addByline("Peter Stringer","Celtics.com","Celtics");
PHILADELPHIA – Despite wearing some bruising, discoloration and a bandage over his right eyelid from taking a swipe in the face that didn’t draw a whistle, Jared Sullinger was all smiles after Sunday’s game in Philadelphia.
“It felt like three weeks,” Sullinger said of the four-game losing streak the Celtics snapped with their 120-105 win over Philadelphia Sunday night. As his teammates finished dressing and packing up to hit the road and beat Winter Storm Regis back to Boston, Sullinger was trying to remember the last time the team had actually won a game.
For the record, Sully, it was Wednesday, March 9 against Memphis, 11 days ago, when the Celtics were sitting pretty in third place in the Eastern Conference. On Monday morning, the Celtics are in fifth place, one game behind the Miami Heat in the loss column, and just one win ahead of the Charlotte Hornets.
With 12 games left, the Celtics still face a few tough obstacles, including another date with the Raptors on Wednesday, and a five-game West Coast swing to close out March and open up April.
Just before taking questions, Sullinger took a quick look at the box score, and then gently released the paper to let it fall to the floor. Asked if he found what he was looking for in the stat sheet, Sullinger was quick to note Amir Johnson’s efficient game.
Beyond Johnson’s 9-for-10 shooting and season-high 18 points, across the board, there was plenty to like. Sullinger was one of six Celtics who scored 15 points or more, finishing with 17 points and 13 rebounds. It was the Celtics’ most well-rounded offensive game in a few weeks, and it snapped a four-game skid that threatened to derail the team’s push for a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference, which would guarantee home court in at least the first round of the playoffs.
Compared to the last week and a half, the postgame mood in the dressing room was decidedly festive. Marcus Smart was wearing a Red Sox jersey. Isaiah Thomas met reporters wearing an acid-washed baseball cap that read, “Celtics 1986 NBA Champions,” an homage to his Boston brothers from 30 years ago. While nobody would compare the 2016 edition to the 1986 squad, they did post 120 points in 48 minutes.
Sunday’s Celtics, now 40-30, also posted 28 assists, with ball movement that more closely resembled the passing of the fabled ’86 team than anything in recent weeks. When the ball is moving around like that, everyone is getting touches, and shots were falling too. All five starters hit at least seven field goals, and guys got to see the ball go through the basket with regularity again.
When that happens, everybody’s happy.
It was especially encouraging to see Johnson post big numbers. Johnson missed three games in December with plantar fasciitis, and his mobility was drastically limited when he returned from the injury. He admitted Sunday that it had nagged him for months, but recently, the pain has finally began to dissipate.
“My foot is definitely starting to feel better,” Johnson said. “Just maybe a few weeks ago. It’s still a little sore, but it just feels good enough for (me to be) game-ready. It’s starting to be not so painful throughout the whole game.”
Johnson’s play on the two-game road trip reflected that. On Sunday, Johnson also came down with eight rebounds, and blocked a pair of shots in just less than 24 minutes against the Sixers.
“If I get a couple blocked shots, a couple of rebounds, it’s going to be a good game,” Johnson said.
His teammates noted the rejuvenation.
“He was playing with a lot of energy tonight. He helped us out in a lot of ways,” Isaiah Thomas (26 points) said of Johnson. “He was running the floor, getting put-backs, offensive rebounds. He was doing all the things we need him to do.”
Sullinger called Johnson’s effort a “very, very efficient game,” and also noted his energy. “He’s finishing around the rim, and he’s rebounding the life outta the basketball. We need that.”
More than anything else, the Celtics needed this win. When they landed at Hanscom Air Force Base on Sunday night at 11 pm on the dot, they’d successfully outrun a snowstorm, and stopped a losing streak from snowballing.