The Celtics have no shortage of injuries at the moment, but Boston is fortunate to be able to turn to the trio of Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
The three players combined for 82 of Boston’s 109 points in its Wednesday night win over the Dallas Mavericks, shooting a combined 45.8 percent. Even more impressive, they combined for 27 of the Celtics’ 33 fourth-quarter points on 50 percent shooting, per Celtics Stats.
It was vital for Walker, Tatum and Brown to step up with Gordon Hayward and Marcus Smart sidelined, and they did just that with 32, 26 and 24 points, respectively. Brown told NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin they were well aware of what they had to do heading into this matchup.
“Yeah for sure,” Brown told Chin when asked if the trio felt they needed to do a little more. “We wanted to just get a rhythm and a flow. We came out and we got things going and we helped our team win.”
Head coach Brad Stevens added some praise for Walker, Brown and Tatum as well after the game, noting they probably wouldn’t have come away with a win if it weren’t for Walker’s first-quarter spark.
“I thought (Walker), Jayson and Jaylen all got really timely baskets,” Stevens said, per NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “… We probably don’t win the game without (Walker’s) 16 points in the first quarter because we weren’t scoring, we looked a little asleep.”
No other Celtic scored in double figures in the win.
Here are some other notes from Wednesday’s Celtics-Mavericks game:
— As good as Walker, Tatum and Brown were on offense, the Celtics did not show up defensively.
“I thought we were awful defensively,” Stevens said, per NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage.
He’s not wrong. Boston struggled across multiple facets on defense, which is expected without the likes of Smart and Hayward. Smart, of course, is known as the team’s best defender, but Hayward is a versatile, athletic wing who helps spread out the defensive workload. When both are missing, the trickle-down effect makes for some difficulties, and that was apparent Wednesday night.
— Hayward did not play in Dallas due to a foot issue, and Stevens told reporters prior to tip-off the forward will undergo an MRI Friday, per NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg.
The forward previously had an MRI that didn’t show any structural damage, but the pain has yet to go away, prompting Hayward’s absence from Wednesday’s game.
Brad Stevens tells reporters in Dallas that Gordon Hayward’s foot has bothered him since before hand injury. Said he got an MRI three weeks ago that showed no structural damage. Hayward got a cortisone shot recently but it has not responded. Hayward will get another MRI Friday.
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) December 19, 2019
— Boston welcomes the Detroit Pistons to TD Garden on Friday night, which tip-off set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
