On this day in Boston Celtics history, a trio of regular-season wins took place over the last 10 years. The first of the three was a 100-94 overtime win over the Washington Wizards.
It saw outstanding performances from big man Kevin Garnett (20 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal), point guard Rajon Rondo (18 points, 4 boards, 14 assists, and 3 steals, and wing Paul Pierce (15 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 steals). Guard Jason Terry also chipped in 16 points off the bench to help secure the win for the Celtics despite the team shooting just 30.8% from beyond the arc.
“Overall, it’s about the win; that’s what we did,” Rondo said at the time via the A.P.
It is also the date of a 101-98 squeaker over the Indiana Pacers in 2014 at TD Garden.
Strong play from center Jared Sullinger (17 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists), forward Jeff Green (15 points, 7 rebounds), and big man Kelly Olynyk (12 points, 5 boards) won the day despite guard Marcus Smart hurting his ankle early in the game.
“It was very difficult,” said Green via the AP regarding Smart’s ankle sprain.
“You hate to see a teammate go down, especially when he’s playing well. That game was for him. We had to win it for him.”
Finally, it also saw the Celtics blow out the Hornets 108-87 in Kemba Walker’s first return home to Charlotte since joining Boston over the summer.
The UConn product put up 14 points and 6 assists alongside 20 points, 10 boards, and 6 assists from veteran forward Gordon Hayward, and swingman Jayson Tatum stole the show with 23 points and 9 rebounds.
“It was special, just to be back here and the amount of love I have been getting today and leading up to this day,” shared Walker via the AP.
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