Evan Fournier put together another solid showing with the Celtics on Sunday, and it helped Boston earn a dominant 116-86 victory over the visiting Charlotte Hornets.
Fournier, who was acquired prior to the NBA trade deadline, scored 17 points in just 22 minutes off the bench. He was an efficient 5-for-9 from the field including 4-for-5 from beyond the arc while adding six assists, two steals and one block.
The veteran swingman went through a stretch of making 10 straight 3-pointers before a fourth-quarter miss with just under nine minutes left. That streak of 10 straight dated back to Friday’s win over the Houston Rockets. Fournier scored 23 points and shot 7-for-11 from long range in that Celtics victory.
“Yeah, I mean I thought we did a really job good the other night finding him when he was going. We probably could have found him more tonight, although he only played 21 minutes,” head coach Brad Stevens said on a postgame video conference. “… There’s a lot of things he does because No. 1 he’s a guy who can put the ball in the basket. The other team knows that so they have to put one of their better defenders on him. And so it all has a trickle-down effect.
“I just think that’s why you need as many guys who can do that as possible and still be able to play together, play with the right flow, the right pace and everything else,” Stevens continued. “So, he’s been great the last two games. … I do think we need to work to find him more looks than he’s getting, but he’s not going to force it. He’s a good player, he knows how to play, makes the right play.”
Fournier has racked up 10, six, 13 and nine shot attempts over his first four games with the Celtics, respectively. He logged 16, 18, 19, 13 and 21 shot attempts over his final five games with the Magic. Of course, Fournier also didn’t have teammates like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker needing shot attempts of their own in Orlando.
“He’s a great player,” Kemba Walker said during a postgame video conference. “We knew he would fit right in.”
Fournier and the Celtics will look to keep their winning ways rolling Tuesday when they host the Philadelphia 76ers
