BOSTON – Lucky the Leprechaun has long been the top acrobat within the Boston Celtics’ organization, but Evan Turner has been giving the C’s mascot a run for his money lately.
The 27-year-old swingman has been raising eyebrows at TD Garden recently with his high-flying, circus-like layup attempts that more often than not seem to miraculously find their way through the net.
Turner brought out all of his rim-running tricks Sunday night with a 19-point effort off the bench, which helped spark Boston to a 100-91 win against the New York Knicks at TD Garden.
ET was extremely efficient shooting the ball during the winning effort, hitting 8-of-11 shots from the field, including 5-of-6 from within the restricted area. He continuously weaved his way to the basket like a nimble crocheter, drawing multiple Knicks his way, which enabled Boston to space the floor and open up scoring opportunities.
“Any time you get inside the other team’s paint it always makes them move around and it kind of causes a little bit of panic,” Turner said after the game. “I think that helps a lot and from there we can make a lot of things happen, whether it be kick-out, wide-open 3s and things like that.”
Turner’s kick-out passes are often on display when he’s on the court, though because of his hot hand Sunday night, those extra passes weren’t even necessary most of the time.
He only dished out two assists, but that was largely due to the fact that he was riding his hot hand in the paint. Two of Turner’s drives in particular were incredibly impressive, even by his standards.
The first was a flawless up-and-under layup during the second quarter, which he made look easy. He drove along the baseline, leapt for the lay-in, and adjusted mid-air to avoid Langston Galloway’s block attempt, before completing the stylish reverse finish.
Then, during the third quarter, Turner made one of his most astonishing layup attempts to date when he zigzagged his way from the left wing, through the paint to the right side of the hoop, before slipping past Robin Lopez for an awkward right-handed reverse finish on the left side of the rim.
Celtics fans were blown away by both baskets; his teammates, on the other hand, have come to expect these circus shots, as they see them on a regular basis.
“I see a lot of it in practice; I know exactly what he can do,” said an unphased Jae Crowder after the game. “I watched him in college as well, so I don’t get surprised at all.”
Turner’s teammates may no longer be shocked by his unique finishing tendencies, but they certainly cherish those driving abilities. Having a guy that can cut to the hoop is extremely valuable, especially for a Celtics team that does not have a lot of lane-driving threats.
“We try to get him going on that end of the court because he’s such a great scorer and such a great distributor,” said Crowder. “I think guys play off of him well and he finds guys well and he can score the ball well, and he proved that tonight.”
Turner also proved it Saturday night during a 13-point effort in Detroit. And during both contests he has limited his errors, which is difficult to do when driving the hoop in such herky-jerky manner.
“Evan had a couple of mistakes [Saturday night], a couple tonight but two pretty darn good games in a row,” said C’s coach Brad Stevens. “Tonight I thought he was really solid for us. I couldn’t take him out of the game.”
That issue may continue for Stevens if Turner keeps capitalizing at the rim the way he has been. The combination of his awareness and athleticism is enabling him to convert these unconventional, acrobatic layups at a high rate, and the rest of the Celtics are benefiting as a result.
