Behind 41 Points from Jayson Tatum, The Celtics Rallied To Beat The Hornets 140-129 In Overtime

 

    They are still probably not NBA title contenders but if the first four games are any indication, the Celtics (2-2 overall, 2-1 away) are going to be wildly entertaining to watch this season. Tonight in the second half of a back-to-back on the road, Boston was able to come away with a crazy 140-129 overtime victory at Charlotte's (3-1 overall, 1-1 home) Spectrum Center. Just to get to overtime, they had to close on a 20-8 run after the Hornets took a 114-102 lead midway through the final quarter. The C's had won their first game of the season 107-97 last night in Houston (1-2) but given the higher caliber opponent, this was a much more impressive result. Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum led the way with 41 points (his 9th career 40+ point game), eight assists and seven rebounds while Boston's other star Jaylen Brown dropped 30 points, nine rebounds and three steals. 

    It was a true team win since Celtics point guard Dennis Schroder (23 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds) had his best performance for his new club including nine points in the extra session. Center Robert Williams (12 points, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks) was a force on the glass, guard Marcus Smart (3 steals) was able to prevent the Hornets from winning at the end of regulation when he stole a lazy inbounds pass that was intended for Charlotte's young star LaMelo Ball (25 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds). Even forward Jabari Parker (13 points, 5 rebounds) played a big role in the win off the bench because he scored 11 points in the first quarter when his team was gaining its bearings. Power forward Grant Williams added nine points as he continued his strong play to start this campaign. 

    It wasn't a full family reunion since former Celtics guard Terry Rozier sat out with an injury but there was Gordon Hayward (15 points, 6 rebounds) who logged a game-low plus/minus of minus-23 but hey, he had a cool haircut to show off. Charlotte's small forward Miles Bridges added a double-double (25 points, 10 rebounds) but Brown also threw down a vicious dunk on him which is all that most people will remember from his fine night's work. Shooting guard Kelly Oubre Jr. had a good game (19 points, 9 rebounds) and journeyman center Miles Plumlee notched a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks). Power forward Jalen McDaniels put up 13 points off the bench and veteran point guard Ish Smith scored 10 points in 23 minutes backing up Ball who surprisingly fouled out in OT-something that never happens to the truly elite of the NBA. 

    This evening was a throwback to the high-scoring 1980s in the league as neither team could really do anything effectively on defense. It was 33-33 after the first quarter and Boston took a two-point lead (68-66) into halftime. Head coach Ime Udoka's club came out a little slow in the third quarter-getting outscored 31-26-but they made up for it by taking the fourth quarter (28-25) and most importantly, dominating in overtime (18-7) as they beat Charlotte for the sixth time in their last seven meetings overall. The Celtics shot nearly five percent better than the Hornets from the field (49.5%-44.7%), they hit three more free throws (21-18), dished out seven more assists (33-26), had twice as many steals (8-4), blocked three more shots (9-6), turned the ball over two fewer times (14-12), registered five more second chance points (17-12) and scored seven more fast break points (22-15) than Charlotte who had 11 more points off turnovers (19-8) than the Celtics. 

    Of course it is way too early to know anything yet about these C's: their season-opening double overtime loss last Wednesday at the Knicks (2-1) 138-134 will likely go down as one of the games of the year in the league, then they no-showed in their home opener last Friday against the Raptors (1-3) 115-83. They had no choice but to beat the lowly Rockets and while it was tougher than it had to be, they got it done and they proved a little something by beating the Hornets who will be a playoff team again in the Eastern Conference. The Celts return to TD Garden on Wednesday (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) as they kick off a home-and-home with the Wizards (2-1). They'll head to DC on Saturday (5, NBC Sports Boston) for the rematch with Tatum's BFF Bradley Beal and Co.

I've Never Been More Excited In My Life For A Celtics Season To Mercifully Come To An End

 

    The Celtics have suffered through many terrible seasons (and I'm sure that there will be plenty more of those in the future) in my lifetime but I have to be honest: I can't ever remember wanting a season to end as much as I needed this group to go away. Thankfully the Nets were there to help us as they blew out the Celts one last time: 123-109 tonight at the Barclays Center in Game 5 of their pointless first round playoff series which Brooklyn took four games to one. With that, Boston heads into the off-season with a boatload of questions that they'll need to figure out. Point guard Kemba Walker (knee) and center Robert Williams (ankle) were inactive for the second game in a row, couple that with All-Star Jaylen Brown's absence and you can understand why the C's had no shot in this game or in the series for that matter. 

    As always, the Nets were led by their big three: shooting guard James Harden had a triple-double with 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists with two blocks and two steals; point guard Kyrie Irving added 25 points and power forward Kevin Durant notched 24 points and three blocks. Brooklyn also got solid contributions from small forward Joe Harris (10 points, 6 assists) and Boston native Bruce Brown put up 10 points, five rebounds and four steals off the bench in the win. For Boston, superstar Jayson Tatum's fourth season in the NBA ended with a team-high 32 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals. Shooting guard Evan Fournier had 18 points and six rebounds, shooting guard Romeo Langford got a rare start and he made the most of it with 17 points, two blocks and two steals.  Guard Marcus Smart added 14 points and seven rebounds and the forgotten man Jabari Parker put up 13 points off the bench for the Celts. 

