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.

Celtics Keeping Rolling In Orlando Summer League, Too Bad The Wins Are Meaningless

The beauty of NBA Summer Leagues is that provided you have a working DVR, you can watch your favorite team play a bunch of games in a short period of time. The results don't mean much and the rosters are made up of many has-beens, never weres and never will-bes but still, there is a reason to pay attention. You could be seeing the next great rookie or guy that comes out of nowhere like Jeremy Lin.

Boston (3-0) is the only unbeaten team left in Orlando as they knocked off Indiana (2-1) 85-77 this afternoon. It's unusual to see a Summer League team, which are usually thrown together at the last minute, have chemistry but the C's appear to work well together.

Six Celtics scored in double-figures led by Jared Sullinger (16 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks) and E'Twaun Moore (15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists). Kris Joseph (12 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals) continues to be the most pleasant surprise for the Green and Dionte Christmas (10 points, 5 assists, 3 steals) has a good chance to make some NBA team while Jamar Smith (12 points) and JaJuan Johnson (11 points, 5 rebounds) both provided a lift off the bench.

The Pacers were a two-man team with Lance Stephenson (19 points, 7 turnovers) hogging the ball and Miles Plumlee (18 points, 8 rebounds) cleaning up inside despite his goofy hairdo.

There was plenty to like about Boston's effort since they basically outworked Indiana in every category which must have drove Larry Bird (sitting courtside) crazy. The Celtics shot 11% better from the field (51.6-40.6), grabbed six more rebounds (37-31), handed out twice as many assists (16-8), made one more steal (10-9) and two more blocks (7-5).

It was tight the whole way but the Celts outscored the Pacers in every quarter. Boston led 18-15 after one quarter and 36-31 at halftime. The C's edged the Pacers 19-18 in the third then both teams exploded in the fourth (30-28 Boston).

Once again, Boston gets the early start (11 a.m., NBA TV) as they face Detroit (2-1) tomorrow afternoon. Look out for UConn big man Andre Drummond on the Pistons, who has the potential to be great in the NBA or a complete bust. Nobody really knows which is part of what makes the Connecticut native so intriguing.

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