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STUDS AND DUDS: C’S BLOW OUT THE NETS, 120-95

WEEI

By Josue Pavon

For the second consecutive game, the Celtics grabbed a big lead in the first half — the only difference this time, they were able to hold onto it. The Celtics blew out the Nets, 120-95.

The Celtics led by 24 at the half (66-42) and opened up a 30-point advantage in the third quarter — their biggest of the night. The Celtics also outscored the Nets 46-28 in the paint and shot 58.6 percent from the field.

Avery Bradley‘s 21 points off the bench led five Celtics in double-figures. Isaiah Thomas (18), Jae Crowder (19), Evan Turner (12) and David Lee (11) all reached double digits in points.

For a complete box score, click here. To go beyond the box, read on.

STUD OF THE NIGHT: Jae Crowder

Crowder found his offense early and often against the Nets. After scoring 11 points in the first quarter, Crowder finished the night with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting. He also pulled down five rebounds and had three steals.

DUD OF THE NIGHT: Joe Johnson

Johnson couldn’t find a rhythm and was minus-19 on the night. He finished with three points on 1-of-5 shooting.

VINE OF THE NIGHT:


David Lee had a big first half, and got the bench crew rolling

WHINE OF THE NIGHT: Marcus Smart’s bruised left knee

Smart headed towards the locker room in the fourth quarter. After nursing a toe injury earlier in the season, Smart reportedly suffered a bruised left knee and did not return to the game.

STAT OF THE NIGHT: Team assists & Field goal percentage

Celtics hit a season-high in two statistical categories. The team dished out a season’s best 39 assists and shot 58.6 percent from the floor.
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Celtics demolish Nets in dominant 120-95 win

CSNE

A. SHERROD BLAKLEY

BOSTON – The Brooklyn Nets have struggled most of this season.

The Boston Celtics believe they are a team on the rise.

So they did what teams on the rise do to teams that struggle – they crushed them.

Boston never gave Brooklyn any hope of pulling off an upset as they cruised to a 120-95 win.

The 120 points scored was a season-high for Boston (7-5).

The Celtics continue to play good basketball with Friday’s win being their sixth in their last eight games.

Meanwhile, the Nets (2-11) continue to plod along in what’s shaping up to be a season with few signs of it turning around positively anytime soon.

It took less than a quarter of play before Boston had taken control of the game.

A lay-up by Jae Crowder sparked a 12-6 run by Boston to close out the first quarter, which ended with the Celtics ahead 23-19.

Beating Brooklyn isn’t in the same class as some of Boston’s marquee wins this season such as victories over Atlanta or Oklahoma City.

But it speaks to how dominant they can be when they are locked in and focused on carrying out their assignments to near perfection.

That was indeed the case on Friday, with the Celtics making very few mistakes and at the same time, finding a way to capitalize on most of Brooklyn’s miscues.

Boston led by as many as 30 points, with the game’s turning point coming in the second quarter.

After Brooklyn cut Boston’s lead to 38-33, the Celtics closed out the half with a blistering 28-9 run that gave them a 66-42 lead at the half.

Crowder had another strong game for Boston, with 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting.

And Boston’s bench continues to play at a level few second units can match this season.

They combined to score 60 points with Avery Bradley (21 points) and David Lee (11 points on 5-for-5 shooting) leading the way.

Friday’s win did more than just pad the Celtics’ win total.

As part of the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce trade with Brooklyn in 2013, the Nets owe Boston four first-round picks.

One was used to select James Young in the 2014 draft, with the next one being Brooklyn’s own first round pick in the 2016 NBA draft, and then another in 2018. The Celtics can also swap first-round picks with Brooklyn in 2017.

So naturally, the Celtics want Brooklyn to lose as many games as possible this season to increase the chances of that pick being as close to the top of the draft board as possible.

Brooklyn came into Friday’s game with the third-worst record in the NBA.

