It didn’t take long for the Celtics to put the Pistons away Wednesday night at TD Garden. It took three minutes and 29 seconds, to be exact.
Boston controlled the majority of the first half but turned this contest into a blowout during the final minutes of the second quarter. The C’s doubled their lead from 10 to 20 points over the final three-plus minutes and cruised to a 102-95 win.
Just as it did Tuesday night in New York, Boston’s defense sparked its offense. The C’s held Detroit without a field goal and forced four turnovers over the final 3:43 of the first half.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the court, Boston canned five of its last seven shots of the quarter to stretch out an 12-2 run. Marcus Smart keyed the spurt by nailing two 3-pointers during the final minute alone, the latter of which splashed through the net just ahead of the halftime buzzer.
That’s how Boston and its crowd went into the break, and they held onto their lead well into the second half. Detroit attempted a comeback during the final minutes but never sliced the C’s lead below seven points.
The Swiss Army Knife keeps on cutting – right through opponents.
Evan Turner continues to be a jack-of-all-trades for the Celtics. Just one night removed from logging his second double-double of the season, he returned to TD Garden and stuffed the stat sheet against Detroit.
The versatile forward paced Boston’s offense with 14 points to go along with five helpers. He shot an efficient 4-of-8 from the floor and drained all six of his free throws on the night.
Brad Stevens has lauded Turner all season long as being a reliable defender at multiple positions. Turner acted as such again Wednesday night, and this time he logged some numbers as a result. He tied for the game high in blocked shots with two, which tied his career high in the category. Turner also hauled in six defensive rebounds on the night.
Brad Stevens how confidence and playing well correlate to holding onto leads.
