Celts pull it together
Collective effort keys Game 3 win
CHICAGO — Someone suggested telling jokes to break out of their malaise, and so the Celtics tried after Thursday’s practice.
By yesterday, with the aid of a motivational audio clip from old friend Kevin Garnett, the mood had changed in Celticland. “Brad (Stevens has) been saying that over the past few days,” said Celtics Avery Bradley. “We understood that. Just relax and go out there and play the game of basketball because I feel like that’s when players are at their best, when they are playing relaxed.”
It helped that the Celts were on the road, where they were better this season than any other Eastern Conference team save for Toronto. That’s where, to quote Marcus Smart, “we only have each other.”
That bunker mentality served the Celtics well last night, giving them a gasp of air along with their 104-87 win over Chicago in Game 3 of the first-round playoff series. The win allowed the C’s to trim the Bulls’ lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is tomorrow in Chicago.
The burden was lifted from Isaiah Thomas as other C’s increased their scoring input, and a predominantly reserve unit of Smart, Kelly Olynyk, Jonas Jerebko, Terry Rozier and Bradley increased the Celtics lead from 13 points to 18 before Thomas and the starters came back in to close out the win.
The Celtics won their first game of the series because of balance as five players scored in double figures, topped by Al Horford’s 18 points with eight rebounds and six assists. Thomas and Jae Crowder each had 16 points, Bradley had 15 and Rozier added 11.
The boards, however, were still a problem for the Celtics, who were outrebounded by a 52-37 margin. But hot 3-point shooting can mask a lot of blemishes as the C’s made 17 of their 37 attempts from long range.
The absence of injured former Celtic Rajon Rondo — Chicago’s catalyst in the first two games — also handicapped the Bulls. Chicago was forced into a slower pace that marked its play for most of the season.
While Thomas was freed of Rondo’s coverage, he was blitzed to distraction, often passing out of Chicago double teams. But he traded in some of his prolific scoring for more playmaking with nine assists.
Spacing returned to the Celtics’ attack, beginning with Stevens’ decision to start Gerald Green in place of the struggling Amir Johnson, instantly boosting the offensive capability of the starting unit.
“I think we’re taking what the defense gives us,” Crowder said. “They give us a lot of open 3’s and tried to pack the paint on us, so we’ve got to step into them and make them, but I feel like that’s part of our game plan, is to attack those guys. If they leave a shooter open we’ve got to step into it and make them. That’s what happened tonight.”
These Celtics are incapable of playing a perfect game, or anything close to it. Their early offense led to a 20-point lead on the first basket of the second quarter, only for Chicago to nearly wipe it clean with a 24-7 run over the last 9:55 before halftime.
The Celtics, their lead chopped to 44-41 at the break, worked their advantage gradually back up with a strong third quarter, including back-to-back 3-pointers from Thomas and eight of Horford’s point total.
The Celtics finished the third quarter with a 76-63 lead, and with 4:11 left in the game, had climbed back up to a 20-point lead.
The starters merely finished off the bench’s work in Game 3. The reserves were responsible for the final quarter’s biggest run for the C’s— a 10-2 burst that included 3-pointers from Olynyk and Bradley, and two Jerebko cuts to the basket.
“It’s good. Same person isn’t going to do great every game, and we need everyone to step up,” Rozier said. “You never know who you’ll get a great performance from. We just fed off the energy. It was collective, the whole group.”