Boston will get another crack at pushing the Nets further down the NBA standings when they travel to Brooklyn for a Sunday evening matchup.

112288

Sam would have loved those assist numbers, regardless of the ratio to baskets made! That is ridiculous-crazy ball sharing! (~80%!) He or we would have been quick to point out that this was against the worst team in the league, though!

db

DBrown...............I think it would be the latter. Brooklyn has fallen to the lowest point in many a year .........on the level of Philly.

If Brookly was smart they would fire and hire Tibbs as coach and begin a rebuild.

The great thing is we have their next 2 1st round picks.

112288

Although I can't claim to be the biggest advocate of starting IT at point, I've got to say it works well in getting the offense moving.  Since he was drafted, I've always felt Smart's true position is 2-guard and he also has shown himself to be a good fit there at both ends.  With Smart at 2, and Bradley's strong defense rotating in off the bench,we have good cover for ITs defensive short-comings.  Now all that's left is to get Rozier the minutes he needs to be second point on the depth chart and you have one good looking four-guard rotation.  Considering that my strongest feeling was IT first G off the bench and Bradley as trade bait, I'm glad the Cs coaching staff thinks differently!

Hi,
I wonder if we can play BKN the remaining 70 games

AK

I feel badly about clubbing a bunch of black-and-white baby harp seals.  Ok, not really.  That was brutal to watch (if you're a Nets fan, a category which I, clearly, do not fall into).  A 43 point 2nd quarter on 86% shooting.  43 points in a quarter has to be close to a record, the same with 86%.  How did this happen?  We ran on everything; defensive rebounds, turnovers, Nets made baskets, it didn't matter.  Their defense was constantly back on its heels and we started hitting our open shots.  Simple.  You run.  Your bigs run through and drag the defense down with them.  That either opens up an open jumper or it opens a driving lane because the defense is retreating.  Execution is less of a critical issue if the other team is in disarray.

For all of you wondering what happened to Donny Marshall, he is now the color analyst for the Brooklyn Nets.  It's not enough we own the Nets for the directly with picks and indirectly because we have the youth coming in and they don't, they also took Donny.  The Brooklyn Nets, the Santa Claus of the NBA.  You know you've cut the heart out of a team when the broadcasting team; play-by-play, color and sideline reporter; are debating over who is winning their trivia question quizzes while the ball is in play and their team is bringing the ball up.  Even they didn't want to talk about the game and that's their job, it's why they were in Boston last night.  Donny offered to buy dinner for the entire Nets camera crew if any one of them were able to find someone in the crowd wearing a NY Yankee's hat.  He may be an idiot but he isn't stupid, that's a pretty safe bet in Bahston Gahden.

We started out 1-7 from 3 halfway through the 1st quarter with IT starting 0-5 and 0-3 from 3.  Then we went back to the bench at the quarter turn, shooting 42% and up by only 4 points, a very anemic 23-19, stepped out onto the floor for the 2nd and eviscerated them.  At halftime, we were shooting 62% and was 7-16 from 3.  We went from 11-26 and 1-7 from 3 after 1 to 29-47 at halftime.  The math:  we shot 18-21 overall and 6-9 from 3 in the 2nd quarter.  The only shots we missed, in the entire 2nd quarter, were those 3 3s.

1.  The only thing that didn't turn this into a blow out in the 1st quarter is that Thomas started out cold, not that being ice cold did or ever would stop him from shooting.  The Yin-Yang of a shooter's mentality.  He ended up the quarter with 0 points on 0-6 but 5 assists and zero TOs.  At halftime he had 14 points on 5-11 and hit all 3s in that quarter.  Once the seal came off the top of the basket he became "IT" again and not just a midget with a Napoleonic Complex (although, to be fair, Napoleon Bonaparte was the de facto ruler of almost all of western Europe for a while).  Thomas ended up with 18 on 7-15, but I like the 9 assists and 3 TOs better.

