Nate Robinson had his Celtic debut and it was, ironically, against his old team, the Knicks, at TD Garden.
But it was Ray Allen with 24 points and a big block, and Rajon Rondo with 16 assists and 15 points that led the Celtics to victory.
Both teams sported different starting 5s with Marquis Daniels taking the injured Paul Pierce’s place for the Celtics. Newly acquired Sergio Rodriguez and Tracy McGrady have been starting for the Knicks of late.
Ray Allen Torrid Pace Continues
After enduring weeks of trade rumors, Ray Allen busted out a hot streak after the trade deadline, and added to it last night with 24 points for his 4th straight game over 20 points. He also had a big block on Wilson Chandler with 48 seconds left and the Celtics up by three points.
Rajon Rondo handed out 7 assists in a 38 point Celtic first quarter and continued his passing attack throughout, finishing with 16 total dishes, tying his season high from the 3rd game of the season against the Bulls.
When Ray gets in a groove, he gets in a groove. He shot exactly 9 for 14 in each of the past three games and is shooting 65% over the last 4 games for an average of 23.5 points per game. He was averaging just 16 points a game before that.
Rondo continues his move into the Big Four with a big game in the absence of Paul Pierce. He also logged double digit assists for 4 straight games for only the second time this season.
Eddie House Returns to Standing Ovation
During a time out with5:33 left in the first quarter, The Celtics did an Eddie House tribute on the Jumbotron and the crowd gave him a 90 second standing ovation.
When Nate Robinson came in a short while later for the Celtics, the fans also gave him a long standing ovation.
Robinson looked like he was pressing a bit and scored 4 points with a rebound, an assist, 2 steals and 2 turnovers in 16 minutes of play.
House had also had 4 points, but added 5 assists, 5 rebounds, a steal, and 4 turnovers in 26 plus minutes.
Bill Walker Contributes
Former Celtic Bill Walker also played, garnering 12 minutes. scoring 7 points, including a long alley oop from another Knick newcomer, point guard Sergio Rodriguez. Sergio threw the alley oop from beyond the three point line at the top of the circle. Adding a sideways dunk in transition, Walker also drained a three pointer while going 3 for 5 shooting for 7 points.
The Celtics scored at will it seemed but had trouble keeping the Knicks down. The Knicks made great use of the pick and roll play with David Lee, as he led all scorers with 28 points. The Celtics were late rotating defensively much of the time.
Marquis Daniels started in place of the injured Paul Pierce (thumb, ankle, knee) and did a credible job, scoring 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting including a three pointer, while posting the best plus/minus on the team at +13 in his 28 minutes in the game.
Celtics Paint Attack
Marquis Daniels was a part of the Celtic effort to attack the smaller Knicks inside. Short on height ( I like that expression lol) with the trade of Jared Jeffries, the Cs took advantage. Marquis was solid in posting up (or losing) his defender, making 3 of 4 shots inside.
Ray Allen actually had 6′ 3″ Sergio Rodriguez, on him for a portion of the game. As quick as Rodriguez is offensively, is how slow he is defensively. Sergio was nailed to the ground on one play when Ray blew by him for a lay up. Ray was the ‘post up’ king as he was a perfect 6 for 6 on inside attempts in this contest.
Kendrick Perkins had a field day inside as well, going 5 for 5 underneath.
The Celtics were 23 of 28 in the paint for a crushing 82% finish rate.
Knicks Respond in Kind
The only problem was that the Celtics’ defense wasn’t much better as the Knicks were 16 of 21 for a 76% finish rate in the paint. They were led by David Lee with a perfect 7 for 7 in the painted area.
Kevin Garnett, known as a great pick and roll defender before his injury, added 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and zero turnovers in almost 31 minutes. KG was rebound conscious and did a great job, grabbing 27.8% of all defensive rebounds while he was in.
Rasheed Wallace actually did a solid job rebounding in his 20 minutes, grabbing 30.8% (5) of all defensive rebounds in his time in the game.
Kendrick Perkins led the Celtics with 3 offensive boards, 5 total rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting in 28 minutes.
Sergio Rodriguez showed a bigger game than I thought he had with 18 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals (after an eye opening 8 steals last night), and 3 of 4 from the three point line. Defense is his biggest issue and that won’t be as big of a problem on the Knicks, where defense is not stressed as much as offense.
D’Antoni experimented with with his line ups, even having Al Harrington, Danilo Gallinari, Eddie House, Sergio Rodriguez, and David Lee on the court at the same time.
The Celtics prevailed in a game that seemed more suited to the Knicks and without Paul Pierce, so I’ll chalk it up as progress, even though the defense was less than one would expect from the Celtics.
