Not a season passes by where Avery Bradley doesn’t come back having improved upon some facet of his game. At some point, you have to believe that it’ll all come together.
Is that time now?
It certainly looked like it on Saturday as Bradley delivered one of his most complete games ever in leading the Celtics (2-1) to a 104-98 win at Charlotte.
Among the barrage of Bradley buckets were eight 3s which you can imagine, was a career-high for the veteran guard.
Oh, he wasn’t done.
Bradley also registered a game-high 11 rebounds which set yet another career milestone for the 26-year-old.
And that doesn’t even factor in the job he did defensively on Nicolas Batum (12 points, 3-for-9 shooting) who has at least six inches on him in height.
Boston Celtics
And Bradley, minutes removed from one of the best games he’s played in the NBA, remained as low-key as ever when talking about his historically strong night.
“I just wanted to be aggressive. I just wanted to make the right play for our team,” Bradley told CSN sideline reporter Abby Chin following the game. “The right play at the time was me taking shots and I was able to knock them down.”
He was especially impactful in the fourth quarter which began with Boston trailing 72-71.
Boston opened the fourth with a 22-5 run which included 10 points scored by Bradley.
The Hornets (2-1) did not go away quietly as they cut Boston’s 14-point lead with 4:22 to play, down to six points with just under two minutes remaining.
There were a number of important shots made by both teams, but it was Bradley’s last 3-pointer with 50 seconds to play, that put Boston ahead 101-90 and essentially Charlotte’s hopes of a comeback.
“For some reason, he lights this building up,” Boston’s Jae Crowder told reporters after the game. I saw him go crazy in this building before.”
In two road games against Charlotte last season, Bradley had 23 and 18 points, respectively.
And on March 30, 2015, Bradley lit the Hornets up on the road for 30 points.
“He’s got confidence; that’s what it is,” Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas told reporters when asked about Avery Bradley. “We believe in him, he believes in himself. The floor is spaced for him to shoot and he’s playing really well.”
Here are some of the other Stars, Studs and Duds from Saturday night’s game.
STARS
Avery Bradley: It was a career night for Bradley, tallying 31 points which included knocking down a career-best eight 3s. The 6-foot-2 guard had more going on Saturday night. Bradley also did damage on the glass as well, grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds and still managed to dish out four assists.
Isaiah Thomas: The 25 points-a-night streak is over for Thomas. On Saturday, he had just … 24. Avery Bradley carried the Celtics for long stretches Saturday night, but Thomas came up with seven points in the fourth along with three assists to help Boston come away with the victory.
Kemba Walker: After being a non-factor in the first half, Walker got it going in the second half which is when he scored 24 of his team-high 29 points.
STUDS
Frank Kaminsky: When Kaminsky was on the floor, good things were happening for the Hornets on Saturday. He had 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting, with a plus/minus of +7 which was tops among Hornets who played at least 20 minutes.
Jae Crowder: He didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, but Crowder’s defense and rebounding were huge factors in Boston’s victory. He finished with a near double-double of nine points and nine rebounds to go with four assists, two steals and three blocked shots.
DUDS
Amir Johnson: Three games into the season and we’ve seen his role fluctuate more than any other Celtic starter, with Jonas Jerebko, Tyler Zeller and on Saturday Jordan Mickey, cutting into this playing time. It’s too soon to make any all-encompassing judgement about Johnson’s future but it’s clear that his role is not trending in the right direction.