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It wasn’t supposed to be as thrilling or entertaining of a game with many of the Celtics regulars not even making the trip to Cleveland for Boston’s preseason finale against the Cavaliers.
Guess nobody told that to Carsen Edwards, who stole the spotlight with an insane third-quarter, 3-point shooting spree that even left coach Brad Stevens in disbelief.
Edwards canned the first six 3-pointers he launched in the stanza and connected on eight treys in the opening 5:45 of the frame. Edwards, sparked by his other-worldly shooting performance, netted 26 of his game-high 30 points in the third quarter and finished 9-of-15 from deep.
Carsen Edwards hit eight 3PTs in the 3Q alone pic.twitter.com/WDjbdA5kQp
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 16, 2019
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like that,” Stevens said. “Those were deep, hard 3s. And how many? Eight? In like five minutes? I’ve never seen anything like that. … He was pretty special.”
Edwards began his torrid shooting stretch just 39 ticks into the third quarter and proceeded to knock down four triples in just a matter of 1:28. And these weren’t just spot up in the corner threes Edwards sank.
Half of Edwards’ eight 3-pointers in the quarter were from 30-plus feet out, as he expanded his range, almost hitting a trey from the Cavs center-court logo. Edwards’ longest 3-pointers he hit were from 33 and 34-feet, respectively.
Only 23 players had hit 8 3-pointers for the ENTIRE preseason entering Tuesday’s games.
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) October 16, 2019
Carsen Edwards just hit more 3-pointers in one quarter than the OTHER 509 players in the league.
Edwards’ 3rd quarter shot chart: pic.twitter.com/927k5hcnM6
Edwards displayed a quick release off the catch during his 3-point shooting barrage, while also connecting on triples with a hand in his face and showcasing an ability to drop in treys off the dribble.
“It’s a blessing to have this opportunity even if it’s preseason, man,” Edwards said. “You dream to be in positions like this to be able to play in the NBA and play with good guys.”
Edwards added: “Really just in rhythm. It’s just one thing, once you find your groove and your rhythm, it’s kind of like a heat check, and you see it go in, you just keep going.”
Carsen Edwards said he was bleeding all over the locker room after that 1Q elbow from Jarell Martin but he wasn’t about to sit the rest of the game. #Celtics pic.twitter.com/c7G1JbuYkw
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) October 16, 2019
With Edwards on fire, his teammates knew not to only feed the 6-foot rookie guard out of Purdue consistently, but to stay clear of him as well.
“I just didn’t want to get burnt, so I tried to stay away from him,” said Tremont Waters.
Edwards finished the four-game preseason slate by shooting 45.1 percent (14-for-31) from beyond the arc.