The Boston Celtics got Marquis Daniels and Paul Pierce back and built a solid first half lead. But previous habits were not exorcised, as they once again were a Jekyll and Hyde team as they played ineffective second half basketball.
They lost to conference rival Orlando Magic, 96-89, and fell behind them to third place in the east in home court advantage.
But their problems and issues are much more immediate. While all the pieces are back, not all are at peak health and the Celtics haven’t really gelled as a team this season. They ended the series with the Magic 1-3 and are now 32-17 overall and fall to 15-9 at home.
Cs Fans Boo
The Celtics heard smatterings of boos in this game for the first time I can remember. They may have had a few in the Nets game as well. Clearly, they are not playing at their best right now.
Their biggest issue going forward is, ‘how much of the old Kevin Garnett will they get back by playoff time?’
Kevin had zero first half points on 0-5 shooting with 5 rebounds and what appeared to be solid defense. While his offense picked up in the second half, his defense no longer appears to be dominant enough to make everyone else that much better.
It is beginning to look like the Cs will have to compensate for a player who is about 85-90% of what he used to be. It is just enough of a reduction of ability to make Garnett and the team far more vulnerable.
Next on the list is getting Paul Pierce healthy with a troublesome ankle and knee. He is going to the All Star game and will shoot in the three point contest there as well. Hopefully he’ll come back in better shape.
Just back today, Marquis Daniels needs time to get back into game shape and rhythm.
Glen Davis hasn’t really gotten into a rhythm either and needs to figure out how to play more effectively closer to the basket.
Rasheed Wallace hasn’t really gotten into his best shape and has yet to really play a long stretch of Sheed-like basketball as we remember it.
All of that plays somewhat into today’s lost. But it was mostly about consistency as once again the Celtics couldn’t or just didn’t put together 48 minutes of basketball.
Third Quarter Collapse
After playing solid first half ball, building a 51-40 lead, and holding the Magic to .395 shooting, the Celtics collapsed completely in the third period, losing it 36-11. An 11 point lead turned into a 14 point deficit heading into the final quarter.
19-0 Run
After Rajon Rondo made a three point shot with the 24 second clock running down to make the score 60-51, the Magic went on a 19-0 run over the next 5 minutes to go up 70-60 with 1:45 left in the 3rd quarter.
During that run, Vince Carter hit 6 straight points and 9 points of the total to get Orlando going. Rashard Lewis hit 2 three pointers, Howard had an alley oop dunk on a pass from Matt Barnes and Jameer Nelson hit a layup before Tony Allen hit 2 free throws to stop the bleeding.
The Magic weren’t to be denied as they then scored the final 6 points of the quarter on 2 Lewis free throws, and 4 straight points by Jason Williams.
That makes it a 25-2 run in total. Call it a full fledged beat down. The Celtics used to give those. Now they are on the receiving end. The strange part is that it was only for a single quarter. The Celtics won every other quarter. The problem is internal.
Magic Get Long Ball Going
The Celtics’ perimeter defense broke down as the Magic scored 4 of 5 three pointers in the period and 11 of 22 from the arc overall and most were open shots. Matt Barnes and Vince Carter did the most damage with 3 of 4 from downtown each in the game.
The 3rd period ended with Orlando up 76-62. The damage was done.
4th Quarter – ‘Heinz’ time
After going down as many as 17 points, and getting no closer than 10 for most of the 4th quarter, the Cs made a late run to close to within 5 points with 43 seconds left on two Garnett free throws.
Once again, defensive stops, the part of the game the Celtics could always count on in previous years, were hard to come by. Rashard Lewis answered with a deep running jump shot to make it 96-89 with 18.8 seconds left to end any real hope of a comeback. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce each missed three point attempts before time ran out on them.
The Celtics did win the last quarter 27-20 and did it with the bench players on the floor for a long time, but they didn’t really challenged until time was just too short.
Rondo Continues to be Bright Spot
It is getting to sound like a broken record but…Rajon Rondo continues to be the most energetic player on the court for the Celtics…by far.
He gets a number of steals and rebounds based solely on hustle and extra quickness. He had at least 2 rebounds simply by getting to the spot a split second before a Magic player did.
Rondo led the Celtics with 17 points and came close to a triple double with 9 assists and 8 rebounds, while adding 3 steals. Amazingly, he had no turnovers.
Rondo’s jumper continues to improve as he hit 2-2 from the three point arc, and 7 of 13 overall.
Rondo’s game is solid in so many aspects, especially his ability to get his shot off around the rim. He put one in over Marcin Gortat while drawing the foul, making the score at the time 49-38, Celtics.
Howard in Foul Trouble
The Celtics got Dwight Howard in early foul trouble in the first half, causing him to play only eight minutes with 2 points and 3 rebounds. Though adding to his fouls (5 total) in the second half he played all but 2 minutes and scored 16 points while grabbing 13 rebounds and blocking 2 shots.
Celtics Support Weak Ray Allen was second on the Celtics with 14 points on 4 of 13 shooting with 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 39 plus minutes.
Paul Pierce played 30 minutes on his tender ankle and scored 13 points on 5 of 12 shooting with 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 turnovers and no assists.
Kevin Garnett finished with 13 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 turnovers, and a steal in 31 minutes.
Kendrick Perkins played almost 22 minutes with just 2 points on three shots, with 3 rebounds, an assist and 2 turnovers.
Davis – Moving up, but not in a straight line
Glen Davis had his ups and downs, but generally looked better for the second game in a row. Perhaps he is pulling out of his funk. He is still getting his shot blocked far too often, but is trying to figure out ways to work effectively around the hoop.
He had a nice little running hook over 7’ Marcin Gortat, has hit a few jumpers, used a nice spin move on Ryan Anderson to get by him and squeezed off a lay up just before Howard could block it. Glen also had a big steal on Dwight in the 3rd.
Davis’ stat line was 9 points on 4 of 11 shooting (3 blocked), 7 rebounds, a steal, a block, and an assist in 22 minutes. He was active in the game and Doc rewarded him by playing him in place of Perkins/Wallace in the 4th quarter with the starting five.
