Recap: Celtics put the squeeze on the Blazers

That was fun. A first half shoot-out quickly morphed into a blowout as the Celtics cranked up the intensity to a level the road weary Blazers just couldn’t match. The result: a 116 – 93 Boston victory.

Portland started hot. 12 for 16 hot. And the Celtics found themselves down 28-16 midway through the 1st quarter. But Boston’s offense came around thanks to Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder (combined for 20 points).

The Celtics took their 1st lead of the game on a Marcus Smart 3-pointer at the 7 minute mark of the 2nd quarter. Smart didn’t shoot particularly well (15 points, 5-12 FG) but he was physical defensively and his 11 rebounds tied a career high. A 15-5 run gave Boston a 61-55 lead at the half.

Third quarter was all Boston. They continued to squeeze the Blazers’ guards and to attack the basket. Jared Sullinger scored 9 in an 18-6 run that stretched the lead deep into the 20s. Boston pressed and Portland wilted. Hard to fault the Blazers who were playing their 4th game in 5 nights.

The Celts didn’t let up much in the 4th and that allowed Brad Stevens to throw Terry Rozier, RJ Hunter and Jordan Mickey on the floor. 12 straight now at the Garden.

The Green

Isaiah Thomas finished with 30 points (11-20 FG) in 30 minutes. He didn’t force threes, took the ball to the basket repeatedly and didn’t have a single turnover.

Sullinger (15 points, 6- 10 FG, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks) had a strong game. Spin moves, hook shots, offensive rebounds, blocked shots, you name it, Sullinger did it.

The Gross

Hate to pick on anyone in this great win, but Evan Turner had trouble finding his range (1-8 FG).

Is Noah Vonleh (6 points, 3-10 FG) any good? Have yet to see anything from him. To think we might have drafted him instead of Marcus Smart is frightening.

Greenlights

Isaiah with the scoop

https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.jsSullinger with the nifty spin move