Last night the Boston Celtics hosted the Golden State Warriors in a chaotic Finals rematch thriller. This game went the distance after ending in a tie in regulation, the teams continued the battle deep into an overtime period. The Celtics ultimately emerged victorious which seemed highly unlikely of a result, based on their play through most of the game. Here are our takeaways from last night's rumble.
The win over the Warriors last night cemented Boston's 8th consecutive win on their current streak. Even on a seemingly "off night" shooting the ball, the Celtics refused to quit and somehow found a way to win this game. This win also lifted the "curse" that has been hanging over the heads of this Boston team when playing the Warriors in recent times.
THE GOOD:
While this game got off a rather ugly shooting performance night for the Celtics, the good outweighed the bad which helped them secure the win.
1. As both Jayson Tatum and Joe Mazzulla stated after the game, the team was able to "stick together and simply figure it out." They played team basketball late in the game which helped push this over the finish line.
2. As usual "Jayson Tatum" is at the top of the Good list. Tatum opened the game with what looked like a brutal shooting outing. He was missing inside looks along with several three point attempts. Even on an "off night", Tatum still scored 34 points and pulled down 19 rebounds. A grown man's performance.
3. Al Horford, A.K.A Big Al, had a monster night and once again put on a vintage performance when the C's most needed it. He had 20 points, 10 rebounds and a few extremely clutch defensive blocks.
4. Jaylen Brown finally found his shooting stroke very late in the game and in overtime. He punished the Warriors with a three point shot that tied the game late and sent it to overtime.
5. Rob Williams also had a double-double (the 3rd Celtics to do so) with 14 points, his season high. He also pulled down 11 rebounds with 7 of those on the offensive glass. The Celtics would have been lost without each one of those second chance opportunities.
6. Malcolm Brogdon once again proved his worth by adding 14 clutch points off the bench. This included a late three pointer to bring the game to within 5 points, ultimately kicking off the comeback.
THE NOT SO GOOD:
The Celtics shot rather poorly for most of the game, expect for the efficient spark in the 4th quarter and overtime (when it mattered most). They shot just 13-41 from deep.
Derrick White had miserable shooting night while going 0-6 from the floor. He made up for this with his tremendous defense and making big stops.
Beyond the performance from Brogdon, the Celtics bench only scored 5 points in a combined 38 minutes of playing time. This is a rare occurrence for this second unit and I wouldn't expect this to be a continuing trend.
Joe Mazzulla kept a very tight rotation in this game which felt similar to what you'd see in a playoff game. While this got him the win, it also forced his starters to play several extended minutes.
LOOKING FORWARD:
The Boston Celtics are on a heater right now, having won 8 straight games. They continue to be 4.5 games up on the nearest competition in the Eastern Conference and look unstoppable at the moment. Their next game will be on Saturday vs the Raptors on the road in Toronto. Will Joe give his guys some rest, or will we still be going full force? Tune in to find out, until then, let's go Celtics!
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