Well, that came out of nowhere.
It looked as if the Celtics and the Hornets were already in Christmas chill mode during the first half of Wednesday night’s matchup in Charlotte. Then the third quarter happened, and Boston ran away with a 102-89 win.
Both teams shot worse than 40 percent from the field during the first half, and overall, the level of play was relatively low at both ends of the court. Boston held onto a 47-40 lead at the break, thanks in large part to its four made 3s – two more than Charlotte – on 15 attempts.
The third quarter was a much different story. The C’s suddenly caught fire and began playing with swag.
Boston scored 20 points over the first 6:39 of the third period to extend its lead to 17 points. It shot 8-of-15 from the field during that span, including two 3-pointers and quite possibly the highlight play of Kelly Olynyk’s young career.
With 6:39 left on the clock in the third quarter, Jared Sullinger fired up a 3 from the left wing that just didn’t have enough lift. It was so flat, in fact, that all of Boston’s players began retreating to the defensive end as the ball flew through the air.
Well, except for Olynyk.
Olynyk crashed to the glass from beyond the 3-point line on the right wing and rose up over three Hornets players for an attempt at the rebound. But he did far more than add a tally to his rebounding total.
Olynyk crawled up the back of Marvin Williams and, with just his right hand, grabbed the ball as it bounced off of the rim and threw it back down with force, sending Boston’s bench into a state of disbelief. Watch the play here.
The Celtics never looked back from there. They pulled ahead by 20 at one point and their lead never dropped below six over the remainder of the night.
Jae Crowder is quietly putting together the best stretch of his NBA career. He’s scoring, he’s rebounding, and he’s doing both at a consistently high level.
Crowder notched his third consecutive double-double Wednesday night in Charlotte, taking his season total to four. He led the game in rebounds with 12 and also scored 19 points, which fell just one shy of Kelly Olynyk’s team-best total of 20 on the night.
Charlotte sniffed a comeback during the fourth quarter after falling behind by as many as 20 points, but Crowder thwarted the hosts’ comeback attempt with one of the biggest shots of the night. He grabbed a loose ball at the right elbow after his teammate, Tyler Zeller, had his shot blocked. In one motion, Crowder rose up to can a smooth jumper as the shot clock expired.
That basket put Boston on top by 11 with 5:28 remaining. Had he not grabbed that loose ball, and had he not canned the shot, Charlotte would have had a chance to crawl to within seven points.
Despite misfiring on all five of his 3-point shots, Crowder finished the game having made half of his 16 field goal attempts. He shot 8-for-11 from inside the arc, including six connections on midrange jumpers.
Crowder was asked after the game where this stretch ranks in his career and he answered without a doubt, “It’s the best so far.”
It would be difficult to disagree.
Kelly Olynyk on his putback dunk, and Evan Turner’s comment that Olynyk is one of the best “sneaky dunkers” on the team.
