Admit it, you probably didn’t spend your Thursday night watching the Boston Celtics take on the Philadelphia 76ers.
You likely were tuned in to Bruins-Canadiens. Or Patriots-Jets. Or the NLCS.
On a stacked sports night, preseason basketball probably wasn’t high on the lists of most non-diehards.
Well, you didn’t miss much.
The Celtics built a double-digit lead less than five minutes in and never looked back en route to a 111-91 demolition of the 76ers at Wells Fargo Center.
The loss snapped a two-game losing streak for the C’s and evened their preseason record at 3-3 with two exhibitions remaining.
While the game itself lacked drama, it did feature a few notable individual performances. Let’s review:
— The Sixers left Celtics shooters open for 3-pointers all night long. So, Boston just kept shooting, and shooting, and shooting. The Celtics jacked up 37 threes in the game, more than they took in any single game all of last season.
— The man driving that 3-point train early was Avery Bradley, who put on one of his best shooting performances of the preseason, scoring all 20 of his points in the first half while going 7-for-12 from the floor. He was especially effective from deep, sinking five of his first six threes.
Bradley is known best for his skill on the defensive end, but he has made a habit of taking a ton of shots this preseason, particularly early in games. Celtics head coach Brad Stevens spoke after the game about the connection between the two aspects of the guard’s game.
“I thought Avery did a good job,” Stevens told reporters. “I told Avery, the biggest thing that he can do is he needs to let his defense fuel his offense and not the other way around. And (Thursday), I really thought he did that, and I really think that when he plays his best, that’s what he does.”
— A small reminder of how things are going out in L.A. right now:
[tweet https://twitter.com/JeffZillgitt/status/522901966188740608 align=’center’]
— Kelly Olynyk excelled in all facets. The lanky big man finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks. That’s what we call a complete performance.
Two of Olynyk’s best defensive plays came on consecutive possessions. He came away with a steal on the first, then proceeded to reject Henry Sims a few moments later. (via @MrTrpleDouble10)
— Evan Turner put up strong numbers in his second start at point guard, but his performance wasn’t without flaws. Turner’s 10 assists show that he’s embracing his role as a distributor, but his eight turnovers illustrate how he too often made reckless and/or lazy passes. Both totals were game highs.
— Tyler Zeller continued his two-day stint as the man who cannot miss before cooling a bit down the stretch. The third-year center, who turned in his best game of the preseason Wednesday, took advantage of shoddy Sixers defense around the rim to finish with 14 points while adding seven boards.
Photo via Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports Images