The Puzzle Named Rasheed
Rasheed Wallace continues to perplex with 2 points on 1 for 6 shooting, 0-2 for the arc, 1 rebound, 3 assists, and the second worst plus/minus at –10 in just 19 minutes.
Marquis Daniels had 6 points on 3 of 6 shooting, 2 rebounds, and a steal in just 8 plus minutes in his return.
Of note: Wallace and Davis combined for zero assists in 26 plus minutes.
The Magic Killed at the Three Point line: 8 of 16 vs. 3 of 12 for Cs
Points Off Turnovers: 19-15 (Celtics)
Fast break Points: 8-5 (Celtics)
Second Chance Points: 11-10 (Celtics)
FG%: 46.3% – 42.2% (Magic)
Rebounds: 38-40 (Celtics)
Trade Ray?
Rumors will fly and fans will get more impatient after another game of giving up a solid first half lead only to lose again.
Rumors have the Bulls supposedly offering Kirk Hinrich and possibly Tyrus Thomas to the Celtics for Ray Allen and his expiring contract. Ainge has not accepted at this point and said he is not shopping Ray.
Ken Berger of CBSsports says the Cs likely will trade Ray Allen by the February 18 deadline. He mentions sharp shooting Kevin Martin of the Sacramento Kings as a possible target.
There is no doubt that the pressure will mount to do something with every loss.
In the meantime, the Celtics last game before the All Star break is Wednesday night in New Orleans against the Hornets.
In a contest that had all the feel of a sparsely attended exhibition game, the Pierce-less Celtics, trailing at the half to potentially the league’s worst team ever, turned up the second half D to win 96-87.
It was a game that was much closer than it should have been, and you really couldn’t blame the Boston fans’ lack of verbalocity. They were either a bit stunned or lulled to sleep by the lackluster play of the Celtics as the Green Team trailed the Nets at the half 55-51, while allowing the moribund Nets to shoot a precision .633
The second half was correction time, but even then the Celtics let the Nets hang around within striking distance until Kevin Garnett made an 18 foot jump shot, making the score 95-87 with 59 seconds left. It was yet another example of a Celtic team that has been lacking a killer instinct, and even stumbling in the fourth quarter for much of the season.
The Cs returned to a more committed defense and held the Nets to 11 for 38 shooting (29%) and 32 second half points.
Even winning was a bit inept.
The Cs did everything in their power to keep the Nets in the game at the end, including a 24 second call without even a shot attempt with the score 93-87, and 1:28 left in the game.
Shortly after, Rajon Rondo was harassed into an 8 second call for not getting the ball over half court with 43:9 seconds left.
Then Eddie House gets whistled for an offensive foul for running into his defender on an in bounds play with 31:3 seconds left.
Who’s Zooming Who?
But these are the New Jersey Nets we’re talking about. Even with three gift turnovers, there is no way these guys are going to be tricked into winning a game against the Boston Celtics. They missed 6 straight three point shot attempts (7 straight shots starting with 1:16 left) in the final minute to top any Celtic misadventures that they endured.
Ray Allen led the Celtics with 26 points and Eddie House provided a big lift with all 10 of his points in the 4th quarter.
Eddie even had a three pointer taken away after a video review was judged that the ball was still in his hands when the 24 second clock expired. For the record, after replaying the shot on the Nets TV station, the Nets announcers thought the shot had left his hands before the red light went on.
(An aside: Net announcer Mike Fratello doesn’t seem like he is having much fun at all doing the Nets’ games. It is hard to put a positive spin on what they are doing out there every night. )
Irreplaceable Rajon Rondo played 44 minutes, contributing 17 points on 6-8 shooting, with 11 assists, 3 steals, a block and just 2 turnovers. His plus/minus was +17, meaning the Celtics were –8 in just the four minutes he rested.
Rondo had a beautiful over-the-shoulder pass to Rasheed Wallace, who was coming up behind him, for a short jumper in the second quarter to make the score 33-28
Glen Davis played probably his finest game of the season, scoring 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 21 minutes.
Kevin Garnett played just 26 plus minutes, scoring 10 points with 7 rebounds. 3 assists and 2 steals in his limited time.
In somewhat of a change of pace, Rasheed Wallace dished off for a season high 5 assists, while scoring 7 points on 3 of 7 shooting with 3 rebounds. In the third quarter, ‘Sheed showed off a nice touch pass, by instantly re-directing a pass from Rondo to a cutting Davis for two points. Wallace down low is something we need to see more of, I think.
Kendrick Perkins had 7 points and 6 rebounds in 25 plus minutes. Tony Allen, starting for Pierce, was quiet offensively with 4 points on 2 of 7 shooting with 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 27 plus minutes.
‘Open’ House
It does not take much space for Eddie House to get a shot off and a cool Eddie was 0-4 until he heated up quickly with three makes in a row early in the fourth quarter.
He got going with a left side mid range bank shot to regain a Celtic lead at 74-73. He followed that with a three pointer after giving the ball to Davis, then getting it right back and coming back up behind a Davis screen at the arc to drain his first three.
Less than two minutes layer, Eddie came around front court screens to square up on the left corner for three more, making the score 88-77 for the Celtics.
He hit another jump shot with 6 minutes left to make it 84-77. House score 10 of the Celtics’ 12 points in a 4 minute span. Eddie added a steal during that flurry for good measure.
After that, Ray Allen hit a jumper and a three pointer sandwiched around a Glen Davis jump shot and a Kendrick Perkins lay up off a Rondo dish. It would be nice if Davis could get that elusive jumper going again.
Then Garnett hit his big jump shot to move the lead up to 8 points and the Nets were done. A team whose confidence is completely shot, the Nets missed 6 straight three point attempts over the last 59 seconds of the game.
Bill Walker played 9 minutes in the game, by far the most time he’s been given this season. He scored 2 points with a rebound and 2 turnovers in his appearance.
The Nets were led by Brook Lopez’ 19 points, followed by Devin Harris’ 17 points.
Numbers
The Celtics shot .500 after starting slow and out rebounded the hapless Nets 36-33.
