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Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
After diving for a loose ball right in front of the Celtics bench, Kyrie Irving lay down on the parquet floor, threw his head back and roared.
Irving thought he had gotten the ball away from the Pacers, delivered a key defensive stop and given the Celtics an extra possession, but his celebration only lasted a moment. The referee, much to Irving’s surprise, gave the ball back to Indiana. As Irving popped back to his feet to argue the call, teammate Aron Baynes gestured in Irving’s direction. The message was obvious: Keep hustling like that, Kyrie, and we’ll live with whatever happens.
Irving may not have been the Celtics’ best defender Sunday, but he was at least a symbol of their increased energy level. Early in the first quarter, he read an inbounds pass perfectly to dive in for a steal. Moments later he scrapped in the post to intercept an entry pass intended for Wes Matthews. Irving doesn’t own (or deserve) a huge defensive reputation, but when he’s locked in at that end he can make a positive difference. He and his teammates tried like heck to collect stops in Game 1.
*This* is exactly what I was referencing in my Sunday morning Dump. Kyrie Irving leading by example, doing the dirty work that often falls outside his brilliant offensive game.
I’m not here to put lipstick on that pig of a game. The first half of Game 1 was a shit-show.
The proverbial switch was not flipped. But the Celtics corrected some mistakes (g-damn turnovers) and persevered.
Go ahead and scoff at the low bar, but we’ve seen this team fall apart and quit when handed much less adversity.
After watching Toronto and Philly fall to lesser opponents, I’ll take any win I can get.
On Page 2, Mook saved the Celtics in the 1st half.
Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens saw it coming. He has had players have good stretches in practice, but something seemed different with Marcus Morris.
“He was terrific at practice on Thursday when we went live,” Stevens said.
And he was even better on Sunday in helping Boston to an 84-74 Game 1 win over the Indiana Pacers. Morris came off the bench and scored a team-high-tying 20 points for Boston, 12 of which came in the first quarter.
The 12 points scored by Morris in the first marked the best scoring quarter he has had all season.
Imagine for a moment, if a couple of Marcus Morris’ first-half buckets rim out or fall short of the iron.
That 8 point halftime deficit (45-38) suddenly sinks to double-digits, the fans reign down boos as the team walks into the tunnel and the 3rd quarter might have a completely different look.
Morris was HUGE.
The rest of the links
Globe – Celtics erupt in 2nd half to rout Pacers | Cs weren’t about to fall into upset trap
Herald – Celtics have eye of the Tiger in 2nd half | Hayward returns to playoffs after long pause
Mass Live – 10 things we learned | Baynes refuses to acknowledge injury | Irving dedicates Gm 1 to Smart
NBC – Celtics with room to grow after Gm 1 | Horford key to 2nd half surge
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