The Boston Celtics dropped the first game of the new year, on the road in Denver, 123-111 on Sunday night, in what turned out to be an odd night all around for the Celtics.
To open the game, the Celtics shot 3-of-14 from deep, finishing the first quarter shooting 10-of-24. There were way too many 3’s being shot with negative results in the opening frame.
As the game went on, the three-ball continued to not fall for the Celtics, as they finished 9-for-33 as a team, making it the third time this year they’ve made less than 10 3-pointers in a game.
There were four players who accounted for 12 3-point attempts combined, but made none of them:
- Jayson Tatum (0-4)
- Marcus Smart (0-4)
- Malcolm Brogdon (0-3)
- Grant Williams (0-1)
While Boston finished the night shooting 27.3 percent from deep, Denver was hitting on 56.7 percent of their 3-pointers, making a comeback feel near impossible in a game lost by 12.
A key moment in the game, despite the loss, was Tatum realizing he wasn’t shooting the ball well, forcing himself to drive more to the basket, earning 14 trips to the free throw line (11-14). When you look at his stats without the 3-pointers, Tatum finished 7-of-12 on the night for 25-points isn’t too bad.
This game was all about Jaylen Brown, as he’s the only one who seemed ready to play from the start of the game. He finished with 30-points on 12-for-20 shooting from the field and made four 3-pointers along the way. It was the 13th game that Brown scored at least 30-points this season.
Near the middle of the fourth quarter, it seems as if Rob Williams knocked the rim off it’s axis after a huge dunk that took the crew in Denver over 40-minutes to try and fix the situation, causing an in-game delay.
In all, this was just an odd night for the entire team. The Celtics are 24-4 in games with one day or less in between, but are 2-7 in games with two or more days in between, which is also an odd thing for any team.
The Celtics will look to get back on track for Tuesday night in Oklahoma City for a battle with SGA and the Thunder.
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Photo Credit: David Zalubowski, AP