It didn’t take long for Brad Stevens to rip into his players Friday night at TD Garden.
It also didn’t take those players long to respond.
Stevens called a timeout just 88 seconds into Boston’s bout with Washington after the C’s fell behind 6-2 early on. All six of Washington’s points were scored off of layups, with the final two coming on an easy fast break bucket by Bradley Beal.
“Everyone has a job,” Stevens told his players during the timeout, CSNNE’s Abby Chin reported. “Right now that job is to get back on defense.”
And so they did.
Boston limited the Wizards to just eight points over the next five minutes and 27 seconds. Meanwhile, the Celtics began to singe the nets at the other end.
The C’s, led by Isaiah Thomas (12 points) and Jared Sullinger (11 points), shot a ridiculous 16-of-23 from the field after their coach’s early timeout. Yeah, that’s 69.6 percent.
You know what? Let’s just round it up and call it 70 percent.
All told, Boston scored 40 points during the frame, marking its highest single-quarter output of the season (and the second-highest single-quarter total in the entire league). Its next-best total was 33, and it had scored 40 or fewer points in two of its eight previous halves this season.
A stellar first quarter allowed the C’s to hold a 40-25 lead after the first 12 minutes of play. And Boston’s momentum spilled into the second period as well.
The C’s opened the second period on a 12-2 run and eventually pulled ahead by as many as 30 points before halftime. They took a 72-50 lead into the locker rooms and cruised to a 118-98 victory.
And it all started with that timeout, just 88 seconds after tip-off.
You’ll hear plenty about Jared Sullinger’s night against the Washington Wizards. And maybe about Isaiah Thomas’ night, too.
But what about Kelly Olynyk?
Olynyk played about as well as a reserve can play in 27 minutes of action. He stuffed the stat sheet full across the board while acting as Boston’s top reserve.
The 7-foot big man, in his third NBA season, dropped 19 Friday night. And boy, was he efficient.
A miss was a rare occurrence for Olynyk, who shot a ridiculous 7-of-11 on the night. He canned three of his five 3-point attempts, including one in which he was knocked to the floor by his defender (but didn’t get a whistle).
Stuffing the stat sheet requires much more than just scoring points. Olynyk also chipped in seven boards and four assists on offense. At the defensive end, his hands were as active as they’ve ever been. He wound up with four steals and a blocked shot on the night.
Sullinger had a fantastic performance with his 21 points and eight rebounds. So, too, did Thomas, with his 16 points and eight assists. But we can’t forget about the reserves. A night like this one from Olynyk deserves plenty of love.
Brad Stevens on Boston’s hot shooting performance.
