Road warriors? Celtics have their own improbable streak

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4721335/road-warriors-cs-have-their-own-improbable-streak



Road warriors? Celtics have their own improbable streak

14h



http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:14352204


Chris Forsberg, ESPN Staff Writer




The Boston Celtics really had no business hanging with the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.

The Hornets, winners of four straight with an average margin of victory of 17 points per game in that span, were coming off a 24-point thumping of the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night. The Celtics, meanwhile, endured an emotionally and physically draining double-overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors on Friday.

Sure enough, Boston looked like a bunch of zombies in the first half of Saturday's game.


Isaiah Thomas rebounded from a disappointing Friday with 21 points and a career-high 13 assists in Saturday's win. AP Photo/Nell Redmond


But showing a toughness and maturity beyond what you'd expect from such a young team, the Celtics eventually came to life, built a third-quarter lead, then fended off Charlotte's late-game surge to emerge with a gritty 98-93 triumph at Time Warner Cable Arena.

"I don't think anything tonight was about getting into a rhythm, it was about finding a way," Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters in Charlotte. "Last night was an emotional loss whether we want to act like it or not. So to come back and play that way tonight and get a win on the road against a really good team -- it's a heck of a night."

The Celtics' success on the second night of a back-to-back ending on the road is downright absurd at this point. Typically one of the most challenging games for all 29 other NBA teams, Boston improved to 10-0 on the second nights of back-to-backs closing on the road since the All-Star break last season.

The Celtics are 3-0 in that situation this season, having posted wins in Houston, Miami and Charlotte. That's against three teams with a combined winning percentage of .559 this season. Which is to say that none of those games have been gimmes. And yet the Celtics keep finding ways to pull them out.

Evan Turner told reporters in Charlotte that Boston's record was "symbolic of our toughness."

During his on-court, postgame interview with CSNNE, Celtics point guard Avery Bradley said these wins show "how tough we are, how mature we're becoming. And it just shows a lot about our team. We take pride in back-to-backs. We take pride in just playing hard every single night. I'm proud of our team tonight."

Isaiah Thomas ✔ @Isaiah_Thomas
Bounce back from every loss like a REAL one #CsUP
7:27 PM - 12 Dec 2015
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In a way, the Celtics needed Saturday's game. The visit to Charlotte was bookended by visits from the Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, the top teams in each conference. Even with how well Boston has played recently, there was a risk of an extended losing streak because of the challenging competition.

Even after shooting a dismal 35.3 percent in the first half and mustering only 38 points at Saturday's intermission, the Celtics dug deep. They blistered the floor in the third quarter while connecting on 7 of 10 3-pointers (and actually led by as much as 12). The Hornets charged in the fourth quarter, but Bradley (team-high 23 points) hit some big shots (and had a couple key assists down the stretch, too) and Turner's contested layup in the final seconds sealed Boston's satisfying win.

The Celtics certainly helped their own cause Saturday by taking care of the basketball. Boston turned the ball over only five times. Isaiah Thomas, still sore about missing some potential winners Friday, did a good job directing Boston's offense Saturday, handing out a career-high 13 assists (to go along with 21 points).

Yes, on a night they probably should have lost, the Celtics found a way to win. And coupled with Golden State losing in Milwaukee, it was Boston that returned home with perhaps the most notable streak in the NBA.


bob


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