Celtics win fueled by fewest turnovers in franchise history (they're great at protecting the ball lately)


Here are a few stats from the Celtics dramatic 85-84 win over the Jazz last night:

Boston shot just 37.5 percent (33-for-88) from the floor and 29.6 percent (8-for-27) on three-pointers.  On top of that, the Celtics only made 11 of their 20 free throws (55 percent).  Boston got out-rebounded by a margin of 51-39.  Just one Celtics starter scored in double figures, Avery Bradley with 13 points.

Those don't sound like numbers that would normally add up to a victory, but they did because Boston only turned the ball over three times.  Bradley had one, Isaiah Thomas had one, Tyler Zeller had one--and that's it.

Three.

It was the only time all season that an NBA team has finished a game with so few turnovers.  But even more significant than that, since the league started keeping track of turnovers in 1970-71, it's the fewest the Celtics have ever had:


Brad Stevens' club has been exceptionally good at taking care of the ball recently.  Check out this stat, which came before last night's effort:



Boston is actually leading the NBA in fewest turnovers per game since February 5.  Going back to their win over the Sixers on February 6, the Celtics are averaging a league-low 11.3 turnovers spanning their last 11 contests.



Follow Mark Vandeusen on Twitter @LucidSportsFan
Share