HOUSTON — Ugly. That’s how the Boston Celtics beat the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night. It was ugly, and that’s exactly what it needed to be.
Fresh off a 10-point win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night, the Celtics traveled to Houston to face a Rockets team that blew them out back on November 1. But they were feeling the effects of the back-to-back.
Jaylen Brown was ruled out. Sam Hauser was ruled out. Anfernee Simons was not with the team, as he was reportedly traded to the Chicago Bulls, but since the deal hasn’t been made official yet, Boston didn’t have Nikola Vucevic either.
Joe Mazzulla rolled out a starting lineup of Ron Harper Jr., Derrick White, Baylor Scheierman, Luka Garza, and Neemias Queta. Payton Pritchard, Jordan Walsh, and Hugo Gonzalez highlighted the bench unit.
Staring them in the face? Kevin Durant. Alperen Sengun. Amen Thompson. One of the best teams in the West.
And the Celtics punked them.
From the jump, Boston was the harder-playing team. The shots weren’t falling. The Celtics shot just 2-of-13 from deep in the first quarter. But everything else was working like a charm.
Garza was battling on the offensive glass. Queta was handling things on the defensive boards. White looked as confident as ever. Scheierman and Harper put Durant in a torture chamber on defense.
By halftime, the Celtics had a modest lead, created by elite hustle and an undying will to compete.
Then, in the third quarter, Boston blew the doors off the Toyota Center.
White played well in the first half, but his third-quarter shot-making was otherworldly. Every time he touched the ball, the possession turned to gold. And Harper wasn’t a slouch, either.
He added a third three-pointer to his stat line and continued to play elite defense on Durant. A put-back slam highlighted a monster third from him.
What was once a back-and-forth affair ballooned into a 26-point lead, at its largest. And it got even worse for Houston in the fourth.
The Rockets looked broken. It felt like every loose ball was recovered by Boston. Every 50-50 rebound was corralled by Boston. Every potential defensive stop was converted by Boston.
In every aspect of the word, the Celtics outhustled the Rockets.
Boston completely dominated Houston with defense. They made every shot difficult. Durant and Sengun, in particular, struggled to find any easy looks. The Celtics made it their mission to force the Rockets into an offensive game plan that wouldn’t produce points. And that plan worked to perfection.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock in Houston, ‘Let’s go Celtics! chants rang throughout the arena. The crowd was reduced to a sea of green, as Rockets fans swarmed the exits.
It was the most impressive win of the season.
Big winner: It’s Harper, and it’s not close. White seemingly regaining his scoring confidence is great. And the bigs looked awesome. But in his first NBA start, Harper was one of the best players on the floor.
Not only did he make his threes, but he played elite defense against one of the most unguardable scorers in NBA history.
With Simons traded and the Celtics potentially in need of additional guard depth, he’s certainly a guy to keep an eye on. He’s on a two-way contract, but Boston still has an open roster spot.
Ouch, tough one: Ime Udoka. The Rockets’ head coach got ejected from this game at the end of the third quarter.
Queta battled for an offensive rebound at the buzzer, and Reed Sheppard fouled him on the put-back attempt. Udoka was not thrilled with the ball.
He was hit with two straight technical fouls for yelling at the refs and subsequently tossed.
Sengun was also thrown out of this game mid-way through the fourth. He wasn’t pleased with a no-call, and he was talking to a ref. Apparently, he uttered some obscenities that were enough to get him tossed without two techs. It was a straight ejection.
The big picture: It doesn’t matter who the Celtics play. It doesn’t matter which players are on the injury report. It doesn’t matter if they’re on the second night of a back-to-back. It doesn’t even matter who is on the court. This Celtics team will always find a way to compete.
There is no wiggle room. Effort, hustle, and heart are prerequisites to get onto the floor. And basketball IQ isn’t far behind.
This Boston group is smart, motivated, and never turns down the intensity. They can beat anyone, at any time, with anybody on the floor.
