Recap: Celtics STEAL the show and top Nuggets 111-103

The Celtics recorded 15 steals and handled the Denver Nuggets 111-103. Avery Bradley had a team high 27 points and 4 steals of his own. Kelly Olynyk and Evan Turner scored 17 and 14 off the bench respectively. The 20 forced turnovers marks the 4th consecutive game the Celtics forced 20+ in a game.

Avery Bradley continued his hot shooting stretch, connecting on 3 three-pointers and finishing the 1st quarter with 13 points. Amir Johnson led a 6 steal effort from the C's with 3 of his own and the score after one quarter was 29-21 good guys.

Olynyk sported the man-bun tonight and connected on 3 of his first 4 shots including a three-pointer (no coincidence). Bradley's shooting touch carried over into the second, hitting two more from deep and finishing the half with 21 points. The Celtics picked up 11 steals and forced 15 Nuggets turnovers to take a 55-45 lead into halftime.

Isaiah Thomas got it going in the third, scoring 11 points and dishing 3 assists. Denver kept fighting however, and their small-ball lineups appeared to give the C's some trouble defensively. They cut the lead to 5 at one point, but the Celtics were able to stretch the lead out again to 86-71 after a coast-to-coast and-one from Kelly Olynyk at the buzzer.

You immediately knew it was the Celtics' night when Evan Turner hit a circus three-pointer on a broken play, followed by a fast break dunk to open the lead to 22. That marked and 18-1 run. After some lackadaisical play by the C's, the Nuggets were able to cut the lead to 10 with a little over 5 minutes left, forcing Brad Steven's to insert Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder back into the lineup to close out the game.

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Charles Krupa

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