Giving up massive runs has been an all-too-common theme for the Celtics in recent weeks, especially on the road. They are 1-6 in their last seven games away from the TD Garden and have been outscored in the third quarter of those contests by an average of 5.4 points.
The worst quarter among them would have to be the 44-point spot that the Nets put up on Monday night that turned a two-point game into a 24-point blowout in just seven game-changing minutes. What went wrong during those seven minutes? Was it as bad as it looked? And who deserves the lion’s share of the blame? Let’s take a closer look at the carnage to figure out what Brad Stevens will be harping on these guys (and himself) for ahead of Wednesday’s showdown with the Raptors.
1. D’Angelo Russell made some ridiculous shots
While the Celtics had countless miscues in this quarter, the offensive explosion by Brooklyn started with Russell, who scored 18 of his game-high 34 points in the frame. While a number of these shots came via uncontested shots (9-of-19 on the night), a number of his makes in the third quarter went down despite strong defensive efforts by Boston. It’s going to be hard for Stevens to get too worked up about shots like these going down.
.@Dloading hits the tough runner ? pic.twitter.com/NBFqkfbLy8
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 15, 2019
D’Angelo Russell puts the moves on Hayward and finishes with the sweet stepback
He has 33 points so far after 3 quarters! pic.twitter.com/Xr77UIORIg
— Basketball Forever (@Bballforeverfb) January 15, 2019
D’Angelo Russell knocks down the three. He’s up to 20 points, midway through the 3rd quarter.#WeGoHard pic.twitter.com/ZFwR0IiZec
— Sports Notes (@TheSportsNotes) January 15, 2019
Doing it inside too. @RODIONS1 with the vet moves ? pic.twitter.com/Vhscsg3YWf
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 15, 2019
Totally how we planned it.#WeGoHard pic.twitter.com/S9L7XPnFcb
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 15, 2019