Hustle, Grit From Bench Continues To Help Spark Celtics
BOSTON (CBS) -- When you tune in to any Celtics game this season, you're guaranteed to see two things out of the team: Hustle and Grit.
As cliché as it is, there's no denying that both of those factors have been part of each of their 33 wins and 24 losses during the 2015-16 campaign. The team, from top to bottom, feeds off each other's hustle and grit, and more times than not, it has sparked the Celtics to victory.
That hustle and grit was present throughout most of Sunday afternoon's 121-111 win in Denver, but perfectly embodied by a trio of Celtics early in the fourth quarter. That's when Marcus Smart did what Marcus Smart does, hitting the floor to swat the ball away, creating an opportunity for his team. This time he poked it away from the Nuggets near the Denver free throw line, but with a little extra mustard on his defensive deflection, it looked destined to roll harmlessly out of bounds on the other end of the floor.
But Evan Turner raced down the floor to save the ball just before it would have rolled out of bounds, and the play was capped off when a hustling Avery Bradley scooped up the loose ball and dunked it for an easy two. The play sent the Boston bench into delirium, and put the Celtics up 97-82 in their eventual win.
More important than the scoreboard was what the play did to Boston's attitude the rest of the way, giving them a renewed sense of urgency on the defensive end. For a glance at the other end of the spectrum, look no further than the fact there are no yellow jerseys to be seen going after the loose ball.
"Those are plays that help you win," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said after the win. "You feel like you're going to win the game, or at least you've given yourself a good chance, when you make plays like that."
The Celtics have built a reputation for making these kinds of plays this season, and they've made it a point to feed off of them. The C's were coming off a disappointing loss to the Utah Jazz to start the unofficial second half of the season, and on Sunday it looked as though a 26-point lead would soon evaporate, with the Nuggets pulling to within five points early in the second half .
But the Celtics went into the Pepsi Center an angry bunch, and weren't going to let their lead -- or any loose ball -- escape their grasp.
"You could tell there was a purpose, a good pride about us, the whole day," Stevens added after the win.
That purpose and pride was sparked by Smart and Turner, who have become a dynamic duo for Boston off the bench. They combined for 27 points in Denver, with Turner filling the stat sheet with 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists. The C's bench outscored the Nuggets 44-29 on Sunday.
"Evan and Marcus, you feel like you're putting two starters in when you put them in," Stevens told reporters. "And we put them in together almost every time. So you feel like they're a little different than whoever they come in for, but you feel like you're just going to keep your level and maybe because of fatigue and everything else they're fresh legs, they're coming in ready to go, so you can maybe go on runs when they come in."
Boston will look to build on Sunday's win when they close their quick three-game road trip with a visit to the Timberwolves in Minnesota on Monday night.
