nifty bank

IT misses the floater at end of 1 OT

ET with the and-1 on Bogut

The Grid:

James Young, Lee and Bradley were the only Celtics to finish with positive +/-
Curry turned the ball over 3 times by unknowingly stepping out of bounds
GS took 23 more free throws (39-23)
Klay Thompson DNP (ankle injury)

Still could be the best night for the Celtics v Warriors since the Parish and McHale trade.

— Nicholas Thompson (@nxthompson) December 12, 2015

Caterpillar from Italy

If our go-to guy is Thomas, well.. better not to have a go-to guy. The way he handled the two last balls we had was just ATROCIOUS. Pack him and Amir Johnson and get a nice player!
- Sapapagigio
  
  IIm not ready to deal I.T, but i agree, i don’t think he should be our go-to guy. End of game, clutch moments, he plays too much hero ball. It seems anti-Brad Stevens. I’d rather see them move the ball, and find an open man, like AB for a catch and shoot. But IT forces it too much.
  - Jake Gruber
    
    The reason he struggles at end of games is because he just isn’t a number one option that you can get it to and get out of the way for a bucket which is how they are using him. That works during the flow of a game when you are in a semi-transition and such. But then the warriors have their defense completely set up in the half court on the last play that just isn’t something IT should be asked to do. I’ve also noticed heREALLY struggles when the Celtics play against length. Noticed it last year against the cavs too.
    
    I really like ITs game and they should certainly only deal him in a package if it means getting a Pierce-like player in return.
Caterpillar from Italy

Question off the topic: are still John and Chuck running this blog?
- KWAPT
  
  Yes, they are. And Red still is acting CEO from up above…..
  - Caterpillar from Italy
    
    Good to hear!
Brad P

Man I really thought Thomas was going to dish it to Olynyk at the end of the 1st OT.
- Thatguy
  
  Me too.
jrleftfoot

there always has to be a gratuitous crack at Evan Turner. shit gets old
jrleftfoot

never a critical word about David Lee, our fair-skinned boy.. no knock on him ; just the natural bias in favor of offense, which is more obvious to the casual observer—or that other unacknowledged bias
- Curt Hays
  
  Oh, because he’s white? I guess honesty about Kelly and Jonas doesn’t count because they’re not American. It’s only white Americans that you want to hear negative things about. Get that shit out of here.
  - jrleftfoot
    
    I guess when you get to be the board moderator you can ban me. Until then, I`ll continue to express my opinions like everybody , else, Curt. Kelly is a way bigger contributor than Lee and Jerebko is an end of the bench guy. Your defense of white Americans is touching , though— donald trump is right there with you
    - Curt Hays
      
      I’m not defending anyone. I’m calling you out for being a douche bag in public. You are being a douche bag.
      - jrleftfoot
        
        . I expressed an opinion you didn`t like and you went right into personal attack mode. Now comes the name calling. kiss my ass, you pompous twerp.
      - Curt Hays
        
        Thank you for being part of Reds Army. I hope you enjoy tonight’s game.
Curt Hays

Did no one else see that Avery Bradley’s thumbnail got nearly ripped off? It happened on a defensive fast break. Lacerte was dumping coagulant on it trying to stop the bleeding.

That’s when he stopped scoring.
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