As much as the Boston Celtics have impressed their supporters with a splendid start to their season, one of the biggest surprises thus far has to be the improvement of center Kelly Olynyk.
The third-year man has morphed into a big man capable of spreading the defense with his outside shooting while possessing the ability to drive to the rim as well, evidenced by his 20-point performance on 7-of-10 shooting in the Boston Celtics' 102-89 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night at Time Warner Cable Arena.
Olynyk, who also garnered nine rebounds and three assists, put on a display from inside the paint while also hitting a three-point attempt, pacing a Celtics offensive attack which racked up an astounding 25 assists on 42% shooting from the field.
In addition to Olynyk, Boston small forward Jae Crowder contributed 19 points and 12 rebounds on 8-of-16 shooting from the field in 37 minutes, point guard Isaiah Thomas scored 18 points, hitting nine free throws and three treys to round out his efforts, and shooting guard Avery Bradley chipped in 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
Power forward David Lee also added 10 points off of the bench for the Celtics, who limited the Hornets to 36% shooting from the field while recording nine steals to Charlotte's six and 49 rebounds to the Hornets' 44.
For Charlotte, rookie center Frank Kaminsky III lead the way with 23 points and seven rebounds in 31 minutes off of the bench while shooting guard Nicolas Batum added 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Reserve guards Jeremy Lamb and Jeremy Lin contributed 12 points apiece while point guard Kemba Walker scored 10 points on just 4-of-12 shooting in a game-high 41 minutes, ending the contest with a -14 plus-minus rating.
The Celtics lead throughout the game, jumping out to an early 14-7 lead with 7:24 left in the first quarter after a three-pointer by Bradley, keeping that lead intact before ending the quarter up 29-21.
After a free throw by Kaminsky and a layup by Lin began the second quarter, Boston wrestled control of the momentum, surging forward to a 40-28 lead via an 11-4 run.
The third quarter, however, was when the Celtics truly took control of the contest. Leading 55-47 four minutes into the stanza, the team gained ground when three-pointers from Olynyk and Bradley sandwiched a Batum free throw and a dunk by Charlotte center Cody Zeller.
A scintillating one-handed putback jam by Olynyk then electrified the Boston troops, and the swing in momentum was obvious. Sullinger proceeded to hit a layup, Crowder knocked down a baseline jumper, and Thomas spun off of Lin to create space for an open three-pointer, pushing the Celtics lead to a commanding 70-50 after a 15-3 surge, giving the team the authority throughout the remainder of the contest.