Off-the-court storylines dominated the lead-up to Saturday night’s game against the Rockets: How would the team respond to a blowout so bad against their Eastern Conference rivals that TNT changed the channel?
What about Ime Udoka being back in the building – would the complicated reunion, and all of the media hype around it, ultimately serve as a distraction? And what about maintaining the franchise-best home winning streak – was the pressure starting to mount?
A few quarters of solid – but not perfect – basketball began to erase those storylines and help elevate the Celtics’ record to a historic 19-0 at home and an NBA-best, 30-9 overall.