jQuery(document).ready(function() { addByline("Marc D'Amico", "Celtics.com", "Marc_DAmico"); keysToTheGame(); });
Key Moment
Dennis Schroder finally got the Celtics over the hump Monday afternoon with five straight points to close out the third quarter. Those points gave Boston its first lead of the afternoon, and it never looked back from there.
Interestingly enough, however, that wasn’t the Key Moment of the game. Instead, that moment spanned from the end of the second quarter into the third quarter, when Al Horford brought the Celtics to life.
Beginning at the 2:44 mark of the second period and carrying through to the 11:11 mark of the third quarter, Boston rattled off a 16-2 run overall to cut what was an 18-point deficit all the way down to three, at 46-43. At that point, the momentum was in the Celtics’ favor, and they rode it all the way to the winner’s circle.
Horford is the player who ignited the Celtics during that stretch of the game. He scored the first five points of the 16-2 spurt, first with a cutting dunk shot, and then with a pure 3-pointer from the right corner off a drive-and-kick dish from Schroder.
Horford continued to play a role throughout the remainder of the run via his passing skills. He first assisted on a driving layup by Jayson Tatum at the 1:36 mark of the second quarter, and then assisted on another layup by Jaylen Brown to open up the second half.
All told, Horford either scored or assisted on nine of the 16 points during the run. The other seven points were scored by Schroder via an unassisted 3-pointer, and Tatum via four free throws.
As was previously outlined, this run gave Boston all the momentum it needed to take him its fifth win in six contests. The Celtics went on to pull ahead by as many as 17 points before closing out a 104-92 win.
Key Player
Dennis Schroder deserves our Key Player designation after tallying 23 points and a game-high nine assists Monday afternoon against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Schroder scored the ball at a high level all afternoon by making nine of his 16 shot attempts. Five of those makes were from inside the paint, one came from just outside the paint, and three more came from long distance. Schroder tied Jayson Tatum and Jonas Valanciunas for the most made field goals in the game with nine.
In addition to his points and assists, Schroder also tallied five rebounds and two steals on the afternoon. All of those contributions led to Boston outscoring New Orleans by 21 points while the speedy point guard was on the floor.
Box Score Nuggets
- All 10 of the game's starters scored in double-figures.
- Jayson Tatum (27 points), Jaylen Brown (23 points) and Dennis Schroder (23 points) each scored 23 or more.
- Each team led by at least 17 points during the contest.
- Tatum and Brown led Boston in rebounds with eight apiece.
- Jonas Valanciunas (22 points, 15 rebounds) and Brandon Ingram (15 points, 10 rebounds) notched the game's only double-doubles.
- Boston shot 90 percent (18-for-20) from the free-throw line as a team.
- Neither team committed more than 14 turnovers.
- Boston's bench totaled just nine points.
- Aaron Nesmith came off the bench to tally six rebounds and five points, and was a plus-16 in the plus/minus category.
Quote of the Night
Ime Udoka on Boston's 12-2 run to close out the first half