    Boston hung around for longer than they should have as Brooklyn led 31-24 after the first quarter and 59-51 at halftime. The Celtics actually outscored the Nets 28-27 in the third quarter before they predictably collapsed in the fourth quarter (27-20) which allowed the home team to lead by as much as 22 points. Brooklyn advances to the second round where they'll meet Milwaukee which should be a way more competitive and interesting series. For Celts GM Danny Ainge (who should be on the hot seat but probably won't be), his summer starts right now as the C's have three pending free agents: Fournier, power forward Semi Ojeleye and center Luke Kornet. Of those three, I'd hope that Fournier is the only one that they are inclined to re-sign (assuming that they don't wildly overpay him). The scary part is that the Celtics are always so reluctant to make big moves. That's why Ainge and head coach Brad Stevens probably won't be fired this summer not that they are the sole reasons why this team underachieved so drastically. Tatum and Brown are obviously everything to Boston's hopefully much brighter days ahead. Other than them-as far as I'm concerned-they are all tradeable in the right deal. 

    The Celts head into the long break with so many issues surrounding them that it's hard to know just where to begin. A) They have to keep Tatum and Brown healthy and happy together; B) They need to surround those two with more talented guys all around them; C) They should get creative to sell the city to perspective free agents. This gentleman's sweep of a series proved yet again how far away they actually are from Brooklyn (who combined in the regular season and playoffs went 7-1 against them in 2020-21) not to mention Philadelphia and Milwaukee-and that's just in the Eastern Conference! I will always love the Celtics and cheer for them but there really was very little to enjoy in this doomed campaign: they endlessly battled Covid-19 with a bunch of guys, injuries to key players, the countless losses to awful teams and they had a bunch of younger players that did not seem to get better as they rotted away on the bench. Here is to some honest conversations in the Celtics' front office starting tomorrow that eventually lead to major changes-whatever that entails. That franchise is too rich in history (namely winning championships) and they have too many fans all around the world to accept another useless campaign like that.  

Jayson Tatum (44 Pts) & Stephen Curry (47) Have A Classic Duel As C's Outlast Warriors 119-114

 

    ABC and ESPN executives must have been doing cartwheels late last night as the shorthanded Celtics (31-26 overall, 18-10 home) and Warriors (28-29 overall, 11-19 away) staged an improbable instant classic regular season game. Down two starters (Jaylon Brown and Robert Williams) plus a top reserve (Evan Fournier), Boston won 119-114 at the TD Garden thanks to a true superstar performance by swingman Jayson Tatum (44 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals) which was just enough to survive another unforgettable outing by Warriors icon Stephen Curry (47 points, 11 3-pointers, 7 rebounds) who is the greatest shooter in NBA history. Most importantly, it was Boston's season-high sixth win in a row which vaulted them ahead of idle Atlanta (30-26) and into fourth-place in the Eastern Conference. 

    This matchup had it all, including a crazy dive into the scorer's table by Warriors small forward Juan Toscano-Anderson (6 rebounds) that resulted in a cut on his head and possible concussion while the newest Celtic Jabari Parker scored 11 points in 16 minutes off the bench. Wait what? Celts point guard Kemba Walker (26 points, 8 rebounds) was really good and guard Marcus Smart (16 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals) had the impossible task of slowing down a red-hot Curry. Rookie guard Payton Pritchard (11 points) also gave Boston head coach Brad Stevens some valuable minutes off the bench as well. 

    With Klay Thompson sadly out for the entire season, Golden State is left to scrap for the play-in round of the Western Conference playoffs. As you can tell by the box score, Curry does not have much help at the moment. Former No. 1 pick in 2014 (1 spot ahead of Parker!) small forward Andrew Wiggins (22 points) has never developed into the star that many thought he would be. Swingman Kent Bazemore added 16 points for the Warriors while shooting guard Jordan Poole had 12 points off the bench. Uniquely gifted power forward Draymond Green (5 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds) was held in check after he's had some monster numbers lately. 

    Golden State was hot right away as they led 33-24 after the first quarter and 66-60 at halftime. Truthfully, it felt like a gift that Boston was only down two possessions after two quarters since Tatum hit a tough jumper at the halftime buzzer. The C's made another push to tie it at 89 after three quarters before closing it out 30-25 in the fourth quarter. Boston had five more rebounds (45-40) including six more offensive boards (14-8) which led to 10 more points in the paint (48-38) and 11 more points second chance points (26-15). They also had three more steals (9-6) and eight less turnovers (17-9) than the sloppy Warriors which resulted in 15 more points off turnovers (23-8). 

    This was the start of an important three-game homestand for the Celtics as they host the Bulls (23-33 overall, 12-15 away) tomorrow night (7:30, NBC Sports Boston). Brown was sick (not with Covid-19) so hopefully he can return for that one. Williams is dealing with left knee soreness so we'll see about that and Stevens already said that Fournier is out of the league's health and safety protocol but he won't be suiting up against Chicago. Milwaukee (35-21) is four and a half games ahead of Boston so realistically, the best that they can finish in the East in 2021 is in fourth. Therefore, they have to do everything they can to hold onto that spot with less than a month left to go in the regular season.