Finally, the Celtics took care of business during a matchup against one of the NBA’s bottom feeders. Boston, which had dropped games to the Lakers, the Nets and the Knicks since Dec. 30, put the 76ers away early Sunday night.
The Celtics never trailed from the 10:14 mark of the first quarter until the end of the night. The took control of the game early on in the second period and never gave the Sixers life from that point on.
Kelly Olynyk and Marcus Smart combined to score the final three points of the opening quarter. Boston then scored the first seven of the second quarter to open up a 37-25 lead, their largest of the night to that point.
The run kept on coming after a quick free throw from Philadelphia’s Ish Smith. Jae Crowder and Smart, who each nailed three 3-pointers during the first half, canned back-to-back treys to bump Boston’s lead up to 17 at the 6:16 mark of the second quarter. They would go on to pull ahead by as many as 29 points and cruised to a 112-92 win.
Winter Storm Jonas delayed this contest from Saturday night to Sunday night. However, it couldn’t delay the inevitable: Boston taking care of business against a subpar Sixers team.
Some Celtics were upset that their tilt with the Sixers was delayed from Saturday to Sunday. Marcus Smart? Not so much.
“The snow is a good thing for me,” he said Saturday afternoon, “because I can get up some (extra) shots (at the practice facility.”
Smart had shot just 33.2 percent from the floor and 15.6 percent from long range during his first 14 games back from a lower left leg injury. Those percentages spiked dramatically Sunday night, one day after Smart put in extra work after Boston’s practice.
Smart scored 16 points on the night, including a 3-for-6 performance from downtown. That 3-point output matched his best of the season. The guard shot 6-for-11 overall on the night.
Defense, Smart’s calling card, was also a highlight of his performance. He was all over Philly’s ballhandlers and grabbed a game-high four steals on the night.
Brad Stevens left Smart in at the game for 28-plus minutes. Twelve of those minutes were logged during the fourth quarter, when the guard was joined by many of Boston’s end-of-bench players such as Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter. His plus/minus rating of plus-two would have been much better had he not been in the game for those relatively meaningless minutes.
No one on the inside of Boston’s locker room is worried about Smart’s plus/minus rating, however. They’re much more interested in the fact that Saturday’s snow day allowed him to find his rhythm at the offensive end.
Marcus Smart on the Celtics arriving at their hotel in Philadelphia at 11 a.m. this morning.
