As Cedric Maxwell said on the telecast, “Welcome back, Kelly Olynyk!”
Olynyk rebounded from his recent shooting woes to spark the Celtics to a 110-91 road win over the Brooklyn Nets. The Canadian scored 18 points on 7-12 shooting, including 3-5 on 3-pointers. Evan Turner also starred with a triple-double of 19 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.
Brooklyn was led by 31 points from Brook Lopez, and the Nets got the rest of their offense on the glass (20 2nd-chance points) and at the line (26 of 30). Boston negated that with balanced scoring: Avery Bradley (20), Tyler Zeller (18), Brandon Bass (12), and Jonas Jerebko (10) joined Turner and Olynyk in double-figures.
The win ended a 3-game losing streak and put Boston’s record at 31-39, which, combined with losses by Indiana and Charlotte, moved the Celtics back into the 8th and final playoff slot in the East.
Off the jump, the Celtics fell behind 11-4 but came back behind Bradley and Zeller, who combined for 14 points by the first timeout. Thaddeus Young, who always seems to play well against Boston, had 8 early points, so Jerebko got an early call from the bench and cooled him off. The quarter ended with Brooklyn leading, 28-23. The Nets were 9-9 from the line while the Celtics did not attempt a free throw.
A 9-0 run that spanned the quarter break put Boston in the lead, 30-28. Brooklyn pounded the offensive boards to stay close, but Bass flexed his own muscles with back-to-back 3-point plays over the bigger Mason Plumlee. Boston led, 54-49, at the half as six Celtics had a half-dozen or more points, led by Bradley’s 11 and Turner’s 10. Lopez had 12 for the Nets.
In the 3rd, Boston went on another 9-0 run to take a 71-57 lead. But Lopez was on fire and Deron Williams began to assert himself. Brooklyn got within 5 before a sensational and-one by Crowder and a 3-pointer by Olynyk led to an 83-74 lead headed to the 4th quarter.
Boston took a 96-80 lead with 8 minutes remaining on a personal 7-0 run by Olynyk: dunk, 3-pointer and putback. The Nets rallied to within 9 before Bradley hit his patented off-the-curl jumper and then tipped in a rebound to seal it.
The Green:
Coming into the action, the Nets had reinserted themselves into the playoff picture by winning four of their last five games and averaging 112 points during that span — but Boston held them 21 points below that mark and limited the Nets to 1-17 on 3s.
Solid work by Jerebko, who played 23 minutes, chipping in 10 points (including a highlight reel dunk), 6 rebounds and strong defense.
Kelly Olynyk got a very kind bounce off the rim to drop in a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer. Maybe that changed his luck.
After being dominated on the boards in the 1st half, Boston recovered to score 15 2nd-chance points after halftime.
This was the first time Boston played the Nets since Kevin Garnett was traded by Brooklyn to Minnesota. Brooklyn has nothing left from their big swap with the Celtics, while Boston has assets in Gerald Wallace, James Young (selected with Brooklyn’s 2014 pick) and a boatload of first-rounders.
The Gross:
Deron Williams baited Bradley into fouling him on a 3-point attempt with 6 seconds left in the first half. Williams hit all three FTs.
At the half, Brooklyn had 14 offensive rebounds and 16 2nd-chance points. Boston had 3 and 0.
Lopez went off in the 3rd quarter, scoring 15 on 5-8 from the field and 5-5 at the line.
Marcus Smart returned after his one-game suspension for temporary insanity in San Antonio. Many expected a big response from the rookie, but he played as passive as could be: 1-3 shooting, 2 points, 1 rebound, 0 assists, 2 steals in 23 minutes. Jae Crowder started the 2nd half in place of Smart.
The Greenlights:
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The Grid:
- After a bad shooting night vs. Detroit, the Celtics turned it around. Field goal %: Boston, .511; Brooklyn, .360
- Points in the paint: Boston 58, Brooklyn 56.
- The Nets attempted 30 FTs to Boston’s 14.
- Deron Williams didn’t look for his shot, going only 2-6, but did have 10 assists.
- Boston won the season series with Brooklyn, 3-1, so now holds the head-to-head tie-breaker.
- The Celtics are now 8-1 in their last 9 opportunities on the 2nd night of back-to-backs.
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