Damon Stoudamire didn’t have time to textual content or name anybody. His mother was within the crowd, and he didn’t even have time to inform her. He barely had time to assume.
Ten minutes earlier than opening tip on Tuesday, the Celtics assistant coach’s evening took a sudden flip. Interim head coach Joe Mazzulla was out due to a watch irritation, and Stoudamire was thrust in for his full recreation as an performing NBA head coach. As a workers, the Celtics had ready recreation plans for the Rockets. But Stoudamire wasn’t precisely ready for this.
“But in a lot of ways it’s better that way,” Stoudamire stated. “Just go out there and do what we’ve been doing.”
“For me it was just a matter of going out there and truly not messing it up,” he added.
With a pregame vote of confidence from Mazzulla, Stoudamire saved issues rolling for the Celtics, who overcame some early sluggishness to care for the lowly Houston Rockets with a 126-102 victory at TD Garden.
Two days after arguably their finest win of the season – a Christmas Day blowout over the Bucks – the Celtics have been, virtually naturally, trying a step gradual in opposition to one of many worst groups within the NBA.
Their 3-pointers weren’t falling once more. They regarded sloppy at occasions. There have been a number of defensive lapses. A younger and energetic Rockets squad – even on the second recreation of their again to again – was going toe to toe with them.
But then, like a swap, the Celtics lastly awoke. Maybe sensing what might have been an embarrassing loss, the C’s picked up their defensive vitality. Despite their taking pictures struggles, they have been taking part in a workforce inferior sufficient that it didn’t matter. Behind a second-half surge fueled by Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, the Celtics figured it out when it mattered.
Brown had 39 factors, Tatum added 38 and the Celtics obtained large contributions from Robert Williams, who had 11 factors and 15 rebounds in 21 minutes. The Celtics, as soon as reeling on this homestand, have now received three in a row.
The Celtics gamers didn’t know concerning the teaching swap till pregame introductions, when it was introduced by TD Garden’s public tackle announcer that Stoudamire – who’s been on the teaching workers since final season – was stepping in.
“Damon (is) one of my favorite people in the organization,” Brown stated. “It was fun to go out there and get a win for him.”
“The only difference was Joe wasn’t over there chewing the (expletive) out of some gum,” Tatum joked.
Without Mazzulla, the Celtics didn’t flinch on the ideas which have pushed them to the most effective report within the NBA. They even took it up a notch, as they shot a season-high 56 3-point makes an attempt. But a recreation after they appeared to seek out their taking pictures stroke, their outdoors struggles resurfaced. They went 8-for-29 from 3 within the first half, and have been struggling to place away an inferior Rockets workforce.
But within the halftime locker room, Stoudamire careworn protection. They felt that if they may get some stops, they might take off. That’s precisely what occurred late within the third quarter. The Celtics led by simply 5 when Brown took over and scored eight factors in 39 seconds to pressure a Houston timeout. His dunk to cap the run appeared to re-energize TD Garden and the Celtics, who took off from there.
Brown was hit within the head throughout a play within the first half, and he stated that helped get him going within the second half.
“Sometimes you get smacked in the face is exactly what you need in the middle of the game,” Brown stated. “Like Jaylen, what the hell are you doing? Smack in the face, and then proceed to score the ball.”
Grant Williams hit back-to-back 3s, Robert Williams flushed a dunk on the shot clock buzzer and out of the blue the Celtics led by 11 heading into the fourth. Then Tatum began the ultimate interval with a 3-pointer earlier than grabbing a steal that led to a quick break, the place Grant Williams threw him a lob for an alley-oop, and the C’s have been working.
The Celtics led by 21 after Brown’s pull-up 3-pointer, Tatum’s dunk and one other Rob Williams alley-oop earlier than their regulars have been taken out. They headed to the bench as they helped Stoudamire clinch his first profession victory as a head coach.
“He did good,” Tatum stated. “I mean, it’s kind of like when somebody’s out, somebody’s just gotta step in and fill that void. It’s not just a one-person job, we got a coaching staff that helps each other and we’re all on the same team, essentially. When a coach is out, it’s just a next man up mentality.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com