The Celtics took big advantage of turnovers with 25 points on 15 Net TOs. The Nets only had 14 points off 12 Celtic turnovers.
Fast break points: 17-6 (Celtics)
Points in the Paint: 32-34 (Nets)
Second Chance Points: 11-4 (Celtics)
It wasn’t a masterpiece by any stretch. More like paint-by-numbers, but we will take the Celtics’ third win a row.
Paul Pierce may play on Sunday.
Next up: the Orlando Magic come to Boston on Sunday for a 2:30 game
One game after closing strong to beat the Wizards, the Celtics followed suit to beat the Heat.
Fourth quarters have been a big problem during the Celtics post-Christmas funk. Finishing what they started was a foreign concept.
With the score tied at 74 after three periods, based on recent history, a win was by no means to be predicted.
Fourth Quarter Ray Allen led with 9 fourth quarter points, Eddie House had 7, and Kendrick Perkins had 5, as eight Celtic players scored in the final period to close out the Heat.
The Celtics went up by 10 at 88-78 on a Kendrick Perkins dunk, before Miami closed the gap.
During that run up, Ray Allen had two nice assists in a row, getting the ball outside the paint and feeding the bigs down low. First he got the ball on the right side and dumped it down to Rasheed Wallace, who hit a little jump shot. Shortly after, he got the ball near the middle and dumped it down to Perkins for a dunk.
Rondo’s Look Away
The run was capped off by a stellar fake by Rajon Rondo. Using a trick from his high school QB days, it looked like a play action fake, as he looked at Ray on the right side and started to pass but changed directions immediately to send it to Perkins on the left coming in for a lay up. It was a superb play and the score was 88-78 with 7:09 to go.
Of course, the Celtics aren’t in a habit of closing strong, if at all, as the Heat worked themselves back within two one more time
Pierce Out, Ray And Rajon Cover
With Paul Pierce out nursing a sprained ankle, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo stepped up offensively with 23 and 22 points respectively to lead the Celtics to victory.
Rondo handed out 14 assists with 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 4 turnovers to keep things glued together in the absence of Pierce. Rajon had 21 points and 10 assists after three periods.
Miami closed to within two points for the second time in the quarter at 94-96 with 1:36 left on a Quentin Richardson 3 pointer. Boston then widened the lead through a series of trips to the line, led by Ray Allen with 5 of 5 shooting from the charity stripe in the final 30 seconds.
The Celtics didn’t score a field goal in the last 2:52 of the game, but maintained their lead by hitting enough of their free throws to keep Miami at bay.
Eddie House finished with 16 points on 5 of 9 shooting with 4 for 4 from the free throw line. Fast Eddie had a big role in maintaining control down the stretch with a three pointer, a two point jumper and a rebound on consecutive plays to extend the lead to 93-86 after the Heat got within two.
This was House’s third best scoring game of the year and highest since December 30th.
Tony Allen started in place of Pierce and had the difficult assignment of guarding Dwyane Wade when he was in. Tony played pretty well, though he scored only 6 points on 2 of 6 shooting. Tony grabbed 6 rebounds, two steals, and two turnovers in 27 plus minutes.
Celtics Defense tightens up for a few spells late in 4th
The Celtics let the Heat shoot .521 on the game and gave up 28 fourth quarter points. But they played strong defense for short bursts, late in the quarter.
Tony had a critical steal from Wade as he tried to make a move at the top of the key. On the ensuing break, 64% foul shooter Tony was fouled by Udonis Haslem and made his only two free throws of the game for a 99-94 score with 36 seconds left.
Wade had a strong game scoring and dishing, as he finished with 30 points on 11 of 16 shooting, 13 assists, 5 rebounds, 6 turnovers, a steal and 2 blocked shots. Rafer Alston was second with 15 points.
Wade loves to go up and block those centers. He did it in this game against Perkins underneath.
Kevin Garnett had a very productive game, particularly as a facilitator, with 14 points on 6 of 10 shooting, 6 rebounds, and a season high 9 assists in just 30 plus minutes.
Kendrick Perkins, a person of interest to other NBA GMs, says Ken Berger of CBS Sports, contributed 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting, with 2 blocks, and 3 turnovers in 26 plus minutes.
Rasheed Wallace, perhaps the person Rondo was referring to in recent veiled comments about personal agendas on the team, scored 7 points on 3 of 10 shooting, 1 of 4 from downtown, with just 2 rebounds in 21 minutes. The Celtics were plus 6 points when ‘Sheed was on the floor.
Wallace didn’t get a technical all evening and seemed rather subdued for Wallace.
Glen Davis, who has been a funk himself, seems to have been more active in this contest with 5 boards, and 6 points in 17 minutes.
Rondo ‘Non Call’ Angers Heat
But Jermaine O’Neal was whistled for a technical after voicing demonstrative displeasure at a non-call on Rondo drive and basket that he defended.
He said that Rondo pushed him away with his other arm to create space for the lay up. After O’Neal’s tech, Rafer Alston immediately got one for arguing the same non call, and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was upset as well.
More Rondo
As infrequent as a bi-weekly pay check, Rajon hit two three pointers as the shot clock was running down. The first gave the Celtics a lead at 60-58 and the second broke a tie to make it 69-66. Both were huge in a close game like this.
With Rondo looking like a QB again, Ray Allen dove and ‘caught’ a pass on the ground, also in the third quarter and called time out, saving the possession. First and ten.
It’s the Rebounding
In a sign of hope, the Celtics out rebounded the Heat 41 to 32 overall and 15 to 6 on the offensive boards. That means the Celtics rebounded 15 of 39 of their own misses, a very solid number. And it made a big difference in the outcome of this game.
More Numbers
Points in the Paint: 44-44
Points off Turnovers: 17-17
Fast Break Points: 11-9 (Celtics)
Second Chance Points: 16-11 (Celtics)
Summary
With comments recently coming out from Rondo about some internal issues, ubuntu is strained. Not that it wasn’t noticeable in the Celtics’ play. Still, having someone as inscrutable as Rondo being the one to publicly suggest some things aren’t right in the locker room is a bit of a ground tremor.
