BOSTON — Had the Celtics or New Orleans Pelicans been anywhere close to championship contention, Monday night’s tilt at TD Garden would have been one of the best of this NBA season.
The Celtics and Pelicans were neck-and-neck throughout the contest, with the score tied after the first and second quarters and New Orleans holding a slim four-point advantage at the end of three.
Neither team could gain a significant advantage until the game’s final moments, when a corner 3-pointer by Marcus Smart proved to be the clincher in a 108-100 Celtics win.
CROWDER MANIA
Jae Crowder took over for Jeff Green in the Celtics’ starting lineup, but he wasn’t expected to come close to matching Green’s scoring output. Well, he did both Monday, surpassing his career high in points midway through the third quarter and finishing with 22 on 9-of-14 shooting.
Crowder did it all without sacrificing his trademark intensity (four steals, two blocks) despite playing a team-high 36 minutes. The highlight of Crowder’s night came in these final moments of the first half, as Avery Bradley found him for an late alley-oop to tie the score at 49 apiece entering the break.
Crowder later drilled a bank-shot, straightaway 3-pointer to give the Celtics a four-point lead with less than five minutes to play.
KELLY FOUL-YNYK
Kelly Olynyk could not seem to avoid the referee’s whistle. Olynyk picked up five fouls (and two points) in his first 11 minutes of action, prompting Celtics coach Brad Stevens to call on Gerald Wallace to defend Pelicans star Anthony Davis during the third quarter.
Why Wallace? Well, the man who started over Olynyk wasn’t looking particularly hot, either. Tyler Zeller missed his first eight shots and had picked up three fouls of his own at the time.
SULLINGER FINISHES STRONG
Jared Sullinger was one of Boston’s more productive players through the first three quarters, but he found another gear in the fourth. Thirteen of his 27 points and five of his 10 rebounds came in the final frame.
BIG NIGHT FOR THE ‘BROW
Per usual, Davis powered the Pelicans’ offense. The third-year center, who quickly has blossomed into one of the NBA’s best players, racked up a game-high 34 points to go along with nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks to a losing effort.
Davis also was money at the foul line (14 of 15) and scored 13 of New Orleans’ 24 fourth-quarter points.
Thumbnail photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images
