BOSTON -- Despite the fact that Boston Celtics big man Amir Johnson had improbably made three third-quarter 3-pointers already, Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson seemingly couldn't bring himself to charge full bore at the 6-foot-9 power forward when the ball swung his way beyond the arc once more.
Who could blame Gibson? It had taken Johnson seven NBA seasons to make four 3-pointers, and five of those seasons were shutouts. Probability and common sense suggested that Johnson would miss his next 3-point attempt. Heck, even Johnson himself didn't blame the Bulls for failing to fully contest.
"I don't think I was on the scouting report for running Amir off the line," Johnson deadpanned. "It was just a good night for me."
But when Gibson hesitated ever so slightly before getting a hand up, Johnson had the time to go through his slow-as-molasses windup and send another rainbow toward the hoop, this one from the right corner. His follow-through caused him to bump into Gibson and spill to the floor, which had him wondering if he would have a chance at his first career 4-point play. That was not to be.
He settled for his fourth 3-pointer of the night, a career first.
The 29-year-old Johnson, whose quiet stat lines through Boston's first three games left some Celtics fans concerned about the growing mileage on his prep-to-pro odometer, scored 16 of his team-high 23 points in the third quarter of Wednesday's 107-100 win over the Bulls. A free throw from Johnson with 1:44 to play broke the night's final tie and helped Boston win a game it played without Al Horford (concussion) and in which lost Jae Crowder (ankle).
The Celtics don't find a way to win Wednesday without Johnson's second-half efforts, particularly a third-quarter outburst that included those four 3-pointers in under six minutes.
"I will say this: Amir Johnson comes in and shoots [3-pointers] after every practice with [assistant coach] Jay Larranaga," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "I think that when you watch Amir do an individual workout, whether it's in the summer or the fall, people would be surprised at how many he makes. Not the people that came to tonight's game for the first time, but people that watch on a day-to-day basis."
Johnson had made only 58-of-185 career 3-point attempts (31.4 percent) entering Wednesday's game. Even in Stevens' space-happy, 3-point-encouraging offense, Johnson connected on only 10-of-43 attempts from beyond the arc last season. Still, Johnson never doubted his ability to make 3-pointers.
"I'm always able to shoot. Guys can shoot in the league," Johnson said. "It's just in our offense, you know? I try to always play team ball. I'm a very unselfish player. I look to pass first, but I was able to just find open spots and knock down shots within our offense. I prefer to roll and get that soft touch, but if guys are just laying off and giving me that much time, like [Robin Lopez] likes to sit in the paint, then I'm going to shoot the ball."
Even inside the arc, this night belonged to Johnson. A short time after his fourth 3-pointer, he blocked a Jimmy Butler layup and collected the rebound. At the other end of the floor, Johnson got the ball on the right block and charged hard on the baseline as Gibson followed. Swooping underneath the basket, Johnson emerged on the opposite side and threw up a fading floater that rattled home.
But all anyone really wanted to talk about after the game was Johnson's 3-pointers.
"When he takes that long to release it, it's probably going in," quipped Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas. "He felt good. He got the right shots. We rotated the ball to him, he set his feet and knocked them down. He'd been talking all week about how he's been shooting it."
Added Marcus Smart: "I was going crazy [on the bench]. I was like, 'Whatever [Johnson] ate or drank last night, I want some of it.'"
Playing without Horford and Crowder, Johnson knew he had to step up. After averaging just 5 points and 4.3 rebounds over 18.7 minutes per game, Johnson offered a reminder that he can still put up a loud box score line when necessary.
For the season, the Celtics own a net rating of plus-10.5 points per 100 possessions with Johnson on the court. That's the second-best number on the team behind only Horford (plus-12.3). With Boston's undersized roster, Johnson must improve his rebounding numbers -- the Bulls pummeled the Celtics on the glass for the second time in a week -- but the Celtics have played well during Johnson's floor time.
And maybe now teams will respect his touch on 3-pointers.
"I work on them every day," Johnson said. "And [Wednesday] I was knocking them down."