The team played well enough, if not great, to beat the Heat last night. Fixing what is wrong is done on a game by game basis. I’d say last night was a step forward.
Dwyane Wade was + 6 in 40 plus minutes, meaning (obviously) the Celtics took the lead when Wade was off the floor resting. But worth noting.
For a team that is still in search of itself, it was a satisfying win.
And once again, ever more skeptical fans can only hope it is a start to something better.
But injury, age, inconsistency and beating a bad team does not suggest a better bridge is being built. Only the coming games, both before and after the All Star game, will tell us more.
The beleaguered Boston Celtics ended a three game losing streak and put salve on a one point loss at home to the Lakers on national TV on Sunday. The Celtics are now 3-6 over their last 9 games.
That they beat a team that is even more dysfunctional and in far more disrepair than they are, only serves to mitigate the win. Even before ‘Arena-gate’, this Wizards team had major problems.
The Celtics, on a key Kevin Garnett jump shot and some Rajon Rondo free throws, pulled away in the final minute of a far closer game than a look at the stats suggest.
They won 99-88 and held the Wizards to .389 shooting, with 1 of 10 from the three point line while shooting .548 from the field and out rebounded them 39-35.
But that belies the fact that Washington was shooting .529 at the half and were still leading and shooting .481 after three periods.
Pierce Sits Out Final Period
Paul Pierce had his ankle bent in a bad angle and rolled over by Caron Butler on a scramble for the ball in the first half. He came back to play a few minutes in the second half before sitting out the fourth quarter.
After being behind 78-74 after three periods, they got a strong effort from Kevin Garnett, Tony Allen, Rasheed Wallace, Rajon Rondo and even Glen Davis to clamp down defensively and win the 4th quarter going away. They held Washington to 10 fourth quarter points while scoring 25 of their own.
The Wizards scored just 2 baskets in the 4th period on 18 attempts for a .11% shooting quarter.
Boston managed to find a team that has less confidence and less chemistry than they do.
Before the Wizards last two wins, they were 2-8 and have been a huge disappointment compared to the talent that is on this team.
Kevin Garnett was more active at both ends of the floor and led the Celtics with 19 points on 8 of 9 shooting with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal.
Paul Pierce, in limited minutes (28), led the Celtics with 8 rebounds and added 12 points, 11 were scored in the first half.
Rondo Still on Upward Curve
Rajon Rondo continues to be the energetic backbone of this team with 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting, 12 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, but 6 turnovers.
Rajon also continues to improve his shooting and hit a number of mid range and little jumpers in this contest. That is in addition to his continued excellence at distributing the ball with 12 assists.
Ray Allen added 17 points on 6 of 13 shooting with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 turnovers. He found the touch after starting out 2 of 7 shooting. Rumors are out there about Danny seeking trade offers for Ray.
Kendrick Perkins added 9 points, just 3 rebounds, an assist, and 2 solid blocked shots in 26 minutes.
Doc Rivers went with Rasheed Wallace for the whole 4th quarter. Perkins did not play at all.
Tony, Rasheed, and Glen Tony Allen had yet another solid game with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, a blocked shot and just a single turnover in 28 minutes. Doc played Tony in Pierce’s place, when Paul couldn’t go.
Tony played very well defensively and was aggressive at both ends of the floor. He was the first to start attacking the rim and finished 3 of 9 shooting, with 4 for 4 on free throws.
As the 4th period wound down, Tony d’ed up Caron Butler underneath, forcing him to make a bad pass to Earl Boykins. Tony then stole the ball from Boykins and got it to Rajon for a fast break. Rajon passed it back to a motoring Tony for an easy lay-up.
Rasheed scored 8 of his 14 points in the last period while applying suffocating interior defense with Garnett and later Glen Davis. Wallace added 2 blocked shots, 5 rebounds, and a steal in 22 minutes.
Sheed showed his still highly effective arsenal of low post moves and fade aways in this contest. He shot 4 of 7 with only one three pointer taken (and missed badly), and drew enough fouls to go 6–6 from the free throw line.
Davis – Signs of Life?
Glen Davis has been having big time problems getting anything going this season, especially on the offensive end.
Doc did not play him at all in the first half, for the first time in along time. Brian Scalabrine got the call in the first half. In Davis’ 7 second half minutes, he only scored a point, but had a number of other plays that helped the team significantly.
He fought through a tight double team for a nice assist on a Tony Allen dunk, adding another assist on a kick out to Ray Allen for a much needed three pointer. Glen also drew an offensive foul on Antawn Jamison, played solid defense, and grabbed a few boards in that critical fourth period. Nothing fancy, but better than what we have been seeing from Davis.
The Wizards were led by Caron Butler’s 20 points and 11 rebounds. Antawn Jamison endured a 2 for 17 shooting night, finishing with 8 points.
More Numbers
The Celtics held Washington to just 28 points in the paint, while scoring 38 of their own.
The Wizards stayed in the game by scoring 23 points off turnovers to the Celtics 14 points of turnovers. They also had 13 second chance points to the Celtics 8.
About that bridge they are trying to build. With KG playing better but still not what he used to be, Pierce playing banged up and Ray Allen, the healthiest one, still missing far more than normal, some wonder at this point if it is a bridge too far.
I’m not willing to say that yet. Too many things change far too quickly in this league for such a conclusive judgment. But crossing the Washington bridge isn’t much to get excited about.
The Celtics are now 30-16. They play Miami at home on Wednesday.
In a highly anticipated game of historic arch rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics 90-89 on a Kobe Bryant fade away at the foul line with 7.3 seconds left.
Ray Allen did a strong job of defending Kobe, but Bryant made the clutch shot anyway.
It was the first time the Lakers led in the second half. Unfortunately, it was the only time that really counts. Los Angeles hadn’t led since a Kendrick Perkins dunk tied it up at 40 all with 5:33 left in the second quarter.
So what does this game mean?
Let me put it to you this way…what if Kobe missed and the Celtics won instead? How much different would you be feeling right now?
For me, not much.
Just before Kobe’s big shot, Paul Pierce was called for an offensive foul when he slightly warded off Ron Artest and Artest went for the Academy Award with his reaction, falling away and down. Pierce doesn’t quite get into Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant territory with refs ignoring that contact at that time of the game.
