BOSTON — The Celtics faced one of the best rim protectors in the NBA on Sunday in Rudy Gobert so it’s no surprise they spent much of their 107-105 win over the Wolves living around the 3-point line. Boston attempted 56 of their 87 field goal attempts from beyond the arc in the matchup, knocking down 37.5 percent of their attempts. That three-point rate of 64.4 percent of the team’s shot attempts set a new franchise record, breaking the team’s previous mark of 64.2 percent against the Knicks on opening night.
According to Celtics stat guru Dick Lipe, it was Boston’s 6th game this season shooting more than 60 percent of their shots from 3-point range. No other team has shot 60 percent of their shots from deep in a game this year.
Jaylen Brown led the charge from downtown in the victory, going a season-best 7-of-10 from 3-point range including five straight to open the game in the first five minutes. Brown entered the game shooting 28.4 percent from 3-point range so the highly efficient night was a welcome shift for him.
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“I feel like I haven’t shot the ball to start off the season as well as I would have liked,” Brown said. “I feel like I’m due for a lot of makes. I feel like my shots was good. I feel like I’m a great shooter, but also feel like I’m great at other things as well: getting to the basket, getting to the paint, drawing opportunities for my guys. So it’s just a balance. It’s a long season and I’m just focused on trying to rack up wins.”
Brown actually only ranks fourth on the team in 3-point attempts per game (7.5) with Jayson Tatum leading the charge on that front. He bounced back from an 0-of-10 performance in Washington to go 5-of-12 from deep in the victory. He’s now third in the league in 3-point attempts per game, taking 11 per night.
“I think earlier in my career, it would have bothered me a lot more,” Tatum said of the poor shooting night in Washington. “But you just understand there’s so much more basketball to be played, so many games, that, you know, in those moments, you feel like you’re the only person missing shots.
“Every great player, every great shooter has went through slumps where they weren’t shooting great or, or had nights where they couldn’t hit shots. They always bounce back or respond and I think just having moments like that throughout my career, or tougher shooting nights, have become easier to deal with or live with as I’ve gotten older.”
Boston’s season 3-point rate leads the league at 56 percent and it’s a formula that’s working with so many weapons up and down the roster. Derrick White and Payton Pritchard are hoisting more 3s than ever while shooting over 40 percent from beyond the arc. Sam Hauser is still commanding the respect of defenses despite his slow start from deep and the same goes for Brown.
With Boston still holding the No. 3 offense in the NBA amid a 14-3 start, no one is questioning the extreme shot output.
“I like it when it goes in, and I like when we win,” White said.
The Celtics 3-point prowess will be tested against one of the best perimeter defenses in the NBA on Monday night when the Clippers come to TD Garden.
