Isaiah Thomas leads Boston Celtics to Third Straight Win

Winners of 7 of their last 10.

Five straight victories at home.

Welcome to your new look 2015 Boston Celtics.

Led by a trio of players that weren’t on the Boston roster to start the season, the Celtics stormed back from a 16-point 3rd quarter deficit to defeat the Charlotte Hornets 106-98 Friday night in Boston.

Trailing 73-57 in the third and looking for a spark, the Celtics turned to Avery Bradley and Isaiah Thomas. The two combined for 17 points in the third to bring the Celtics within six at the end of the quarter.

Then the newcomers took over.

Thomas, Jonas Jerebko, and Jae Crowder scored 33 of the Celtics 37 fourth quarter points in the victory. The trio accounted for 5 3-pointers in the quarter.

“We’ve only been together for a week,” said Coach Brad Stevens after the game. “We’ve found a lineup that has been very good in the fourth quarter for two games in a row.”

More from Boston Celtics

Not only did the trio dominate the fourth, they outscored Charlotte’s bench 60-16 for the game.

Thomas led the Celtics with 28 points and 7 assists.

The Celtics offense clicked early as they held a 27-21 lead after the first. The combination of Tyler Zeller and Marcus Smart, on both ends of the floor, carried the Celtics early. Smart had 10 points while Zeller had 5 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

Thanks in large part to a 15-1 run by Charlotte to end the 2nd quarter, Boston headed to the locker room trailing 49-45. The Celtics did not hit a field goal the last 5:56 of the quarter, scoring only 2 free throws by Brandon Bass and 1 by Thomas. Not helping the Celtics cause was their sudden loss of ball control. After committing only 1 turnover in the first 19 minutes of the game, they committed five over the last 5 minutes of the half.

The horrid shooting carried over into the third. It would take until the 8:40 mark in the third that Boston finally added another field goal.

Mo Williams, who scored a game-high 31 points, scored 13 points in the third quarter to keep the Celtics off balance. He knocked down two of the Hornets five 3-pointers in the quarter.

Still, it wasn’t enough to deny the Celtics from pulling even with the Hornets in the standings. (23-33).

Bradley ended with 19 points on the game, with Jerebko adding 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Crowder scored 14 points and had 6 rebounds off the bench, all while helping hold the Hornets Al Jefferson (14 points) in check most of the game.

“Jae did a great job on Jefferson. Did just about as well as anyone can,” said Stevens after the game.

The Celtics hope to make it four in a row when they host the Golden State Warriors on Sunday afternoon.

News and Notes

–Evan Turner, a game after posting a triple-double, had 6 rebounds and 7 assists, but only managed 2 points.

-The Celtics forced 16 turnovers while only committing 8.

-The victory over the Hornets, coupled with Brooklyn’s loss to Houston, has moved the Celtics into a tie for the 8th seed in the East.

Home/Boston Celtics