Celtics shock Rockets
Down 26, complete epic rally
The first 39 games of the season considered, with all of the deficits, comebacks, narrow wins and losses, there is suddenly an oasis ahead.
“We’re just trying to make it to London. I’m just trying to make it to London. I don’t say that with a nonchalant attitude,” Kyrie Irving said not with nonchalance, but maybe combat fatigue after the Celtics’ 99-98 win over Houston last night at the Garden.
The Celtics, who get their break when they play Philadelphia on Jan.11 in the midst of an otherwise nine-day break, have played the most games in the league for that privilege. And last night they set a new comeback mark for the league this season by erasing a 26-point first half deficit. Golden State held the previous mark with a 24-point rally at Philadelphia.
But Houston, last night’s foil, has the second best record in the league (behind the Warriors, and one spot above the Celts), and for the entire first half mopped the parquet with their hosts.
Once again, there wasn’t a hole too deep.
The Celtics steadily defended and scored their way back off those opportunities in their most spirited recovery of the season, and took their first lead of the night on the last basket of the contest — Al Horford’s floater from the right baseline that proved the difference.
“We’ve had some tough losses here at home recently and our crowd tonight was unbelievable,” said Horford. “At least for me, what kept driving me was, we’ve got to do this for our fans. We’ve just got to push through.”
“I’m just proud we were able to rally together. It’s a big win for us.”
The Celtics thus overcame a 34-point performance by Harden, with Kyrie Irving leading the Celtics with 26 on a night when everyone from Terry Rozier to Aron Baynes and Marcus Morris helped turn this one around.
Jayson Tatum made the late madness possible when the rookie dunked with 7.3 seconds left, cutting the Houston lead to 98-97. And when Houston inbounded, Marcus Smart drew a charge on Harden.
Horford calmly drained his little right-handed shot with 3.7 seconds left. Smart, in a signature game, stepped in again to draw a charge on Harden, this time with three seconds left.
Horford was fouled a second later, and though he missed twice, Eric Gordon’s last second heave sailed wide.
The Celtics’ ability to recover defensively controlled those closing seconds.
“It was our type of defense. Our coaches set us up in the right spot,” said Rozier. “That’s all effort, making sure we get the ball. We were pretty confident with guys like Horford and Kyrie down the stretch.”
The entire fourth quarter followed this pace with the Celtics, trailing 92-91, calling timeout with 2:40 left following a missed 3-pointer by Harden.
A missed Irving free throw was all that held them back from a tie, and they flubbed the possession when Horford threw the ball away. Harden made them pay with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, and after Irving hit from 10 feet, Harden missed at the rim.
Irving matched his miss, Tatum blocked Harden, and Smart missed badly from downtown. Though Tatum chased down a loose ball, Irving charged into P.J. Tucker. The Rockets forward hit only the front end, leaving the Celtics down 96-93 with 18.4 seconds left.
Smart was given a path to the basket, and Houston took possession with a 96-95 lead and 13.5 seconds left.
Celtics coverage and Tatum’s pressure on the inbounding Trevor Ariza forced a second straight Houston timeout, but Harden got the ball in just enough time to get fouled the next time out.
Harden, 13-for-13 from the line and heading there again, hit both for a 98-95 lead with 11.6 seconds left, and then it unraveled.
“I’ve had a few comebacks but that was a special one,” said Irving. “Just from how we started, it was so ugly man. It was just so ugly. And we had to battle back, and obviously you don’t want to start the game like that, but when you get down you’ve gotta piece together a few possessions.
“We just had to battle back. It took a lot. It took everybody — the coaches, us, fans — in order to battle back. And some big plays down the stretch as well kind of cemented that win. It’s something we can build on.”