2.  Kelly did not have a big offensive night, taking only 5 fgas and making 2.  He did, however, have 10 rebounds and 5 assists.  He played some very good defense too.  In the 1st he was underneath, trying to box out Thomas Robinson, when Hollis-Jefferson had a lane to the rim.  He quickly stepped to his right cut off Hollis-Jefferson and blow the bunny at the rim.  That, of course, freed up Robinson to grab the offensive rebound but, when he went to go up with it, Kelly had rotated back and bodied up onto him and forced him to miss his 6'er.  Kelly grabbed the defensive board on the 2nd miss he caused, surrounded by both Hollis-Jefferson and Robinson who were still crashing the offensive boards (RHJ was loose after his missed layup and Kelly switching back onto his man, Robinson).  He did it all.  This is the 2nd straight game he fouled out of but it seems to me that's happening because he's being a little overly aggressive and that's what I want from him.  Others can bitch about his foul rate, but I'm seeing it as part of his development mentally.  It was asked, on the Game On thread, if Kelly is better than Barf-nani.   That would be El Busto Barf-nani, he of the 2-8, 2 rebounds in 15 minutes night.  Yeah, I think Kelly's 2-5, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in 21 minutes is better, and that's just last night.  You couldn't pay me to take Barf-nani.  Kelly, on the other hand, is starting to shape up nicely in his 3rd year in the league.  When did Barf-nani ever have a defensive sequence like the one I described Kelly having?  Never.  It still makes me feel weird lauding Kelly's defense, it's not a direction I have traditionally come from.  Fortunately, we're comparing him to Barfer and it doesn't get much easier than that.  I mentioned at the top the significance of having your bigs run and run through to drag the defense down closer to the basket?  Kelly got a rebound, outlet passed it and then took off down court faster than I've ever seen him run before.   That's not particularly speedy, true, but he was in full Forrest Gump running mode.  He didn't get the ball back, but he did drag the defense down with him when he sprinted down the lane to the rim.  When your big is at the rim, the defense has no choice but to collapse.  Kelly gets no credit for that on the boxscore, other than the rebound, but he made the right play.  He ran, he ran through to the front of the rim, AND NOT to the corner and wait for a pass.  That's old school basketball smarts and basketball and not the new stuff where everybody wants to bomb away on a fast break even when you have numbers.

3.  Crowder with 11 points and 2 steals in the first quarter.  He went on to 19 points on 8-12 and 3-6 from 3.  His offensive inconsistency drives me a little crazy but his high energy defense more than pays for itself.  Joe Johnson had yet another forgettable night, only 1-5, and that's because of Jae.  Bojan Bogdanovic started to warm up, Jae played off him a bit much, but that was a short-lived spurtlet.

4.  Bradley wants his starting gig back, but he's doing such a good job coming off the bench it has to be creating some cognitive dissonance in Brad.  First of all, it is widely believed that players don't lose their starting jobs because they have a minor injury and sit out a few games.  Then again, that's precisely what happened to David Lee in GSW last year.  Bradley starts and IT comes off the bench or IT starts and Bradley comes off the bench.  Both have produced stellar results for Brad.  Considering Smart isn't really a point guard I'd say that IT starting is probably better for offensive flow with the starting unit, while letting Bradley play with Turner works well too.  IT and Turner on the floor together?  I've seen Brad playing that combo but I just don't see how that can work long term.  There's only one ball and they both want it.   Bradley, coming off the bench for 25 minutes, with a game high 21 points on a sizzling 10-13.

5.  Speaking of David Lee, he was a game changer last night.  He came in and hit every shot.  5-5 for 11 points.  He's getting his rhythm back, game-by-game, and that's good for us (and, perhaps, for Danny).  The hotter Lee is come February the more attractive his expiring contract will look to a playoff-bound team who wants to bulk up their front court with a proven, veteran 2x All-Star and world champion.

