Kevin Garnett returned to the Celtics line up and Shaquille O’Neal played as well. Both were needed in a contest of NBA eastern titans that lived up to all the pre-game potential you might have expected.
This game had more ‘big shots’ in it than a mafia wedding, a local chamber of commerce meeting, or even the Golden Globes Awards. Okay, so I’m exaggerating just a bit.
But this was a great game and there were plenty of pressure shots going in from both sides all night, and it only got better as time ran down in the 4th period. If you saw this game, and everyone could have, it was on national TV (TNT), you saw a great game, hotly and tightly contested from beginning to end.
Paul Pierce hit a big 4th quarter shot, with an ‘and one’ from his patented up fake on Jason Richardson. Shaq hit a big lay-up. With KG back, Davis had energy in the 4th and hit a few. Hedo Turkoglu made it look like old times with 2 clutch long distance bombs. Jason Richardson said, ‘I like this type of atmosphere’ and joined the party with 8 fourth quarter points. Dwight Howard had a few himself.
The Ray Allen Show
But I think I’m going to start calling Ray Allen “The Blade”. He can be just incredible at times. This was one of them. He cut through the Magic like a well sharpened knife with dagger after dagger. What a treat to be able to watch this shooter night after night as a Celtic. Ray has been on for a while (over 50% shooting for 12 straight games) and was ‘on’ again for this one.
He finished with a team leading 26 points on 8 of 11 shots, 3 of 4 three pointers, and a perfect 7 from the free throw line. Many were slightly off balance shots and that is when you know Ray is really on.
His laser guided missiles found their target most of the night, but he did his biggest damage when the Celtics needed him most, in the 4th quarter, with 13 points.
The Celtics scored an astounding 52 points in the paint, largely as a result of attention paid to Shaq and Rondo, as they drew the defenses to themselves. The question is how could a defense with Dwight Howard in it give up 52 paint points? The answer is a question also: Where is the help, my friends?
Rajon had a lot to do with it as Doctor Rondo went to work operating on a usually tough Magic defense. Rondo found the mark for 13 masterful assists (and many were masterful), scored 10 points of his own, including a couple of early jump shots, and added 3 steals.
Rondo – Maker of Assists
One particular assist was manufactured as the Celtic offense stagnated and everyone was guarded well. Rondo got busy attacking the left side of the middle to get the defense moving with time running down and everyone covered. As he headed to the hoop, he saw Kevin Garnett dropped back on the weak side and found him with a long pass across the middle at the last moment for a patented Garnett 15 foot jumper. Sweetness. It was a broken offensive set ‘made good’ that few guards could have made happen. Most just don’t see the court and create the play that way.
It was a game with many ties and lead changes and solid play by both sides. The Celtics shot 60% for the game and held a potent Magic team to 46%.
Surprise. With the return of KG, it had a testiness to it. Garnett must have been asking each Magic player to vote for him for the all star team as he was involved in much ‘conversating’ and added a few slightly physical encounters with Dwight Howard and Brandon Bass. KG was also upset with a foul by Hedo Turkoglu, even though Turkoglu tried to make amends with him right after. KG wasn’t having it.
Glen Davis played much better in 31 minutes off the bench with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks and the best defense he could offer against 7’ Dwight Howard. He had a hustle tip in and a nice baseline drive and reverse lay-up in traffic in the critical 4th.
Shaq was the gift of the night as he was expected to take the night off after slipping in the snow and injuring a leg muscle. Shaq did play and while Howard went off for 33 points and 13 rebounds, Shaq’s presence was felt at both ends of the floor. He scored 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting with 2 blocks 2 rebounds, and a steal.
But it was Garnett’s steal from Jameer Nelson with 15.9 seconds left with the Celtics up 107-104 that locked up the win. Leading the defense all game with effort and voice, KG came alive offensively in the second half with 14 of his 19 points to go with 8 rebounds, 6 of them in the first quarter.
Pierce added 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and a steal in well rounded game, where his defense was solid. Pierce seemed ready for this game as his first 2 baskets were dunks and, that my friends, is highly unusual.
For a while, in the first half, the Cs second unit gave up most of a 10 point lead, receiving a tongue lashing from Doc Rivers in a time out, before playing well enough to hold things down from there.
Orlando Magic forward Ryan Anderson was a one man wrecking crew in the opening half with 14 points in 12 minutes, Ryan looked like he channeled Ray Allen with 4 straight three point shots, while adding 2 blocks. Anderson finished with 16 points.
