The Celtics survived a 14 point on 7-10 shooting first quarter from Al Jefferson by shooting just about 53% themselves. They hit 3 of 4 from deep and all 5 of their free throws to go into the second quarter down just one.
The second belong to Phil Pressey. His six assists helped turn that deficit into a 2-point halftime lead. A couple of his passes, especially his baseline drive and blind dump off to Brandon Bass under the rim, were spectacular. I’ve said all season long that while this kid has plenty to work on, his point guard instincts and passing are really, really good. The Celtics helped him by making 4 of the 7 threes the second.
The Celtics briefly extended that lead to 6 in the third quarter before giving it all back and then some. But after falling behind by 3, the Celtics whipped off a 12-0 run over the last 4:22 of the quarter to head into the 4th with a 9 point lead. Charlotte blinked first in the “who can keep this hot shooting going the longest” game, hitting just 35% of their third quarter shots while the Celtics shot 59%.
The Celtics pushed that lead to 13 in the 4th before it all seemingly fell apart. The 13 point lead disappeared. With four minutes to go, the Celtics were down 1. Yet another 4th quarter collapse was in the books… until…
Sully hit a 3… and Bradley hit a 3… and the Celtics sort of started to pull away. Or, to be more accurate, the Celtics were able to build a lead just large enough that they couldn’t completely piss it away.
Charlotte cut the lead to 1 and the Celtics had the ball at the top of the key with Jeff Green on Chris Douglass-Roberts. Instead of just busting past him and drawing the foul, he called for a pick from Brandon Bass. Charlotte welcomed the gift of a double team late in the shot clock on a one-dimensional ball-handler. Green passed out of it to Sully, who was forced to take a ridiculously long 3. The Celtics got the rebound though, and Brandon Bass made both free throws to make it a 3 point game. Charlotte missed a decent chance at the buzzer, and the Celtics losing streak is over.
The Green
Hey, sorry if you’re hung up on this being a game they should have lost. I think it’s nice to see them finish a game (sorta).
They shot 52% from the field. That’s good!
Phil Pressey had a nice game. He’s a decent player. 10 points and 13 assist is a very nice night.
The Gross
Jarryd Bayless was 0-4 in 19 minutes before leaving with a sprained knee.
Add All Jefferson to the mix of bigs who just demolished the C’s. 32 points & 10 rebounds and the Bobcats really screwed this game up by not giving it to him a lot more often. He should have taken 40 shots. He could have had 50 against this Celtics team.
The Celtics had 20 turnovers.
The Greenlights
Tommy Heinsohn’s oddly melodic mocking of Chris Douglas-Roberts’ yell during a foul.
//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js
The Grid
- Points in the Paint: Bobcats 50, Celtics 36
- Jeff Green: 18 pts (8-11 fg), 3 reb, 3 ast.
- Brandon Bass: 18 pts (7-12 fg), 9 reb, 3 ast.
- Jared Sullinger: 20 pts (8-13 fg, 2-4 3pt), 7 reb
- Avery Bradley: 22 pts (8-16, 4-6 3pt), 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl.
Cry about the loss if you want. I don’t really care so much. I think the Celtics are in a fine draft position.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