6.  Thaddeus Young came to play.  Shane Larkin showed some pride trying shovel against the incoming tide in vain.  I've always liked Young and Larkin is looking like a Phil Pressey who can hit his jumpers.  4 steals by Larkin.  Garbage time stats they may be, but he played like it wasn't garbage time and if Lionel Hollins doesn't look at the crockpot of shit he has to work with and notice that then he's not as smart as I'm giving him credit for.  The rest of the Nets roster ranges from meh to blech, and that puts a smile on my face.  If Thaddeus Young goes down with an injury lasting more than a couple of games Sam Hinkie of the Sixers will start to panic sell because the Nets don't have much else besides him.  btw, I've decided to start calling them by their real name, the Sixers, until they actually win 6 games.  When they win their 7th game I'll start calling them the 16ers, etc...I expect them to be the Sixers for a while.

7.  The stat roundup is easy:  59% fg% vs 39%.  Unless you're taking half the fgas or have 2 the TOs, that pretty much sums it up.  68 points in the paint.  Wow.  20 fast break points.  We had 23 assists at halftime and ended up with 39 on 51fgm for 76%.  Those are crazy high numbers.  Between their 39% fg%, 19 TOs and our 10 steals there wasn't much to dislike about this game.

If there's some bad news here it's that we have to play them tomorrow, in Brooklyn, with this beat down fresh in their minds.  The 2nd game of this home-and-away will be harder.  I think, but then, these are the Nets, the gift that keeps on giving.

7-5.  I thought winning 7 games through November would be great for us (I was actually thinking 5-6 was more realistic), given the difficulty of our opponents and the number of miles we had to fly and the number of back-to-backs we had to play.  One more game vs Brooklyn and another game against the Sixers, you would think we should win at least one of them, right?  I would be thrilled to be 8-11 come 12/1.  We are currently in 5th place in the east, just behind the Heat who have had an easier schedule than us.  Their wins have come against the 4-9 Kings, the 6-6 Jazz, the 1-6  Lakers (Kobe was a DNP), the 8-6 Raptors (ok, a quality win), the 5-8 Timber Pups, the Rockets ('nuff said) and the 7-6 Bobcats (who are 11th in the east, making me wonder about the quality of their wins too).  8 of Miami's 11 games have been at home, and they've played against generally inferior clubs than us AND I think they've only had 1 back-to-back. We've had 3. If Miami had our schedule and opponents we might be in 4th right now and not them.

Evan Turner had no idea what "Gino Time" is.  He got some last night.




Don't look now, but we're at the top of the Atlantic Division, with Toronto being 8th in the east.


bob


BONUS VIDEOS:














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Bob - 43 points in a quarter is not even close to a record:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/team_pts.html

The Buffalo Braves had 58 in a quarter, Phoenix and Golden State had 57 point quarters and if you're talking about it just being a Celtic record, Boston had 54 in the fourth quarter on Feb 25, 1970 (in a game they beat the San Diego Rockets 147-124) - scoring 90 in the second half. Nelson had 40 and Hondo had 36 in that game and those two went a combined 30 of 31 on their free throws.

steve3344 wrote:Bob - 43 points in a quarter is not even close to a record:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/team_pts.html

The Buffalo Braves had 58 in a quarter, Phoenix and Golden State had 57 point quarters and if you're talking about it just being a Celtic record, Boston had 54 in the fourth quarter on Feb 25, 1970 (in a game they beat the San Diego Rockets 147-124) - scoring 90 in the second half.  Nelson had 40 and Hondo had 36 in that game and those two went a combined 30 of 31 on their free throws.

steve,

How about the 86% shooting in a quarter. I'm still hoping...LOL.


bob



.

bobheckler wrote:

steve3344 wrote:Bob - 43 points in a quarter is not even close to a record:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/team_pts.html

The Buffalo Braves had 58 in a quarter, Phoenix and Golden State had 57 point quarters and if you're talking about it just being a Celtic record, Boston had 54 in the fourth quarter on Feb 25, 1970 (in a game they beat the San Diego Rockets 147-124) - scoring 90 in the second half.  Nelson had 40 and Hondo had 36 in that game and those two went a combined 30 of 31 on their free throws.

steve,

How about the 86% shooting in a quarter.  I'm still hoping...LOL.


