A lot was on the line for the Celtics Wednesday night. A win for Boston would mean that the Celtics were only one win (or Raptors loss) away from Brad Stevens coaching the Eastern Conference All-Stars. A win for Toronto would return the Raptors to second place in the conference and secure them the season series tiebreaker over Boston. In the first half it appeared the Celtics were going to fold faster than an origami master, but after a spirited second half and a dazzling display by the King in the Fourth they were able to defeat the Derozan-less Raptors.
The Game Flow:
Too much success can be exhausting, so Amir Johnson returned to the starting lineup in order to undermine the success the Celtics have had playing a wing-heavy rotation and switching everything defensively. The Raptors eagerly took advantage of the Celtics generosity and blitzed them to the tune of 30 first quarter points. The Celtics scrapped the two-big lineup and returned to, you know, things that actually work (wing heavy lineups and giving Isaiah Thomas the ball), and were able to trim the Raptors lead to two by the end of the quarter.
With Thomas on the bench to start the second quarter, the Raptors lead quickly ballooned to 13, forcing a Brad Stevens to call a timeout. “They played last night… They went to OT last night… We need more energy! We need this one!” Thomas said during the timeout before returning to the floor. “Ehhh,” said the Celtics, who trimmed a whole two points off the Raptors lead over the remaining seven minutes in the half.
After Isaiah Thomas finished personally slapping every Celtic in the face at halftime, someone must have showed Al Horford that his stat line and mine were identical (actually my +/- was way better). Galvanized by this revelation, Al Horford put the ball in the basket three whole times and lead the Celtics in a display of actual competence for twelve minutes. At the end of the third the Raptors only lead by eight, just enough to make Celtics fans everywhere debate whether they had the emotional fortitude to risk getting their hopes up.
Embracing their newfound strategy of not playing like crap, the Celtics came out on fire to open the fourth, showing the attitude and tenacity we expected for the other 36 minutes of the game. Tyler Zeller and Jaylen Brown led the charge with spectacular blocks and dunks that ignited the crowd. With 4:48 left in the game it was Thomas time, as a fadeaway jumper from the King in the Fourth gave the Celtics their first lead of the game. A fierce back and fourth between Thomas and Lowry followed, but even a few bizzare calls by Tony Brothers couldn’t stop Isaiah. For twelve minutes Celtics-Raptors was actually really really fun, and Celtics fans who dared to dream at the end of the third were rewarded for their faith with a critical win.
Why on earth did the Celtics return to the two-big lineup? Why fix what wasn’t broken? Did they need some extra muscle to stop supreme post threat and rebounding machine Patrick Patterson? If I see a two-big three-guard lineup someone might have to call the police.
Isaiah Thomas, the only Celtic who wasn’t a total embarrassment in the first half. In addition to carrying his team, Thomas took an axe to ridiculous narrative that the Celtics might actually be better without him in the fourth. Not only did Isaiah Thomas lead the Celtics fourth quarter comeback and finish the game with a team high +17, but the offense totally collapsed any time he left the floor. For all his defensive deficiencies, this team desperately needs Isaiah to anchor them at the offensive end.
Thomas’ Steph Curry imitation was one of the only high points for the Celtics in the first half.
IT's got range. 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/cZPoAvY05f
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 2, 2017
The Grid:
Isaiah Thomas – 44 Points, 12/22 FG, 4 REB, 7 AST
Kyle Lowry – 32 Points, 12/20 FG, 2 REB, 5 AST
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
