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Celtics Wrap: Kyrie Irving Drops 34 Points As C’s Steamroll Hornets 134-106

NESN by Logan Mullen on Wed, Feb 28, 2018 at 9:43PM

The wins just keep on piling up for the Boston Celtics. The C’s rolled through the Charlotte Hornets 134-106 on Wednesday night at TD Garden, earning their fourth straight win since returning from the All-Star break. Wednesday’s win can be attributed largely to the stellar performance of point guard Kyrie Irving, who dropped 34 points as Boston shot a season-best 62.1 (54-for-87) from the field. Jaylen Brown (15), Marcus Morris (15), Greg Monroe (14),Terry Rozier (14), Aron Baynes (12) and Marcus Smart (10) all notched double-figures for the Celtics as well. Kemba Walker led Charlotte with 23 points. The Celtics climb to 44-19 with the win, while the Hornets fall to 28-34. Here’s how it all went down:

STARTING FIVE PG: Kyrie Irving SG: Jaylen Brown SF: Jayson Tatum PF: Al Horford C: Aron Baynes

KYRIE GOES OFF EARLY Irving wasted no time going wild in the first quarter. The star point guard dropped 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting (2-for-3 from 3-point territory) with three assists and as many rebounds as the Celtics finished the first 12 minutes up 37-31. A 7-0 run over nearly a minute early in the game gave the Celtics some breathing room, but the Hornets chipped away at the lead — which grew to as many as eight at one point — to keep things tight. But after Charlotte pulled within a pair with just over four minutes to play, the Celtics scored seven of the final 11 points of the quarter, capped off by a Morris buzzer-beater.

POINT GUARD BATTLE An 8-0 run over 1:33 early in the second helped the Celtics build their lead to as many as 14, but they again let Charlotte back in the game. The Hornets put together a 10-2 run over 1:32 to cut the Celtics’ advantage to 51-47 with 4:29 to play. But Boston surged in the final moments of the quarter yet again, scoring six of the last eight points over the final 1:19 to go into the break up 67-59. Irving continued his offensive success, totaling 24 points at the end of the half, while Walker rivaled him with 21 points by shooting 8-for-8 from the field.

RUNNING AWAY It didn’t take long for the Celtics to grow their eight-point advantage, as they began the third with a 9-2 run over the first 2:22 to go up 76-61. That certainly served as a precursor to what would take place over the course of the quarter, as Boston kept deluging points and extending their lead to as many as 26. After outscoring Charlotte 36-20 in the third, Boston entered the final stanza leading 103-79. Irving added another 10 points to bring his total for the night to 34.

RESERVES PRESERVE LEAD Boston head coach Brad Stevens sent his reserves out in the fourth to finish up the game, but that didn’t stop the Celtics from continuing to crush the Hornets. The C’s inflated their lead to a game-high 32 at one point, as Rozier tallied 10 points in the quarter.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT This one gave us a headache.

UP NEXT The Celtics have a big road date in Houston with the Rockets on Saturday night. Tip from the Toyota Center is set for 8:30 p.m. ET.
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This was a pretty complete game by Boston.  They scored a ton of points and won every QTR.  Charlotte had won 5 straight so they were not exactly chop liver. 4 players off the bench were in double figure.  

The Celtics shot exceptionally well 62.1% FG, 60.0% 3PFG, 93.3% Ft.

Now they head out on the road with a rematch with the Beard & Company.

Are we really that good?  I doubt it, how could we be?  They were without Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.  We were without Theis.  Sorry, not as big a difference as the score.  

Sean Grande @SeanGrandePBP
yesterday
The Celtics had gone 1,113 games since scoring 134 points in regulation, and 543 games since shooting 62% from the floor.

The referreeing was atrocious, and I'm saying that after a 28 point blowout win by the Celtics.  So it's not sour grapes.  They were atrocious on both ends.  Just really bad.

