Everything you need to know about the Celtics’ 94-88 win over the Wolves in quickie form.
HEADLINES
The shots don’t fall, so the Celtics hit the glass: The Celtics had their worst shooting night of the year from 3-point range (6-of-36) but they managed to crash the glass hard after those misses, piling up a season-high 17 offensive rebounds, 11 of which came in the second half. Those extra chances led to 19 second chance points, which helped the Celtics pull away late behind the offense of Marcus Smart (team-high 18 points) and all-around contributions from Kyrie Irving (16 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists) and Al Horford (7 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists).
Defense carries the day: Both teams combined to shoot 38 percent from the field and miss 90 shots on the night. It was hideous basketball on the whole until the fourth quarter as the Wolves looked like a road-weary team, while the Celtics couldn’t find their rhythm. The Celtics held their opponent to a season-low point total for the second straight game, showing improved defensive focus.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics went extra big at the beginning of the fourth quarter with a front line of Aron Baynes and Daniel Theis alongside three guards in Irving, Smart, and Terry Rozier. That unit may not have played a minute together all year long but they managed to break open the game with a 7-1 run. That created enough of a cushion in a low scoring affair for the Celtics to rid to the win.
TWO UP
Marcus Smart: On a night that was chalk full of brick for both teams, Smart was the only Celtic with a consistent touch on his jump shot inside the arc. He feasted in the paint and across the midrange against a Wolves defense that was content to let him keep firing away. Smart punished them with a team-high 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting, while spending most of the night posting
Daniel Theis: With Marcus Morris getting a night off for knee rehab, Theis (eight points, 10 rebounds) was the featured big man off the Celtics' bench. The German center matched up well against a more traditional Wolves frontcourt of Towns/Gibson/Dieng and Brad Stevens went to him early and often to help spread the floor with his 3-point shooting from the wing. He also fought hard on the glass all night against Towns, limiting the center from taking over the game entirely on the boards.
TWO DOWN
3-point shooting: The Wolves (30 percent) struggling from 3-point range (28th in NBA on season) is no surprise, but the Celtics (season-low 16 percent) dropped far below that level with their worst shooting night of the year from the perimeter. Both squads fired up countless uncontested bricks from beyond the arc, combining to shoot an ugly 22 percent from downtown (13-of-59)
First half offense for the starting five: The Celtics four best scorers are in the starting lineup but that quartet of Horford, Irving, Tatum and Brown combined to score just 15 points in the first half on 31 percent shooting (6-of-19). The open jumpers weren’t falling but there was also a lack of cohesiveness and rhythm early that resulted in the hosts settling for shots outside the paint with that grouping.
TOP PLAY
Jayson Tatum throws the hammer down! ???pic.twitter.com/GBdmcZ4bfq
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 6, 2018
The Celtics are re-establishing their defensive identity: You wouldn’t know it by watching this game but the Wolves have one of the five-best offenses in the NBA. Towns got his but no one else on the Minnesota roster shot better than 50 percent from the field outside of Jamal Crawford. After a midseason lull during a hellacious December schedule, the Celtics have looked like the best defense in the league yet again over the past couple weeks. That’s an encouraging sign on nights like Friday when the offense and shooting is non-existent for the better part of three quarters.