.

bob

Much harder to find (all NBA sources only list team shooting percentage records for a season or one game, not for a half or a quarter), but I think a few teams have gone a quarter with missing only one or two shots and that would put their percentage in the high 80's or low-to-mid 90's.  And there might even have been a team to not miss a single shot in a quarter.  MAYBE.  Not likely though...

Report: Celtics’ Marcus Smart, Evan Turner Get MRIs For Knee Injuries:

http://nesn.com/2015/11/report-celtics-marcus-smart-evan-turner-get-mris-for-knee-injuries/

Marcus out at least the next two games (Brooklyn, Atlanta).

sinus007

GREAT SUGGESTION! WE WOULD THEN BE ABLE TO CONTROL OUR OWN DESTINY REGARDING OUR DRAFTING ORDER!

112288

This was a major beat down.

I am still however somewhat perplexed that they have AB coming off the bench.  The reason why I find that move strange is because:

AB is the best two way player on the Celtics.  The numbers speak for themselves.  He is shooting a blistering .409% from the three point line and continues to be a great on the ball defender.

Marcus Smart may be able to play the two guard but the numbers that he puts up cannot be dismissed.  During the past 10 games Marcus has had 2 games where he shot the ball the way you need a two guard to shoot.  All the chatter about him working on his 3 point shooting and all the talk about improvement is just talk  The pill may be hard to swallow but the remedy may result in a reality check.  The numbers:  for the year Marcus is shooting a horrendous .238% from behind the 3 point line.  His overall shooting percentage is also terrible at .333%  How the hell can you replace your best shooter with a guy that cannot shoot?  He plays great defense and plays with an edge but that makes him a good one way player unlike AB that is productive at both ends of the court.

IT is our best combo guard in that he can run the point but also become a significant scorer.  That ability in my opinion is more suited for a 6th man.  His defense is very suspect.

Smart was drafted as a PG but now he is playing shooting guard.  What is up with that?  I'll tell you what's up.  Marcus Smart is one hellava basketball player but he is neither a very good PG and he definitely is not a shooting guard.

AB missed a few games because of a sprained ankle and a player is not supposed to lose their starting position due to an injury.  

It looks like Marcus will miss a few games with the knee injury last night.  The Celtics will most likely reinsert AB back in the starting lineup.  

Most likely IT will continue to start at the point and ET will get more minutes off the bench unless his knee is also hurt.

Terry Rosier needs to get ready to play some backup at the point.  Hunter could see a few more minutes at the backup 2 spot.  Would like to see Mickey called up as I am less than thrilled by the play of Jonas.

The mental toughness of this team will be tested tomorrow.  

dboss

dBoss

I think Brad is experimenting with different looks on the court to see who eventually stays or is traded. We know what Bradly can do and Danny has to get rid of some bodies so as to integrate the rookies more into the line up. Otherwise their draft picks become stale and not worth anything either to the Celtics or in a trade.

112288

112288

That's a real stretch.

You must have a 7' 5 "  wingspan.  lol..

The combo of Smart/Bradley starting the game is the most dynamic defensive 1/2 punch in the NBA right freakin now.

Brad needed to experiment with the front court because starting Zeller and Lee at the beginning of the year was a mistake.  Danny went out and got a good inside defender, rebounder and a guy who can score in Amir.  I can see Brad not starting Sully but Amir should have been in there from the beginning.

The backcourt has been solid overall.  

Let me get back to my main point of contention.

Bradley, Smart, Johnson and Crowder with Sully playing center is a shut down defensive unit. The pace and space offense is anchored  by the blistering 3 point shooting of Bradley who by the way is the best 3 point shooter on a team that struggles to make them.  Bradley is the best shooter on the team..

