Crawford's Timing Couldn't Be Better

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Crawford's timing couldn't be better
December 7, 2013, 12:00 am




BOSTON — When it comes to getting a much-needed basket, the Boston Celtics are about as unpredictable a team as you'll find in the NBA.

But lately, Jordan Crawford seems to be at his best shooting the ball when the Celtics need some offensive punch.

He certainly was on Friday night as the Celtics withstood a second half collapse in defeating Denver 106-98.

Crawford led all scorers with 22 points and eight assists.

But it wasn't just the amount of points he scored; the timing of them was even more important.

After leading by as many as 27 points in the first half, Denver opened the third quarter with a 9-0 run.

It was Crawford's 9-footer in the lane that pushed the Celtics lead back to 13 points with almost 10 minutes to play.

And later in the third when Denver had cut Boston's lead down to just three points, the Celtics closed out the quarter with an 11-4 run which included two points and an assist from Crawford.

In the fourth quarter, the Nuggets were down to the game's final minute and trailed by just seven points.

Once again it was Crawford stepping up with a 3-pointer - his only made basket in the fourth - that gave the Celtics a 10-point lead with 39.5 seconds to play.

After the game, Crawford tried to downplay his timely shot-making.

"I mean it is just the way the game goes down," he said. "I had the ball in my hands and I wanted to get a quality shot. I had a little mismatch. I (took) the shot and thankfully it went in."

Balancing when to attack as a scorer and when to find teammates seems to be something Crawford is improving in as the season progresses.

"Some games call for me to be more aggressive," he said. "You know the score of the game sometimes dictates me getting teammates involved. See what the defense gives me and just play off that."



bob


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