No Kyrie Irving? No Marcus Smart? No Problem. For Boston Celtics third-year point guard Terry Rozier on Wednesday night, he made his first career start a memorable one as he went off for a triple-double in the Celtics' 103-73 beatdown of the New York Knicks at TD Garden.
According to a tweet during the game by Chris Forsberg of ESPN, this was Rozier's first career triple-double in just his first start. Interestingly, Rozier has as many triple-doubles as Irving does in 428 fewer career NBA starts.
Triple doubles:
Kyrie Irving: 1 in 429 career starts
Terry Rozier: 1 in 1 career start— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) February 1, 2018
This is a very impressive feat for Rozier, who finished with 17 points on 6-of-14 shots from the field, 11 assists, a game-high 10 assists, two steals and two blocked shots in 33 minutes of action.
Rozier also joined former Philadelphia 76ers guard Tony Wroten as the 2nd player in the last 40 seasons to record a triple-double in their first career NBA start.
After the game, Rozier opened up about his stellar performance during a live interview with ESPN's Michelle Beadle, Jalen Rose, and former legendary Celtics small forward Paul Pierce.
“I was just well-prepared. I came in this morning and got treatment. I saw coach and he said to be ready to start tonight, so that was on my mind all day,” Rozier said.
Rozier was also very vocal about his support for head coach Brad Stevens and his ability to develop young players and help them flourish in Boston.
“Brad just does a good job at putting us in the right position, giving us the confidence from day one when we come into training camp. He believes in every single person on the bench,” Rozier said of coach Stevens. “When you've got a coach that has that confidence in you and takes his time with you every day, you have no choice but to play good.”
Way to step up tonight in a very big way, Mr. Rozier.
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