After righting the ship rather nicely over the weekend, collecting wins over the Heat and Raptors, the Celtics looked poised for a terrible loss on Monday night.
The six-win Pacers were in town. Indiana, last year’s Eastern Conference champions, had lost four in a row in the midst of what’s basically a gap year considering star Tyrese Haliburton is recovering from an Achilles tear and some key pieces left in the offseason (this may sound familiar!).
So when the Pacers raced out to a 20 point lead early in the second half with the Celtics looking flat, Joe Mazzulla wasted little time in yanking his starters and giving his bench some run.
That’s how a lineup of Anfernee Simons, Hugo González, Sam Hauser, Baylor Scheierman, and Luka Garza — a real band of misfit toys — found themselves dragging Boston back into the game.
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Simons, Hauser, and Scheierman handled much of the scoring, González irritated the life out of Indiana’s Andrew Nembhard (in very Marcus Smart fashion, it should be noted), and Garza hustled for some very goofy, but very important rebounds.
Garza finished with nine boards, five of them offensive. My older sister loves to point out how hard he runs back on defense, too — look at the big man put on the jets!
Before the third quarter was out, Boston’s bench mob had whittled a 20-point lead down to just 6, and Jaylen Brown could handle the rest.
Brown was brilliant in the fourth, pouring in 14 points to finish off the Celtics’ comeback in style. As usual, he did much of his work inside, driving at will to finish at the rim or earn a trip to the free throw line.
But his finest moment of the night came from outside, as Brown buried a turning, fading 3-pointer from the corner that set TD Garden alight (and evoked some bad memories for Pacers fans).
Brown finished with 31 points, marking his seventh straight game with at least 30. He was met with “MVP” chants at the free-throw line in the final minutes as the crowd showed its appreciation for the way Brown has stepped up in the absence of Jayson Tatum.
Of course, because it’s Jaylen Brown, he promptly bricked the free throw, drawing such an audible groan from the crowd that I genuinely laughed out loud watching from home. Great stuff.
The only player who perhaps got a bigger ovation than Brown was González, who finished with a plus-21 in the box score as a major part of that third-quarter resurgence.
González finished with 6 points and 11 rebounds as the Spanish rookie continues to make an impact doing something other than shooting 3-pointers, a welcome change of pace in today’s game.
His on/off splits are among the silliest in the league. When Gonzalez is off the floor, the Celtics post a defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions, around the average of a full game) of 119.2, which would be the third-worst in basketball over a full season. When Gonzalez is on the court, that number is 104.5, which would be second only behind that absolute juggernaut in Oklahoma City.
Jaylen Brown took over the fourth quarter for the Celtics on Boston.Ben Pennington/for The Boston Globe
Gonzalez is such a headache for opposing players. Or, as Tatum put it during Gonzalez’s postgame interview, the rookie’s “a bad mother [expletive].”
The Spaniard has played a ton of minutes over this little three-game win streak. After averaging just under 12 minutes per game through his first 21 appearances — which doesn’t include five games in which he didn’t feature at all — Gonzalez logged 29 minutes in Friday’s win over the Heat, 28 in Saturday’s victory in Toronto, and a team-high 37 coming off the bench last night.
He had 10 points and eight rebounds against Miami and 10 and 10 for his first career double-double against the Raptors before snagging 11 more rebounds on Monday.
How many teenagers do you think have ever had a double-double for the Celtics? Do you think it’s just two, González and Tatum? You’d be right!
Maybe it’s just something about late first-round picks. González was a complete unknown for many when he went 28th in June’s draft, expected by some to be stashed in Europe for a couple seasons. Instead, he’s thriving in the NBA. Scheierman, the final pick in last year’s first round, was a big part of Monday’s comeback, too.
Payton Pritchard, the 26th pick in 2020, was the star on Saturday, pouring in 33 points for the Brown-less Celtics in the win over Toronto. The night before, Derrick White, the 29th pick in 2017 (for the Spurs, not the Celtics, but still!) had 33 of his own and couldn’t miss from deep to help Boston snap a two-game losing streak.
In any case, the Celtics are back to winning ways just in time for the holidays.A five-game road trip spanning nearly 6,000 miles awaits Boston on the other side of Christmas, but with games against only teams with losing records (including some of the worst teams in basketball), there might be a little winning streak under the tree.
Hugo Gonzalez hoovered up 11 rebounds on Monday night.Ben Pennington/for The Boston Globe
Rookie Hugo González’s biggest game symbolic of Celtics’ complete team efforts
The most satisfying aspect of Hugo González’s career night Saturday was not watching the parting of the Toronto seas for his flashy, uncontested, two-handed dunk that essentially sealed a quality road win against the Raptors.
What put a bright smile on the 19-year-old’s fresh face was when all of his teammates came off the bench to celebrate his feat. Baylor Scheierman, who for some reason calls González his son because he has a younger brother the same age, raced for a hand slap. Luka Garza screamed with vigor. Even Jordan Walsh, battling flu-like symptoms, rose and offered his kudos.
It was a complete team win, as coach Joe Mazzulla used nearly all of his roster to pull away with Jaylen Brown ill and Walsh unavailable in the second half. González has put together the best consecutive games of his rookie season and his comfort in the locker room, in the team culture, and in a new country is apparent.
Other top stories we’re watching …
Each week, we’ll be asking a piece of Celtics trivia to test your knowledge on the 18-time champions.
Congratulations to Jack Callahan of Beverly, the first person to correctly answer last week’s question. As a refresher, we asked you to name which Celtic made the first official 3-point shot in NBA history in 1979.
The answer is Chris Ford, who pulled up from the top of the key in Boston’s season-opener against Houston and made history when the ball went down.
Globe reporter Bob Ryan was sitting courtside for that one and witnessed the first 3-pointer in NBA history.Nearly a half-century later, he’s still mad about it.
Chris Ford (left) made the first 3-pointer in NBA history in 1979.Janet Knott/Globe Staff
Here’s this week’s question: Red Auerbach has the most coaching wins in Celtics history with 885 (including playoff wins). Which Celtics coach is second?
Know the answer? Send us an email at courtsense@globe.com, and the first person to write in with the correct answer will get a shoutout when the answer is revealed in next week’s newsletter. Good luck!
The Celtics have a few days off starting a five-game road trip in Indiana on Friday (7 p.m., NBC Sports Boston). Enjoy the holidays!
See the full Celtics schedule here.
This story first appeared in Court Sense, a biweekly Celtics newsletter from Boston Globe Sports. Click here to join the fun.
Amin Touri can be reached at amin.touri@globe.com.