The Celtics got their first look at the Denver Nuggets tonight, and for the most part, the C’s held a comfortable lead for most of the game. They used their usual tough defense to keep Denver in check and some hot shooting to get a lot points on the board. Of course they made it interesting by blowing a 20 point lead late in the game, but they held on for 111-103 win.
Back home in Boston, the Celtics came out of the gate with a fairly typical first quarter for them, that is, Avery Bradley couldn’t miss and everyone else couldn’t hit (the rest of the team was 6 for 19 in the quarter).
The good news was that they were playing a team that isn’t very good, the Denver Nuggets. Denver shot worse than Boston and was less active on the glass and less careful with the ball, leaving Boston with an eight point advantage at the end of one, 29-21.
Unlike other Bradley games where he typically doesn’t resume scoring until the second half, he continued his shot shooting by hitting 3 of 6 second quarter shots (2 of 4 from 3) for 8 points (3 of those on a sweet sequence you’ll see in a minute). Bradley and Kelly Olynyk combined for 17 of the C’s 26 points in the quarter, and the Celtics forced 5 more steals (11 steals for the half) to take 10 point lead into the half.
Denver started the second half with a run that Boston erased after a quick Brad Stevens timeout. After that the Celtics lead kind of hung around the low double digits for most of the quarter before a Denver 6-0 run cut it to 5. The Celtics immediately responded with an 11-1 run capped by an Olynynk coast-to-coast buzzer beater to go into the fourth with a game-high 15 point lead.
They extended that to an 18-1 run by scoring the first 7 points of the fourth and pushing the lead as high as 22. The Nuggs responded with a run to cut the lead all the way down to 10 before an Evan Turner jumper and Jonas Jerebko free throw (he was fouled taking a 3 but missed 2) pushed it back up to 13 with just under 5 minutes left. At that point, most of the starters were brought back in, ending any thoughts of an extended rest. But thanks to some timely Turner buckets, the Nuggets could never get it under 10 points until the very end of the game, and the Celtics held on for their 4th straight win.
Green
Avery Bradley did most of his damage in the first half, but I’m going to focus on a stat that I never thought would be a good thing for AB: 5-13 from 3. After getting on him about his shot selection and his long 2’s, Bradley fired away from 3 tonight, hitting about 39% of his shots from deep. He kept the long 2’s to a minimum, and ultimately scored a few extra points. This is the new NBA
Big time D out of the Celtics tonight… 15 steals and 20 forced turnovers is an amazing number. They got 20 points off those turnovers, got 24 fast break points, and ran at a pace that got them 96 shots and 111 points. This is Celtics basketball.
OK, let’s talk Turner. 7-11 shooting for 14 points, 10 of which came in the 4th quarter. He added 3 assists, one of which was on a 3, so Turner had a role in 17 of the C’s 25 points. That’s a big 4th quarter that even a vocal Turner critic like me can’t deny was supremely important.
Denver’s a huge offensive rebounding team, but the Celtics negated that by matching the Nuggets 14 offensive boards, thanks almost entirely to Amir Johnson (7 OReb) and Jared Sullinger (4 OReb).
Gross
Letting up way too early. The Celtics were outscored 32-25 in the 4th quarter and it took the return of all the starters to make it that close. Jae Crowder, Amir Johnson, and Isaiah Thomas all finished with more than 30 minutes when they should have been joking on the bench about Gino Time.
Greenlights
Avery Bradley cans another 3! He’s on fire with 13 points in the first to lead all scorers. Tune in on @csnne pic.twitter.com/hMVUb7UxSZ
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 28, 2016
One of my favorite sequences in 2 Vines: Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart swarm for the steal… then connect for the 3.
Kelly Olynyk coast to coast layup, and-1, to close the 3rd quarter
If you didn’t see Kelly’s buzzer beater live, we’ve got you covered. Check it out: pic.twitter.com/8XLx8l7nHh
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 28, 2016
Grid
- Kelly Olynyk: 17 points (6-14 fg, 2-3 3pt, 3-3 ft), 7 reb, 3 ast
- Fastbreak points: Boston- 24 Denver- 14
- Four of Boston’s 11 turnovers came in the 4th quarter
- Avery Bradley 1st half: 21 points (8-13 fg, 5-9 3pt)
- Avery Bradley 2nd half: 6 points (3-7 fg, 0-4 3pt)
Big win going into a home-and-home with the struggling Orlando Magic. Sweeping that would be huge for Boston.