After the Celtics started the game with a rebound edge after one quarter (12-8), the Magic took over and finished ahead 34-30 in that category. Rebounding continues to need attention and this game Allen and Pierce stepped up to help.
Boston avenged their previous loss to the Magic, the only team with a winning record against them in the KG era, and the Beantown Ballers are now 31-9, while Orlando drops to 26-15.
Needless to say, little was proven in this one other than both teams will be there at the end. Orlando looks energized by the recent trade.
Next up for Boston is a Detroit Piston team that is showing a heartbeat lately with 3 straight wins, including beating Dallas with Dirk. The Pistons come to the TD Garden on Wednesday.
The players will say it is not a big game. But it is. At least as far as the regular season goes, it is.
But the Celtics’ injury door to the trainer’s room keeps on revolving.
C-Train vs Magic Bus
The 30-9 Boston Celtics will take on the 26-14 Orlando Magic tonight in Boston at the TD Garden. But it might not be Superman versus Superman Generation Two. Old School Superman Shaquille O’Neal fell on some ice and did not practice yesterday. Darn. Just when they needed him most. He is not officially out yet, but it doesn’t sound good.
Shaquille O’Neal spent his time in the trainer’s room after slipping on snow and ice yesterday morning. (Shaq was treated for an adductor injury in his upper leg)…
But Kevin Garnett is close to finally playing after being out 8 games himself. The Celtics are 6-2 in his absence.
Rivers on Kevin Garnett…
“He was great,” said coach Doc Rivers. “He went through the whole practice. I think Kevin will go (tonight), but, again, we went through practice to see if he could go (tonight) — meaning we’ll know that by (today). If he feels good, he’ll go. If there’s anything, he will not go.
Garnett has been lobbying to play for a few games now, but the Celtics are taking a cautious approach to their injuries this season, in spite of a sense of urgency for home court advantage. This game comes in just a tad bit higher on the ‘importance’ scale.
Shaq would have been rested after coming off possibly his biggest game of the season with 23 points on 10 of 12 shooting and 5 blocks in a victory over Kwame Brown, Nazr Mohammed and the Bobcats last Friday night.
Dwight Howard will offer far more problems in the middle than a bakers dozen of the Bobcat centers. A defensive force, Howard is truly one of the league’s most dominant centers, and with Jermaine O’Neal’s knee sore again and O’Neal contemplating surgery, Shaq is the only O’Neal available and only real answer the Celtics have for Howard with Kendrick Perkins also out.
It was their first match on Christmas Day that earned Shaq just 13 foul proned minutes of playing time and a $35,000 fine for sarcastically commenting afterwards about one specific referee.
Speaking of foul proned… rookie Semih Erden will have his hands full and Glen Davis will probably log some minutes against Dwight as well. Davis can do well in short stretches against Howard if he pushes him out beyond his comfort zone.
That the Magic are rejuvenated from a mid-season trade is an understatement. They recently ripped off a 9 game winning streak and have won 10 of their last 12 games. Gilbert Arenas, Hedo Turkoglu, and Jason Richardson were obtained in 2 separate trades on December 18th for the then 16-10 Magic and have helped provide the spark since then.
While there have been a number of changes in how the team plays with the revamped roster, one of them is that they no longer have Marcin Gortat to come off the bench anymore when Howard rests or is in foul trouble. That is where Shaq could have come in handy, getting Howard in foul trouble and/or playing against any undersized second stringers.
Having Garnett back is huge. He is the catalyst for the defense, provides needed rebounding and adds some post play offensively.
Miami Heat Losses Buy Celtics Time
With a 2 game faltering recently, Boston briefly lost their place atop the east to a surging Miami Heat team. But like with two pure bred race horses, any slight injury can make a big difference in how they race and with Miami more so. Miami lost LeBron James to a twisted ankle and have stumbled, losing 3 in a row. That puts the Celtics back up a precious game and a half on Miami for HCA in the east. The Heat are now 30-12.
Even with all the injuries, the Celtics are still leading, though the possible full time loss of Jermaine O’Neal, coupled with the need to rest the 38 year old Shaq will hurt… if Jermaine gets surgery.
With Shaq and Jermaine most likely out for this game, it will require some outstanding play from Erden, Davis and KG, I would assume to defend against Howard. I can’t see them throwing Luke Harangody at Dwight, but it might just happen. In that case he will get plenty of help, I’d assume.
No stranger to technical fouls, maybe Howard can take himself out of the game. Either way, expect a good game between two of the east’s best teams.
The Celtics got back on track with a convincing win over one of the league’s doormats, the Sacramento Kings, who were without their leading scorer, Tyreke Evans, 119-95.