(Remember the Kobe foul on Pierce, that was called a steal, that caused a game impacting turnover with time running out in a previous meeting that was never called? Also recall Rasheed Wallace getting T’d up for saying “And one” after making a basket not so long ago? Kobe did the very same thing in this game with no ref response at all.)
It was Ron Artest. The foul was called. Turnover. Laker ball.
One might question why the Celtics didn’t double Kobe to get the ball out of his hands. Ray was doing a credible job on Kobe the previous few times down the court and Kobe missed his shot each time. But this was with the game on the line. He is their clutch shooter. Maybe it was because they knew they would have a chance to answer.
With 7.3 seconds left, the Celtics had a world of time to tie or take the lead.
The Final Play
As the final play developed, it wasn’t a bad play. They went for the win with a three point shot.
Pierce took the in bounds pass and headed over to right top of the arc. Ray Allen came up and screened off Paul’s defender for a moment and continued on across the court to behind the left top three point line.
Pierce continued to move toward the hoop with two defenders on him, so he threw across the top to Ray, who was open for a second, but had Lamar Odom closing in on him as he shot.
Like another recent game where Ray was shooting poorly, but hit the game winner, Ray put it up. Up to that moment, Ray Allen was 2 for 9 in this game. Let the record show, he finished 2 for 10, 0-6 from the arc, and just 7 points. It was a shot that Ray Allen has made many times before. It bounced off as time ran out. Ball game over. Lakers win.
So, again, what do you take from this game?
It was a closely contested game between two teams that were evenly matched for this game. I didn’t see a clear cut winner either way.
Both teams played hard. Some players played well. Others didn’t. I know one thing. The Lakers didn’t look unbeatable.
Boston was home and needed this game more than the Lakers did. But Boston hasn’t been playing well for a while. They played pretty well against the NBA Champions, all things considered.
If you think ‘I/we’ should be in panic mode after this game, I disagree.
I expected the Lakers to win this game. I didn’t expect the Celtics to control the game as well as they did for as long as they did.
The Celtics fought back from 13 down early to take 10 and 11 points leads. The Lakers fought back to win at the end.
Both teams shot fairly well with pretty serious defense in their face. They were both over .500 shooting in the first half and the Lakers finished at .479 to the Celtics .466.
Laker Big Men
Of concern for the Celtics was the efficiency of the Lakers’ big men in the paint. The Lakers scored 50 points in the paint to the Celtics 42.
Andrew Bynum had a big first quarter with 12 points and finished with 19 and 11 rebounds. Pau Gasol was held in check with just 11 points in 40 minutes but had 11 rebounds and played solid defense on KG who took just 9 shots, making 5 for 10 points.
Kendrick Perkins was blocked 3 three times and Bynum had an impressive dunk over KG and behind Perkins after Perkins went out to cover Kobe and didn’t quite get back in time.
Perkins finished with 10 rebounds, 8 points and no blocks in 30 plus minutes.
The Celtics overcame one of their ongoing weaknesses by out rebounding the Lakers 39 to 36, and on the offensive boards with 10 to 8. But they continued to be careless with the ball with 18 turnovers. The Lakers were only somewhat better with 15 TOs.
Rajon Rondo led the Celtics with 21 points and 12 assists (10 in the first half). Paul Pierce supported with 15 points and three big three pointers in the first half even after sitting for a long spell with two early fouls.
That allowed Tony Allen to get major playing time (25 plus minutes) and Tony played extremely well. He defended Bryant as well as anyone could possibly expect and scored 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting
How the game went
Rajon Rondo had a spectacular game to get the Celtics ahead and keep them there for most of the game.
The Celtics started out down by as many as 13 points in the first quarter as the Lakers led after one 30-19.
Gasol rebounded a missed Paul Pierce three pointer and Rondo knocked down his pass and recovered it, taking it in for the score to get within 40-38. Shortly after, Rajon drives and dishes to Perkins for the dunk, game tied at 40.
Over all, the Celtics went on a 23 point swing from 30-17 until they went up 52-42 before the Lakers scored the last two baskets of the first half.
During that time Tony Allen came in for Pierce and played well. He even had a fantastic block of Kobe at the rim. It resulted in a fast break for the Celtics with Rondo getting it to Glen Davis. Davis was blocked by Artest, but Davis scrambled to the ground for the ball and called time out.
On the inbound, Rondo passed to Paul Pierce for three. Celtics were up for the first time, 43-40. From there, Pierce kept getting open on the weak side three point line and hit two more threes.
Rondo was ‘driving and kicking’ in the first half. Rajon was more of a shooter in the second half as Kobe was laying off him.
Rasheed Wallace didn’t score his first points of the game until 6:35 were left and he hit a big three pointer to extend the Celtic lead to 84-78.
Ron Artest didn’t score well. But he was involved in two of the biggest plays of the game.
He went just 4 for 12, but he had a huge basket driving around KG and hitting a runner over Perkins to get within one point at 88-89. Then he drew the offensive foul on Pierce. That set up the game winning situation.
Do the Celtics have something to worry about? Yes they do.
The Celtics are now 6–11 since beating Orlando on Christmas Day. They have a number of things to worry about.
But this game they actually played pretty well, considering what we have been witnessing of late.
The bench players still have to give them more, especially Glen Davis.
After a fast start on his return, Glen has struggled rebounding and offensively.
Ray Allen has been the healthiest, but has been inconsistent offensively.
Kevin Garnett is still not back completely and one wonders just how ‘back’ he will get.
There is something missing from this team at this point.
It must be noted what a bright spot Tony Allen has been in a difficult time. Who would have thought I’d be writing that sentence a few months ago?
With questions about the stars’ age and health, and the inconsistent over all play of the team, one wonders if Danny will make a play for a strong addition to the team before the February 18 deadline.
Next up: Washington Wizards in DC on Monday night.
More important, the Boston Celtics were just swept in their season series with division rival Atlanta Hawks 4-0.
Boston started strong, lost an early lead, got down around 10 points, came back to within one point and faded….and lost….again, 100-91.
