From Larry Bird to Ray Allen, the Boston Celtics have suited up some of the best perimeter shooters in NBA history.
None of them ever had a hotter hand from behind the arc in a quarter than rookie Carsen Edwards on Tuesday night.
Edwards made eight 3-pointers and scored 26 points in the third quarter, leading the Celtics to a 118-95 victory over the host Cleveland Cavaliers to complete an unbeaten preseason (4-0).
Edwards’ performance was a surprise, because there have been few like it in any game, no matter whether it counted in standings. The second-round pick out of Purdue was 8 for 11 behind the arc in the third quarter, all in just under nine minutes.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Boston coach Brad Stevens told reporters after the game. “He was pretty special.”
Edwards finished 9 of 15 from 3-point range and scored 30 points. He made four 30-footers in the quarter alone; across the NBA over the last 20 seasons, the most 30-footers made in a regular-season quarter is two.
Not bad for a 6-foot rookie.
“You look at a guy that size and you try to figure out how he does it,” Stevens said. “And he just keeps doing it.”
Bird has raved about some of Klay Thompson‘s shooting performances, and the Golden State Warriors All-Star is the only player who ever made more 3s in one quarter. He hit nine during his 37-point third quarter — also a record — against Sacramento on Jan. 23, 2015.
Three other players — Kevin Love, Joe Johnson and Michael Redd — have drained eight 3-pointers in a quarter during a regular-season game.
The Celtics’ record for made 3’s in a regular-season game is nine, a mark held by Isaiah Thomas and Antoine Walker (twice).
Information from ESPN Stats & Information was used in this report.