Celtics give up in the 4th Quarter, Blazers pull away and win 116-109.

A blog by Big Red

Let's state the obvious first, that 4th quarter by the celtics was atrocious. Gerald Henderson caught fire in the opening minutes of the 4th. Do I even have to mention Al Farouq Aminu? He went 11-19 from the field for 28 points on the night! Who would have thought this cross eyed bum would score 18 points over his season average? The Celtics actually played pretty solid defense on the night. We were able to hold Damian Lillard to 3-16 from the field for 14 points. Which is pretty impressive for the Celtics considering Lillard has been playing great basketball as of late. The Celtics could have definitely improved on stopping the drive, CJ McCollum was getting into the paint too easily, and as a result Aminu was getting open looks all night. 

All in all, I was pleased with the Celtics play through the first 3 quarters. We just can't come out flat footed in the 4th quarter and expect to win, especially on the road. We were able to force the Trail Blazers to shoot with Aminu, and unfortunately last night he just caught fire. I can live with this, rather than letting Lillard and McCollum tear apart our defense. 

On a more positive note, Jae Crowder returned to the Celtics starting lineup last night. In 35 minutes of action, Crowder shot 5-11 from the field for 13 points 10 rebounds 2 assists and 2 steals. All around a productive night for Crowder, which is exactly what the Celtics were hoping for as we approach the playoffs. The Celtics face off against the most popular team in the league The Golden State Warriors and Chef Curry. I believe Crowder will sit tonight, to make sure that ankle heals up nicely. However, the Celtics still have the ability to try and steal this game. If we can get off to a good start like last night, and not settle for deep 2's and 3's then anything is possible. Hopefully, Isaiah shakes off that rusty game last night, and gets back to the street ball style play we love from him. Game starts at 10:30 p.m. et. and can be watched on ESPN or CSNNE.

In case anybody missed last nights game, here are the highlights courtesy of the NBA.