Kyrie rained 34 on them, 13-18 no less, but I have to give the game ball to Baynes.  He was getting the ever-lovin' shit kicked out of him in the first half by Dwight Howard, due to the refs letting Howard bulldoze him, but he fought hard.  Offensively, Baynes was 6-7, with his only miss an 8' lefty hook along the baseline.  The rest of his fgas/fgm were elbow jumpers, which Howard refused to come out of the restricted area to challenge.  Baynes was setting picks for Kyrie and freeing him up because Howard wouldn't leave the restricted area.  Howard's game is 20th century and we're almost at the end of the 2nd decade of the 21st.  Only 3 rebounds for Howard.  Baynes had 10.  10 and 12 in 22 is an excellent night for All of Australia.  There aren't many mastodons like Howard left in the league but I'm glad we have Baynesy to handle them when they show up.  Strangely, Baynes seems to take his in-close shots and dunks with his left hand but shoots from range as a righty.  Never seen that from a player before.  Ambidextrous, sure, but the opposite consistently?  Nope, haven't noticed that before.

Jeremy Lamb, the NBA's #1 bench scorer, scored 10 points with most of them in garbage time.  The Smart Effect.

7 Celtics in double figures, and Horford was not one of them.  Nice.

Best game so far by Monroe.  Some time off to learn the plays and practice with the team is what he needed.  

Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
yesterday
Stevens said Monroe worked out with the Celtics' young guards. It turns out they were Ojeleye and Nader. Lol guards

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http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400975662






bob



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I don't think that missing Smart was why the Celts struggled prior to the break. But with him back, we've had 4 good games. I know that Memphis and the Knicks are in free fall. Detroit and Charlotte aren't terrible but won't likely make the playoffs. Still, the Celts did their job winning 2 in the 4th and controlling the other 2.

KyleCleric wrote:I don't think that missing Smart was why the Celts struggled prior to the break. But with him back, we've had 4 good games. I know that Memphis and the Knicks are in free fall. Detroit and Charlotte aren't terrible but won't likely make the playoffs. Still, the Celts did their job winning 2 in the 4th and controlling the other 2.

until we lose one with him back, I say it's ALL smart!!

Every team that has a great record has beaten a lot of bad teams and some good ones.

The Celtics offense looks much better and I think it has more to do with the way they are playing rather than just bad opponents.

Remaining games against Houston, 2 with Toronto, 1 at Washington are the toughest games remaining.

I think that as Monroe becomes more comfortable his effectiveness will increase. It is nice to see a guy that can score in the low post. That has been missing from every one of Brad's teams.

Blasted the Hornets on the boards by 18 may have something to do with such an easy game.

Over the past 5 games the Celtics are averaging over 118 point per game.

It wasn't just missing Smart. The raw talent is too young to succeed without major support from veterans. There was a time when Horford and Rozier was all there was for point guards and they aren't pg's. Jaylen Brown handled the point for at least five minutes. Larkin missed his big chance. Morris was hurt a lot.

Simply put, so I don't ball hog the blog, there is zero wiggle room for this roster. Acquiring Monroe helps. It's interesting that Theis and Baynes have excelled since his arrival. Maybe it's a coincidence. All of the banged up guys returning is definitely great news. They weren't going anywhere relying on Shane, Semi and Abdel.

I agree yet again with a lot of Dboss' comments. The competition has been easy, but the offense has turned it up a big time notch and it looks real. I agree there are a few big games left to watch for. I definitely agree with Kdp (who I think watched my back for pro-Sully in China comments) that Smart looks like The Truth volume 2. It looked like Sully lost a lot of weight, but Smart has shown what it really means to get into athletic shape. Come on Sully, lose those final 14-20 pounds or maybe he has. Once we got Monroe, I had to give up on Sully returning. I'm shocked no one has picked him up. Maybe I was wrong, but he looked great in those games, a lot thinner and hustling.

I might sound hypocritical because I was not pro-Smart as the season continued. But just look at him. He is a new man. All bets are off that this is a bridge year. Smart's return paid off like everyone was hoping.

Dboss is correct, though, that good teams take care of bad ones. Thus, Saturday at Houston should explain a lot more. I like that they are getting nice chunks of rest in between games. I think Tatum will be okay. He needs to stay calm and play his role. And I loved Kyrie's passing last night especially out of the gate. Monroe says he just wants to add to what is already here. The basketball karma is getting very good at the right time. So keep it steady with no injuries and the C's might not be that far off from Golden State and a possible miracle finish for #18.

If you look the way Danny has put the finishing touches on this team they now have the ability and manpower to go big or small or somewhere in between. 

I think this team is ready for a deep run in the playoffs.

wideclyde wrote:Blasted the Hornets on the boards by 18 may have something to do with such an easy game.

I'm not sure if the stat is more effect than cause. You make your shots, less of a chance for a defensive rebound.

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