Jamal Crawford has become the new Celtic killer, scoring 28 points in 39 minutes off the bench. With Crawford averaging 20 points against them this year, it appears that the Celtics haven’t figured out a way to guard him.
Joe Johnson saved the best for last, scoring 16 of his 27 points in the decisive 4th quarter as the Hawks overcame a pretty good Celtic defense to pull away for the win.
There are all kinds of reasons why it happened and most of them are valid. But it is getting to be an old story at this point.
Multiple Choice
The reason(s) the big Green Machine is sputtering this year and even when healthy, are that they are:
1) maddeningly inconsistent.
2) too full of themselves
3) too confident in relation to their abilities
4) too injured to tell anything real
5) infected with Detroit-itis.
6) All of the above
But they haven’t been healthy for very long this season. The question is…When will they be? Kevin Garnett is putting on a bold front and had a healthy line score tonight. He is active on the court and makes the Celtics a better team. But he is not whole. He can’t play 40 plus minutes anyway.
Before anyone gets too riled up, the Celtics starters out scored the young athletic Hawk starters, and they outscored them by 10 points when Garnett was on the floor. Let that set in before you declare wholesale changes are in order. On the other hand…
Boston…We Have a Problem
Games like these can actually be a good thing.
It lets you know a few things much more clearly. Does this sweep mean anything come playoff time?
Contrary to what the Celtic players will tell you, it can and most likely will…at least to the Hawks. Making whatever excuse you want about the first three games this year, winning 4 in a row against a feisty Celtic team and controlling the game as well as they did in this contest means something.
I won’t call Jamal Crawford the new Andrew Toney or Vinnie Johnson,…yet. But he has become something of a modern Celtic killer. If you think his game is one dimensional, as it can be at times, try 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and yes, I think I also caught him playing some defense out there. We have the tape to prove it.
The Hawks were a ridiculous +20 during Jamal’s 39 minutes in the game. He not only scored against the Celtics’ futile bench in this contest, he scored plenty against the starters as well.
Crawford has scored 18, 17 18 and 28 against the Celtics. If you are wondering what would happen if Marquis Daniels were here, Daniels played in the first game when Crawford scored 18.
Still, I’d like to see what happens with a healthy Marquis Daniels back.
When in Rome
Taking a page out of Mike Woodson’s book, Doc went exclusively to Paul Pierce early in the 3rd period. As in the old days, (like last year even) Pierce went to work one on one to great effectiveness. He finished with a season high 35 points on 11 of 15 shooting, 1 of 1 three pointers, and paraded to the line like the old days, making 12 of 13 free throws.
Paul scored 14 3rd quarter points for 28 total points heading into the 4th quarter.
But only Garnett supported in double figures with 15 points. KG added 7 rebounds, a block and a steal. His defense was active, if not always quick. Getting better, but still not what he assume to get from Garnett.
The Hawks ran often in the first half scoring 22 points on breaks. They finished with 29 to the Celtics 8 on the run.
The other big discrepency was in points off turnovers. The Hawks had 24 points (off 16 TOs) to the Celtics 10 (off 14 TOs).
The Celtics shot just .419 on the evening to the Hawks .474. Free throws are about even (Celtics advantage, 30-27) as were rebounds (Hawks advantage, 39-35)
Kendrick Perkins had 12 rebounds and 8 points in 24 minutes.
Ray Allen was just 4 for 13 for 9 points in 36 minutes with a rebound, 2 assists, a steal and two blocked shots.
Rajon Rondo did not attack the middle for extended portions of the game, probably because of 3 of 13 shooting, but handed off or passed off after crossing half court. He finished with 8 assists, 5 rebounds, a steal and 4 turnovers. He did not get to the line and had 4 turnovers on the evening.
Rasheed Wallace, Tony Allen, Eddie House and Glen Davis were on the floor for much of the Hawks damage. Center Zaza Pachulia gave the Hawks a big lift as well with 9 points on 4 of 5 shooting, and some physical play inside, while grabbing 6 rebounds.
Mike Bibby was on the floor for just 8 plus minutes with 4 fouls, zero assists and 2 points.
Josh Smith and Al Horford were solid at the defensive end and Smith had 4 blocks, in addition to solid defense in the middle.
It is beginning to smell like a rivalry to me.
It was a testy game with a number of hard fouls, some woofing on both sides, and 3 technicals called.
Things can change quickly in this league and often do. But it looks more and more like this team needs something to change the continuing losses to teams that they could be beating.
That is not to take anything away from the Hawks. They are looking better and better. But the Celtics bench could use some reinforcement, or at least some improvement in order for this team to be able to confidently compete for a title this season.
Rasheed is up and down. Davis isn’t playing very well yet. Eddie is up and down. Only Tony Allen has surprised in a pleasant way.
Their next game is Sunday afternoon against the Lakers in Boston. Even more will be learned in that game.
In an exciting, defensive oriented playoff intensity basketball game, the Magic ended a mini 2 game Celtic winning streak that began once Kevin Garnett returned to the Boston line up.
That the winning basket was scored when Rashard Lewis made a drive past KG with 1.3 seconds left, lets us know that KG is still not completely healed. A healthy Garnett would never have let that happen.
KG finished with just 6 points on 2 of 8 shooting, 7 rebounds, and two steals. Sporting a slight limp, it appears that it will take a while for KG to get back to normal.
‘T’ Party
There were some early fireworks, as Matt Barnes and Paul Pierce went head to head, literally, after Pierce put a bear hug on Dwight Howard underneath the hoop in the first quarter to stop a dunk. After a few nose-to-nose words were exchanged, Pierce pushed Barnes away with his hand to Barnes face. Both received technical fouls, but the game’s intensity amped up after that.
Shortly after, Kendrick Perkins was about get verbal with the refs about something, and Kevin Garnett gathered Perkins and the rest of his teammates together on the floor to get everyone to calm down and stay focused.
It worked for three quarters. In spite of a 31 to 11 free throw attempt deficit, due largely to Howard getting the Celtics’ bigs in foul trouble, the Beantown Ballers led the entire time. Rasheed Wallace was playing a solid game and his shot was clicking. Sheed went 3 of 5 from downtown, but had some ‘post up’ points as well.
