Boston Celtics fans rested their heads peacefully on their pillows last night after a momentum shifting win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Coming into last night's contest the Celtics were on a three game losing streak and desperately needed the opportunity to snap out of it. Let's just say, there were no boo's reigning down on the home team during this outing.
Last night's game started the same as the last few, a hard, fast paced effort by the Celtics drumming up an early lead but quickly losing that lead by late in Q1. The Celtics continued to have extreme struggles with their shooting, even on wide open looks. The NBA is a game of runs as they say and there were no shortage of runs in this game. The Wolves quickly got on track with Anthony Edwards leading the charge and went up by 2 points to end the first 24 minutes. Coming out of halftime the Celtics seemingly received the speech of the year from Joe Mazzulla because they came out swinging, started hitting shots and lever lost faith in their abilities.
While the full team put out great efforts, we would not have stood a chance without Derrick White and Al Horford, finally playing like their true selves. Derrick and Al both hit big shots down the stretch, keeping the Celtics within striking distance. Derrick finished the game at a +23, the highest for the Celtics team.
THE SMART FACTOR
Fortunately for the Celtics, Marcus Smart returned to the floor and it was nothing but "Love and Trust" from the veteran guard. Critics over the years have relentlessly said that Smart is a not a natural passer or play maker. Well.. let's address the haters. From the start, it was no coincidence that the Celtics looked locked in for the first time in several games. They moved the ball with pace, found the open man, didn't settle for forced shots. But perhaps most importantly, they played with some damn heart. Most of these efforts won't be reflected in the box score, but you can guarantee this would have been a loss without their most senior Celtic.
Marcus Smart finished the game with at a +20 rating, with 10 assists, 3 steals and 0 turnovers. His leadership capabilities speak volumes amongst this group, put simply it's impossible not to Love and Trust this man.
THE JAYS - NEED I SAY MORE?
Ok.. a little more. Anytime the Celtics go on a slight skid of losses, the Media and critics around the league love to point to this duo having a problem playing together. Admittedly, things did not look too great to start this game together, but boy did that quickly change in the second half.
Jay 1 (Jaylen): In what looked like it was going to be another abomination of a shooting night for Jaylen brown, quickly turned into one of his "vintage" dominant performances. And by vintage I mean prior to the last two weeks. Jaylen battled some demons during the game, even air-balling a wide open corner three ball at one point. The professional that Jaylen Brown is enabled him to fight back and quickly turn his performance around. After a few highflying dunks and clutch jumpers, JB finished the game as the high scorer with 36 points.
Jay 2 (Jayson): Coming off a 41 MVP caliber performance two nights ago, Jayson Tatum looked locked in from the tipoff. The last two games Jayson Tatum has just had that "look" in his eye that said, you better just stay out of my way. One thing I've loved watching about his development is his ability to stay calm, consistent and overall dominant even against great teams and players. He does not back down from a challenge and there is a reason he is near the top of the MVP race. Tatum showcased his clutch shot making and playmaking all night long. JT finished the game with 30 points, 8 boards and 5 assists.
LOOKING FORWARD
It was a fun one in Boston, the Celtics finally looked like they were enjoying themselves out there while getting back into the win column. The Celtics will have just one night off before facing off with the Bucks on Christmas day. Can they keep the positive energy going and bring home a W against another great team? We will find out soon, let's go Celtics!
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