Being impressed by something means what you saw exceeded your expectations in some way. The exact same performance can be impressive under one circumstance but not under another.
What the Celtics did in the fourth quarter against the Mavs doesn’t jump off the page as an overly impressive 12 minutes of basketball. First of all, they lost the quarter by two. They shot 1-8 from 3. They were outscored, out-rebounded, and out-assisted.
And yet, to me, this was one of the more impressive closes to a game that I’ve seen this season.
Like I said, it’s the circumstances.
Boston was on the road against two of the league’s best players in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. They both have been known to close games strong, so being in a tight one in crunch time against those two is a challenge.
They were on a back-to-back and their third game in four nights, continuing a brutal schedule pace that is only just now settling down. They played 11 games in 18 nights, three sets of back-to-backs, and three sets of three-in-four. They played five games at home, and after four of those they had to get out and travel again, twice for back-to-backs.
So to close out this particular game the way they did, playing both ends of the floor and mostly executing well, is the definition of impressive.
“It's a tough little stretch of our season,” Jaylen Brown said. “Last couple of games before All-Star break, we wanted to make sure, tough road games, we come out and find a way to win. Tonight was an example of that.”
Fourth quarters are about making buckets because hitting shots makes it impossible for a team to pile up a run. Yes, the Celtics put up eight 3-pointers, but five of them came early. Boston was 1-3 in the final five minutes. When the Mavs were riding Doncic to a little bit of a comeback, the Celtics responded by getting to comfortable spots on the floor.
Brown had an opportunity to milk some clock in this possession, but instead he caught the ball and immediately made a move. It allowed him to get to a comfortable spot on the floor, stay patient, use his body to create some space, and hit a shot that has become a bit of a signature for him.
That went down as two points in the paint.
After that, it’s Jayson Tatum on Doncic and he went on the attack. He could have settled for a 3-pointer there … maybe one of his patented eight-dribble stepbacks where he falls and complains about a foul he didn’t get … but instead he drove. By doing that, he drew the attention of all five defenders.
That made the swing to Brown an easy pass, and it caused the overreaction that led to the foul.
With 10 eyes on him, Tatum made the pass, which was then swung to Brown for the one 3-point make of this stretch and a four-point play.
He followed that up with a monster block on Maxi Kleber on the other end, and then, yes, he settled for a 3-pointer. But that was the last of them. Of the final 3:13 of the game, Boston only attempted one more triple. Instead, they matched Dallas’ 10 points with 10 of their own, getting good looks like this one that started that closing stretch.
“You can't just like try to isolate them every time,” Tatum said. “You still want to move the ball, you want to move guys, try to make them play in space. We came in with the right intentions.”
Boston had an answer for everything Dallas threw at them. After the first fadeaway from Brown, the Mavs didn’t have a single scoring possession that the Celtics didn’t answer. The Mavs couldn't even put four or five points together without Boston adding points of their own.
This will be the grimy way the Celtics will have to close out playoff games. I know we’re all programmed to believe anything involving winning a game by less than your biggest fourth-quarter lead constitutes some sort of negative that needs to be addressed, but that's not how it works.
Other teams have good players too. Those guys will make plays because that's what they get paid to do. The key is to match them when they're on a tear so they can’t cut that lead down any further. What Boston did, especially given their schedule showed a level of poise and execution that was nothing less than impressive.
“It doesn’t mean we’re always going to win, it doesn’t mean we’re gonna play perfect, but our guys are just always ready to play,” Joe Mazzulla said. “I forgot it was on a back-to-back just watching our guys compete. I couldn't tell. It’s a credit to them.”