Wallace finished second in scoring with 17 points on 7 of 14 shooting, and had 3 steals, and a blocked shot, but just 2 rebounds. He received a technical foul for saying “And one” after making a basket because he felt he was fouled on the shot.
Paul Channels Ray?
Paul Pierce found it hard going with three of his shots getting blocked. Reminiscent of Ray Allen, Pierce was off with his shot all night, going just 2 of 11 shooting before hitting a huge clutch three pointer to recapture a 92-91 lead with just 1:21 left. Paul was 5 of 5 from the line, had 4 assists. But he also had 4 turnovers.
Then Sheed made a great play as he blocked Vince Carter on a drive. Shortly after, Rasheed knocks the ball loose from Vince and Rondo dove to recover it while calling time out.
Then Rajon Rondo made it 94-91 blowing by J.J. Redick on a hard drive and banking in a lay up. Redick actually played fairly good defense for much of the night, but can’t handle Rondo.
Redick returned the favor with a deep three pointer to tie the game at 94 and 41.4 seconds left. Ray got lost covering Redick, and KG jumped out but was too late as the shot drained.
In a tightly defended sequence, Redick wanted to get the ball to Vince Carter who was had Paul Pierce draped all over him. All other options were defensed well until Lewis lost Ray Allen and came up to the circle to receive the pass. Garnett stayed with him until he finally cut a corner made the lay up to win. Wallace was a bit late coming over to help defend the paint.
With 1.3 seconds left, Wallace air balled a three pointer from the top as time expired.
Twin Towers – Magic Style
Orlando, in a surprise move, played their twin towers, Dwight Howard and Marcin Gortat together in the 4th quarter. It worked far too well, as the Magic came alive in a game that, up until then, was controlled by the Celtics.
Gortat guarded Garnett mostly and Howard had Perkins and then Sheed. They both caused much havoc for the Celtics, as the Cs had only 24 points in the paint for the contest.
Kendrick Perkins got in foul trouble in the first quarter and never got out, finished with 4 points, 3 rebounds in just 15 plus minutes.
Orlando came back from a 12 point, 3rd quarter deficit (73-61) to outscore the Celtics 35-22 to win the game.
Van Gundy also replaced starting point guard Jameer Nelson with Jason Williams for the entire 4th quarter and J.J. Redick replaced an ineffective Vince Carter.
Ray Allen led the Celtics in scoring with 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting, making 4 of 8 three pointers, but took only one shot in ten minutes, without scoring, in the 4th quarter.
Boston applied a Celtic-like defense to the Magic for three quarters, holding them to 2 of 15 from the three point arc, while limiting Dwight Howard and the rest of the Magic inside. Dwight Howard was limited to 6 shot attempts, while going 2 of 8 on free throws for 8 total points through three quarters.
Were those ‘Go To’ Moves I Saw?
But it was something of an eye opening game. If I’m not mistaken, I think we were watching the birth of Dwight Howard’s first ‘go to’ moves…ever. After getting shut down by Perkins in last years’ playoffs, he vowed to improve his offense. He has been developing his moves as the season has worn on. It seems to finally be paying off.
He scored on Kendrick Perkins. He scored on Rasheed Wallace. He scored when the Magic badly needed someone to score. The Celtics’ defense had been superb for 3 quarters, holding Orlando to 61 points and an anemic .351 shooting.
Dwight Howard was their 4th quarter ‘go to’ guy and dropped in 11 of his 19 points them including a variety of moving hooks, with and without spin moves, over both Perk and later Sheed.
The other Magic player that heated up was Rashard Lewis. He scored 23 points to lead all scorers and had 16 points in the second half.
Orlando Magic survived a one assist first half (Orlando record) and came from 16 down to beat the Celtics.
Rajon Rondo had another solid game with 11 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds.
Glen Davis also had three shots blocked as Gortat and Howard combined for 7 total blocks. Glen finished with 5 boards and 6 points.
So Boston was squeezed by Orlando’s big men in the 4th and couldn’t maintain the game long lead.
They are now 29-14, while their conference rival, the Magic are 30-16.
The Los Angeles Clippers tried an interesting strategy to start the game. Baron Davis posted up Rajon Rondo multiple times in hopes of putting him on the bench with early foul trouble. It didn’t work, but more on that in a minute.
The big news is that Kevin Garnett is back and so are the missing 48 minutes of Celtic defense. They held the Clips to 89 points and .388 shooting on the night. And that is after holding Portland to .382 shooting in KG’s first game back.
This is the first time this season they have held their opponents under 40% shooting for two straight games. That is the difference having a healthy Kevin Garnett makes.
Except for three straight three point desperation bombs in the last 31 seconds of the game that kept the Clippers hopes alive, the Clips would have barely scored 80 points in the game. That would have been 16 below their average.
Boston repaid the Clippers for Baron Davis’ buzzer beating, step back jumper that stole a win away the last time these two teams met. Buzzer beater not needed this time.
The Celtics gained a lead they stretched to 8 points in the third quarter and held on the rest of the way.
Paul Pierce led all scorers with 22 points, on 5 of 10 shooting and a perfect 11 for 11 from the three throw line. He added 5 boards, 2 assists, and 5 TOs. Paul had a big three pointer on a save and a pass from Ray Allen to make it 80-73.
There were a number of times in the game where the Celtics displayed tremendous and unselfish passing.
Not Hack-a-Rondo – Attack-a-Rondo
Rajon Rondo has been a Celtic workhorse and the Celtics second leading scorer over the last nine games at 17.4 points, while averaging 41.2 minutes. Rajon scored 16 points, dished 12 assists and grabbed 7 rebounds, logging 42:19 in this one.
Without anyone remotely close to Rajon’s skill at distributing the ball when he sits, the Celtics are a different team with Rondo off the floor. With Garnett out, Rivers relied on Rondo even more than usual. The Clippers tried going at Rondo in the first quarter with the bigger and stronger Davis posting Rondo in hopes of drawing a couple of fouls that would send Rondo to the bench.
