The Boston Celtics turned it up defensively in Sunday’s 105-87 win over the Denver Nuggets, and coach Brad Stevens cited two unlikely reasons why — young guard/forward Romeo Langford and forward Grant Williams.
“I think Grant and Romeo played well, but they did their job,” Stevens told the media. “We needed them to do their job and they did. One was a travel, one was a charge, obviously we got carried by those scoring spurts with those others. But everyone that checks in has to do their job and they did that.”
For Langford, it’s been a slow start in the NBA. He has spent a great deal of his time on the injured list as he tries to find out where he fits in his second season.
Williams has also had an up-and-down career, and for the Celtics, it’s been am up-and-down season.
As usual, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown fueled the victory, which ended with an amazing 40-8 run by the Celtics. But it was undoubtedly nice for Boston to receive some major contributions from two players — Langford and Williams — who could use a little pick-me-up.
More out of Boston
- The Celtics (28-26) have won five of six and currently sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference. They have some big road tests coming up still, with games at the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers.
- Stevens said he just hopes to see more of the same. “Well this is a really hard road trip, obviously. We’re playing really good teams,” he said. “But I’m looking at it more objectively of how we respond in the middle of games, the way that we’ve stayed with it. Those types of things have been better of late.”
- Rookie guard Payton Pritchard is another Celtics youngster who is continuing to show promise, as detailed in a feature from Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.
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