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The start of the season hasn’t been pretty for the Boston Celtics, especially on the offensive end of the floor.
Three days after going 9-for-40 from the 3-point line in a loss to the Orlando Magic, the C’s went 0-for-12 from distance in the first half against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Despite crisp ball movement and relatively open looks, the Celtics were unable to tickle the twine.
Kyrie Irving from the wing: brick.
Jayson Tatum from the top of the key: clank.
No matter who let it fly, if they were wearing a green jersey it wasn’t going in.
Brad Stevens wasn’t worried, though. The C’s coach told TNT’s Allie LaForce that his club was getting good looks they just weren’t falling.
Stevens could see the Celtics tighten up as the shots continued to miss the mark, causing the offense to bog down.
“We stopped moving the ball, and we stopped trusting the next shot would fall. We just have to do that,” Stevens said after the game, via MassLive’s Tom Westerholm.
The floodgates opened in the third quarter as the Celtics scored 40 points and splashed nine 3-pointers to take a one-point lead into the final frame. After OKC grabbed a nine-point lead with just over four to play, Boston went on a 16-1 run to end the game, capped by Marcus Morris’ 3-pointer with 27.9 seconds remaining to give the Celtics a three-point lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“It just looked like a conscious decision by everybody to make the right play. And the ball went in,” Stevens said, via The Athletic’s Jay King.
After 4 1/2 games, the Celtics’ offense had everyone in panic mode, but Irving, Tatum, Al Horford and Marcus Morris exploded in the second half against OKC to reel everyone back from the ledge and remind them what Boston’s offense truly is capable of.
Here are more notes from Celtics-Thunder:
— The Celtics hit 11 3-pointers in the second half of Thursday’s game, one shy of the franchise record of 12 which was set against the New Orleans Pelicans last season.
— This was Boston’s 16th comeback win since the start of last season, tied with the Golden State Warriors for the most in the NBA.
— OKC shot 39.4 percent from the field, 25 percent from 3-point range and 56 percent from the free-throw line, marking the first time since April 1, 2012 that the Celtics held and opponent under 40 percent from the field, 27 percent from deep and 60 percent from the line.
— Former Celtics forward Abdel Nader did not play for the Thunder in the game.
— Jaylen Brown has struggled to open the season. The third-year forward is 5-for-26 in his last three games.
Thumbnail photo via Alonzo Adams/USA TODAY Sports Images
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