Rondo ended the quarter with no fouls while Baron Davis went 2-5 and 7 points. Paul Pierce got the Celtics started with 8 first quarter points. Both teams turned the ball over and shot poorly to begin the game with the score just 19-17 Clippers and both team shooting under 40% as the quarter ended.
Celtics Start Out Defensive
The Celtics set a strong defensive tone with Kendrick Perkins and Garnett patrolling the paint. They held the Clips to 32 points in the paint, while scoring 42 of their own. The Clippers are the second best shot blocking team in the league (6.2) but got only two this game.
Perkins Out Plays Kaman in Rematch
Perkins made sure Chris Kaman didn’t have another game like last time when he scored 27 points on him and grabbed 12 boards. This time he held Kaman to 10 points on 5 of 19 shooting with 9 boards. Kendrick was a bear on the boards himself with 15 in this contest, while blocking 2 shots and scoring 9 points.
Clippers Break Away, then Celts Run Back
The Clippers broke open a tight game with a 7-0 run to start the second quarter against Boston’s second unit. Bill Walker got some early playing time, but fouled Rasual Butler on a three point attempt. Baron Davis made a jump shot while Mardy Collins made a driving dunk to go up 26-17 in the first 2 minutes of the quarter.
6’ 6” Mardy Collins was in opposite 6’ 0” Eddie House and the Clippers held a 7-9 point lead until about the 4 minute mark of the second quarter.
Behind Rondo, Cs Kick It to Finish Strong
With the score 38-29, the Celtics went on a 14-4 run to go ahead. They finished the second quarter on a Rondo flurry, as he stole the ball twice and finished once with a driving left handed lay up that started way down at his hip, to take the lead at 43-42. Kaman closed the half with a jumper, to temporarily retake the lead, 44-43. Rondo hit what would have been a three point shot right after the buzzer sounded to end the half.
Ray Allen hit his two three pointers and Ray and Paul were the leading scorers at the half with ten each.
Strong Third Quarter
Unlike their pattern with KG out, the Celtics came out strong in the third quarter, scoring 6 straight points on an 8-2 run, to go up 51-46. The Celtics outscored the Clippers 21 to 15 with Rondo getting three lay ups including a classic ‘give and go’ with Baron Davis guarding him on the right side. KG took the pass and picked Davis off after he gave it back to Rondo for an easy two.
“Did That Just Happen?”
Ray Allen did a 360 degree spin move as he went to the hoop for a lay up early in the third to put Boston up 47-44. Kevin Garnett up faked Camby out of the gym and drew the foul on a dunk as Camby tried to recover to make the score 53-48.
Rondo Growing Stronger Every Game
Rondo continues to grow his game and his impact on the court as he outplayed the wily vet Baron Davis. Rondo’s effectiveness in running a team and his own scoring ability just solidifies more each game. His chemistry with Kevin Garnett on fast breaks is outstanding and he works to look inside for a cutting Tony Allen and Kendrick Perkins on a regular basis.
Rajon still favors driving and kicking it out to Ray and Paul for the three pointers or drawing the defense to free them up to operate as they see fit. Occasionally, Rondo passes up a lay up he should just take, as his pass ends up as a turnover or a more difficult shot for someone else. Mostly, he is right on with his decision making.
Rajon missed two foul shots, but hit two clutch ones the Celtics needed at the end, when the Clips were trying to close the gap and finished 4 for 6 at the line. Rondo was 6 of 8 from the field with what is getting to be a normal assortment of difficult lay ups that he seems to make on a regular basis.
He and Perkins shut down Baron Davis and Chris Kaman, after both players had big games the last time the two teams met.
“Perkins and I were laughing before, for some reason our two guys got off last game, and we knew that we had to step up and take the challenge,” Rondo said. “At the end of the day we had to man up and try and get stops. Perk and I were talking and we pride ourselves on defense.”
Garnett Getting There
Kevin Garnett looked good and fluid on the court. There were no signs of lingering effects from his hyperextended knee. He played 30 plus minutes, shooting 7 of 12 for 17 points in support of Pierce. Garnett only grabbed 2 rebounds and had 2 assists, as the Clippers out rebounded the Celtics 48-43. But the Cs were virtually even with the Clippers in rebounding after the first quarter.
And the Celtics did not let the long frontline of the Clippers get anything easy. Camby (1 for 7) and Kaman combined to shoot 6 for 26. That is due to Garnett being back. He just competes on every play. His intensity is crazy. I don’t know of another player today like him. Together, Perkins and he are a force.
Boston Thievery
The Celtics had 10 thefts total and are second in the league in steals (8.8), led by league leader Rondo, who added 4 more last night, while Ray Allen added 3, and Tony Allen had 2 more.
Bench Falters, Recovers
After that early second quarter let down, the Celtics bench players held their own the rest of the way. After being unable to generate a cohesive, purposeful offense initially, Doc called a time out and ran a play to free Eddie House for a jump shot. That got the unit going better.
Rasheed Wallace played tight defense on Kaman and Camby and he hit a three pointer to open the 4th quarter. Wallace had just 5 points and 4 rebounds in 17 plus minutes.
Glen Davis continues to find it difficult to rebound, finishing with 2 and 2 points in 15 minutes. His defense was excellent.
Ray Allen finished with 15 points on 5 of 14, but just 2 of 7 from the three point line. Ray added 6 rebounds, 4 assists, to go with his three steals in 39 plus minutes.
Tony Allen had 5 points, 2 rebounds, an assist, to go with his two steals in just 10 plus minutes.
The Clippers have given the Celtics trouble. They are becoming a better team and this win shouldn’t be taken lightly in light of the Celtics recent troubles. But bigger fish are just around the corner.
Three Davis’ in this game
Besides Baron and Glen, Ricky Davis played and scored12 points off the bench. Craig Smith had 13 points and ten straight for the Clippers at one point.
Big Week Ahead
That the Celtics don’t play very well without Garnett is disappointing. That they look so good so soon with him is heartening.
They have a number of big games coming up with the Magic and the Hawks away, before returning home for their biggest game of the season against the Lakers on Sunday at 3:30 on national TV.