In so doing they propelled Doc Rivers to become the 3rd winningest coach in Celtic history, passing K.C. Jones with victory number 309. Only Tommy Heinsohn and Red Auerbach are ahead.
These are the games they have to muster up the motivation for and don’t always do so. After a poor outing against the Rockets who were also without their leading scorer and other key players, Doc Rivers said it was their worst defensive showing in 3 years.
Paul Pierce seemed perturbed at himself and his teammates as well for not taking these games serious enough because they are all important when home court advantage is at stake.
With that unnecessary loss, the Celtics are now 1/2 game behind the Miami Heat in playoff race in the east.
For a while, it looked like the Green Machine had a short memory as this contest had it’s own ups and downs in the first half. After starting fast (8-0 out of the box), then allowing the Kings to tie it up, the Celtics carved a single digit lead by half time on the strength of a 19 point first half by Paul Pierce. This game would not get away from them.
Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo led the way with solid efforts and a strong effort by the bench kept the lead at least around 20 for most of the second half. The Celtic lead was as high as 28 points.
After allowing 49 first half points and 48.5% shooting, the Cs turned on the gas early at both ends in the 3rd period at outscored the Kings by 33-18 when it was done. At that point, so were the troubled Kings team.
Stealing Home
The Celtics had what I think was a season high with 16 steals, led by team captain Paul Pierce with 4. He set the tone and the team followed. Rondo directed things well with 13 assists, 2 steals and 10 points including one (tough angle with spin) HORSE type of lay up at the end of the half.
If anything, this game showed why they have a tough time getting up for them. When they do, they are no contest. The win seemed almost effortless.
Up 8 at the half (57-49), the Celtics went on a 22-8 run in the first 7.5 minutes of the 3rd to go up by 22 points at 79-57. The run involved all the starters as Ray Allen hit two big three pointers, Davis hit a couple of jumpers, Pierce had a couple of lay-ups, Rondo made a lay-up, and Shaq made one.
Raining Threes
Ray Allen finished 4 of 5 from the three point line and had 14 points and 5 rebounds in support. Nate Robinson joined the three party with 4 of 6 of his own. The Celtics finished with 12 of 20 for a torrid 60%.
With Shaq was in foul trouble, coincidentally with the same ref that he complained about in the Christmas Day game against the Magic and was fined $35,000. So Semih Erden played 33 minutes and played well.
Erden finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds and had a +7 for his efforts as the entire second unit played well. Nate Robinson got Vinnie-Johnson-hot, shot 6 for 9 and scored 16 points in 19 minutes.
Luke Harangody continues to play very hard and his energy and hustle were well needed and appreciated. He finished with 4 rebounds 3 assists, a steal and a block in 22 minutes, while leading the team in floor burns.
Von Wafer Getting it?
But the most impressive bench player was Von Wafer. His contract was recently guaranteed for the rest of the year. He has been working to become a more complete player, so that he can stay on the floor on a defensive minded team. While Delonte West will get preference when he returns, one can see how Wafer can help this team come playoff time with his offense…and now his defensive effort as well.
In this contest, he showed off a well rounded game by playing capable defense to go along with his 12 point scoring outburst, and even added a steal and an assist on the same play. The theft led to a fast break pass for an Avery Bradley jump shot. Bradley then stole the ball and went coast-to-coast for two more.
Marquis Daniels continues to put in some strong efforts and has increased his scoring as part of it. In this one he scored 12 points to go with 3 assists, 2 boards, a steal and solid defense.
Ten Celtics had steals in this game. Don’t know if it’s a record, but that has got to be close.
Rumors about the Kings indicate team dissension due Coach Westphal’s inability to get Tyreke Evans to play a more selfless game. There are ongoing issues with rookie dynamo DeMarcus Cousins, as well. These were the types of questions people had about Westphal before he was named head coach.
The Kings are now 8-28 with 13 straight road losses.
The Kings are a more talented team than their record and play indicates. One has to wonder if the clock is ticking on the former Celtic. In a league whose culture favors and spoils its most talented players, Coach Westphal is in a difficult position. Without demanding more from his young stars, it has been reported that the other players’ morale is affected as well.
The Celtics have their own but very different issues. Keeping interested in every game and getting healthy are their two problems. Kevin Garnett is still a few games away and the Celtics are in a 6 game home stand.
They are now playing catch up to a white hot Miami Heat team who has won 21 of 22 games and are still getting used to each other.
Edit – The Heat lost to the Clippers last night, putting the two teams in a virtual tie for top dog in the east and the all important home court advantage. The Celtics 29-9. The Heat have one more loss and are 30-10. This battle will probably continue until the end of the season, giving added meaning to each game.