Simply logic would dictate that you may want to have him in the lineup.  And perhaps most importantly he is required if you want to have the #1 defensive unit in the NBA.

I think Brad is a very good coach but let us not forget his history with experimentation turned into the Frankenstein monster.  I recall The Kardashian husband sitting on the bench for 10 games before Brad realized he was our best big.

I remember the lame notion that KO could be our starting center.

I think that if you have top end defensive players at 4 out of 5 positions, you are going to win a lot of games.  It is really not the Pace and Space offense that has put the team where they are today.  This offense actually sucks with respect to field goal percentage.  The defense has been amazing.  Unreal aggressiveness.  Well.. Bradley must be part of that 4-some.

My message to Brad..."Don't screw up easy decisions"

dboss

steve3344 wrote:Bob - 43 points in a quarter is not even close to a record:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/team_pts.html

The Buffalo Braves had 58 in a quarter, Phoenix and Golden State had 57 point quarters and if you're talking about it just being a Celtic record, Boston had 54 in the fourth quarter on Feb 25, 1970 (in a game they beat the San Diego Rockets 147-124) - scoring 90 in the second half.  Nelson had 40 and Hondo had 36 in that game and those two went a combined 30 of 31 on their free throws.

Steve,
 Here's a game that I listened to back in 1959. It was an afternoon game played before only 4000 fans. Check out the numbers in this game. I'm glad that I took the afternoon off from work . Its a game that I will always remember. Celts 173, Lakers 139. The Celts also had 90 points in the second half of this game. The 2 teams combined for 96 points in the 4th quarter and a combined 95 fta's in the game. And even though it was a rout Cousy still played 45 minutes.

swish



Minneapolis Lakers

MIN FGM FGA FTM FTA REB AST PF PTS
Elgin Baylor 40 7 24 14 14 20 4 4 28
Boo Ellis 17 4 9 4 6 9 0 2 12
Ed Fleming 18 5 11 3 4 4 3 2 13
Larry Foust 15 0 5 8 12 8 0 2 8
Dick Garmaker 31 1 3 1 2 1 3 4 3
Steve Hamilton 15 4 11 0 0 6 0 1 8
Hot Rod Hundley 35 9 23 3 5 14 3 5 21
Jim Krebs 16 2 7 1 1 5 0 2 5
Slick Leonard 21 5 13 6 9 5 2 4 16
Vern Mikkelsen 32 10 18 5 5 9 0 3 25
Totals  47 124 45 58 93 15 29 139

Team Rebounds: 12


Boston Celtics

MIN FGM FGA FTM FTA REB AST PF PTS
Gene Conley 29 7 12 0 0 11 3 5 14
Bob Cousy 45 10 18 11 12 5 28 3 31
Tom Heinsohn 36 18 28 7 12 11 2 3 43
K.C. Jones 13 6 6 0 0 4 1 3 12
Sam Jones 12 4 15 0 0 9 2 1 8
Jim Loscutoff 35 5 18 1 2 9 2 6 11
Frank Ramsey 26 8 18 4 5 13 2 2 20
Bill Sharman 29 13 25 3 3 5 3 2 29
Ben Swain 15 1 3 3 3 6 0 6 5
Totals  72 143 29 37 80 43 31 173

Team Rebounds: 7


1 2 3 4  F
Minneapolis Lakers 30 34 31 44  139
Boston Celtics 40 43 38 52  173

Head Coaches: Minneapolis Lakers - John Kundla, Boston Celtics - Red Auerbach
Preliminary Game: Harlem Magicians game at 1:15pm

Special Event: Ninth Annual Boston Globe Basketball Clinic at 11am, featuring Auerbach, Ramsey, Sam Jones, Elgin Baylor, and Vern Mikkelsen.

Attendance: 4000
Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Eugene Weston
Start Time: 3:15PM ET
Boston Radio: WHDH