The Boston Celtics needed a physical and emotional boost from players beyond Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum several times this season and have not received it.
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case Sunday in their one-sided win over the Houston Rockets. And it came from none other than Marcus Smart, Robert Williams and Semi Ojeleye.
The trio checked midway through the first quarter and essentially rescued the Celtics from yet another poor start. Boston had turned the ball over five times in the opening seven minutes and once faced an eight-point deficit. Houston scored 26 points just seven minutes into the game and was on pace for to score nearly 50 in the one period.
Smart immediately took a charge upon checking in and hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession. A minute later, the veteran guard finished a basket in the paint. Williams threw down a dunk and, on the next offensive possession one minute after, Ojeleye hit his first of three 3-pointers.
The Celtics put together a dominant stretch from that point forward with Boston’s bench outscoring Houston 25-6 in the first half. The C’s grabbed control of the game from that point forward.
The unit brought an energy that had been missing during much of the first half of the season, and one head coach Brad Stevens has been happy to see return.
“Our energy has been really good in the last couple of days in the gym. When we came back from All-Star break, I thought we looked like we were refreshed,” Stevens told reporters during his postgame video press conference. “Obviously, winning those last four games before we left (helped). I thought we played with good energy against Brooklyn, just need to clean some things up, and then guys have been really good the last couple of days. I was glad we were able to withstand that early on slot, play well the rest of the game.”
Robert Williams, who recorded a double-double (16 points,13 rebounds), seemed to agree.
“I feel like everybody is becoming a little more aggressive, putting a little more emotion into it and you can see that on the court a lot,” he said.
The Celtics were able to empty the bench with nine minutes left in the game due to the play of the bench when it mattered.
Here are some other notes from Celtics-Rockets:
— The bench received plenty of contributions, but Brown and Tatum proved once again they’re the team’s NBA All-Stars.
Brown scored a team-high 24 points on 9-for-14 from the field in 27 minutes. Tatum, similarly, complemented the effort with 23 points on 9-for-17 from the floor in 28 minutes. Tatum tacked on an additional six rebounds and six assists.
“It was a good win for us,” Brown told reporters. “We definitely needed that. Good to see the ball go in a few times. Just getting back, everybody is back healthy now, so that was a good confidence-boosting win for us.”
— Walker was among the players who got off to a slow start during the early going, scoring just two first-half points.
The veteran point guard found his rhythm during the third as he scored 11 points in the 12-minute frame. Stevens was happy to see the ball go through the hoop for Walker, who finished with 16 points on 4-for-11 shooting, including a 3-for-7 clip from long range.
“His energy was great all night,” Stevens said of Walker, who added six rebounds with five assists. “He was loud, and he was engaged. I thought the game honored him by letting the ball go through the net several times to start the third quarter. We always talk about (how) the game will reward you if you approach it the right way, and he does that for us. So, it was good to see that.”
— Stevens expressed how, despite the boost Smart provides when coming off the bench, he “anticipates” the veteran will be back in the starting lineup whenever his minutes restriction is lifted.
It likely would mean the Celtics go back to a starting lineup of Kemba Walker-Marcus Smart-Jaylen Brown-Jayson Tatum-Daniel Theis with Tristan Thompson filling in during the back-to-backs when Walker is held out.
— The C’s return to action Tuesday when they host the Utah Jazz at TD Garden.
