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Key Moment
The Spectrum Center was buzzing at the start of the fourth quarter Saturday night when Kemba Walker hit a cutting layup along the baseline that gave Charlotte a 74-71 lead over the Boston Celtics. It was the Hornets’ largest advantage of the night, after battling back from 14 points down.
Before Charlotte could progress any further, however, Avery Bradley flew in to the rescue for the C's. The veteran guard delivered stinging blow after stinging blow, guiding Boston on a 22-5 run, which led to its 104-98 win.
The defining sting came right after Walker’s layup.
On Charlotte’s next offensive possession, Marco Belinelli missed a 21-foot jumper and Bradley came crashing in from beyond the 3-point arc to capture his 10th rebound of the game. He then took the ball upcourt, curled around a screen set by Tyler Zeller, and nailed a midrange shot that put Boston back within one point.
That shot quieted the arena and marked the beginning of a one-man offensive show for Bradley.
The guard put the Celtics up for good on Boston’s next possession when he hit his sixth 3-pointer of the night. He continued on to score 10 of his team’s first 12 points of the quarter.
Bradley finished with a game-high 31 points – one shy of his career high – on 11-of-19 shooting from the field. He also made a career-best eight 3-pointers on 11 attempts.
Key Player
Avery Bradley didn't just contribute as a scorer Saturday night – he delivered in all aspects of the game.
To go along with his career-high eight makes from 3-point range, Bradley also corralled a game-high and career-best 11 rebounds, which gave him his third career double-double.
The guard also dished out four assists, a mark he has reached during each of his first three games.
This was unquestionably the best all-around performance of Bradley's NBA career.
Box Score Nuggets
- Avery Bradley notched career highs of 11 rebounds and eight 3-point makes.
- Bradley also logged a game-best 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field.
- The Celtics held a 42-38 rebounding advantage.
- Boston shot 15-of-31 (48.4 percent) from beyond the arc.
- The Hornets shot just 9-of-32 (28.1 percent) from deep.
- Amir Johnson had a game-best plus/minus rating of plus-15.
- Charlotte made 33 trips to the free throw line, which was nearly double Boston's tally of 17 attempts.
- The Hornets made 25 of their free throws (75.8 percent), while Boston made 11 (64.7 percent).
- Kemba Walker snagged a game-high three steals.
- Boston only had four steals as a team, which was half of Charlotte's tally.
- Jae Crowder tied a career-high with three blocked shots.
- Jeremy Lamb, who left with an injury, led Charlotte with a plus-10 rating despite having played just nine minutes.
Quote of the Night
Brad Stevens on Boston's backcourt rebounding success.