Gordon Hayward, meet Avery Bradley.
Oh, and welcome to the block party.
The Boston Celtics reversed roles Monday night with the Utah Jazz, whose frontline blocked seven shots against the C’s 10 days ago. On this night, on Boston’s home court, it was the Celtics who turned into a group of shot-blocking menaces.
Boston racked up a season-best 13 blocks on the night and none was more impressive than Bradley’s in the clutch; he pretty much destroyed Hayward on the most critical possession of the game.
Following a Jae Crowder 3-pointer that splashed through the net with 30.4 seconds left – which put the Celtics ahead 96-95 – Hayward, who stands in at 6-foot-8, took possession of the ball along the left baseline of Utah’s end of the court. The 6-foot-2 Bradley was defending him, and Hayward saw that as an advantage he needed to exploit.
Hayward turned away from the basket and began backing Bradley down toward the rim. This was an opportunity for Utah’s scoring leader to show off his strong post-up abilities.
Everything went as planned for Hayward. That is, until he actually took the shot.
Hayward timed his move, created a bit of space, and rose up for a shot from about 15 feet out. Bradley mirrored him perfectly and just happened to rise higher – high enough to swallow Hayward’s shot up with his right hand.
Bradley’s rejection sent the Garden into a frenzy before the guard was fouled at the other end of the court. He went to the line and hit one of his two free throws, then added two more freebies after Amir Johnson hauled in his miss.
Those free throws put Boston on top 99-95 with 12.8 seconds left and essentially sealed the game.
No one knows what would have happened had Bradley, regarded by many as the top on-ball defender in the NBA, hadn’t eaten Hayward and his post-up shot for dinner.
“Jae hits big shots like that,” Brad Stevens said Monday night. And by “that,” he means game-winners in front of a raucous crowd.
Crowder sank the go-ahead basket Monday night against the Utah Jazz that propelled Boston to a 100-95 victory. He nailed the shot from the right wing after Isaiah Thomas hit him with a kick-out pass, and No. 99 held the swan up for good form.
The game-winner brought Crowder’s total to 22 points on the night, which stood as the game high. He hit seven of his 12 shots on the night, including three of his five 3-point attempts.
As always, the swingman also provided a boost in many other categories. He dished out four assists, hauled in three boards and tied for the game high with two steals.
This was a fantastic all-around performance by Crowder that was capped by a game-changing trey in the clutch.
Brad Stevens after being made aware that 11 Celtics blocked a shot in the game.