Being home and getting in some practices should bode well for this Hall of Fame laden team. They need to clean up on the league’s lower level teams.
The Celtics are now 29-9 and play the Paul Silas coached Charlotte Bobcats at home on Friday night. Charlotte is 15-21, but has 4 in row with a more wide open offense, after the deliberate and regimented approach by coaching legend Larry Brown was not popular with the team.
The Bulls out rebounded the Celtics 48-27. They out ‘energied’ the Cs. They out assisted the Cs. They out shot the Cs. They shot 35 foul shots to the Celtics 22. Either the game plan was a poor one, or more likely one would suspect, it was a freelance job. Improvisation that just didn’t go right.
It wasn’t the kind of Saturday Night Fever that had you dancing, unless you were Bulls fans. It was more like a tired malaise after playing 5 games in 7 nights. To quote Don Henley, the Celtics appeared to be ‘running on empty’.
Derrick Rose had his way with Rondo. Carlos Boozer had his way with Glen Davis. The Bulls defense looked like Tom Thibodeau was their coach. After a fast start by the Celtics, the Bulls slowly stepped it up and took over the game. Their defense looked Celtic-like for most of the second half as the Celtics scored just 37 points after half time.
The only area where the Celtics out played the Bulls was in turnovers, led Rondo’s 5 and Davis’ 4 steals, as the Cs created 21 while only giving it up 6 times. That helped keep Boston in the game.
Glen Davis had a tough shooting night, but Rondo kept feeding him and the Bulls kept leaving him open. He shot just 4 for 17 and grabbed just 3 rebounds in 42 minutes. Most of his shots were jump shots and when he did attempt to go to the middle he was rejected a couple of times. It was a tough night for Davis and the Celtics.
Ray Allen shot well with 19 points on 7 of 13 attempts and Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 21 points on 7 of 16 attempts, but couldn’t seem to get a foul call a few times. He received a technical for his frustration after one non-call. The Celtics were visitors in Chicago and on the receiving end of what they normally dish out…tough physical defense with whistles being sparsely used in their favor.
Boozer looked good as he ‘outquicked’ Davis a few times with his offensive moves and was hitting his jumper over him and anyone else who defended him. He finished with a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Derrick Rose looked like an All World point guard as he led the Bulls to victory with 36 points ans 20 in the second half. He shot 10-19 with multiple drives to the middle resulting in 19 free throw attempts. He made 15 of them and the Celtics had no answer on this night. The Bulls went with what worked and that worked for most of the evening.
Rajon Rondo looked a bit off balance, though he finished with 8 assists, 5 rebounds and 13 points on 6 of 14 shooting.
Shaq started and played 20 minutes, but scored only 4 points to go with 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. The Celtics were +7 when he was in the game.
Add Marquis Daniels, Nate Robinson, Jermaine O’Neal, Won Wafer, and Luke Harangody to the list of players who had bad nights and you’ll understand that the bench offered little relief to a beleaguered starting unit that need a boost from their replacements.,
The Celtics scored just 79 points and shot but 37.8%, while allowing 90 points on 49% shooting to an up and coming Bulls teams. The Bulls are now 24-12 and 4th in the Eastern Conference.
The Celtics mini 4 game winning streak was ended, but they are still a solid 28-8 and lead the east, though dealing with a group of ongoing injuries.
It will be sooner rather than later that the Celtics get Delonte West and Kendrick Perkins back. Both will bring immediate relief and strengthen this team for the stretch run to the playoffs.
But this is still a great team to watch play. Yes, even on a night like this where little went right.
After trailing for most of the game and the entire second half, the Celtics turned to the clutch jump shooting of…. Rajon Rondo?
This hard fought game had its share of unlikely heroes to go along with the usual suspects. Von Wafer played his best game as Celtic and helped bring the Celtics back. Luke Harangody contributed. Rajon Rondo had (ho-hum) 16 assists, but more surprisingly, hit 2 pressure jump shots.
Nate Robinson and Glen Davis each hit pressure foul shots late in the 4th quarter after the Celtics clawed their way to a late lead on a Shaq lay-up after trailing for much of the game.
This all came after Paul Pierce and Ray Allen struck in the second half to keep the Celtics in the game. Pierce finished with a game high 23 points, 15 of them in the 3rd period and Ray added 20 more, including 2 big threes in the critical 4th period.
Around the 4 minute mark of the second quarter a Rondo to Shaq alley-oop gave Boston its last lead until the 4th quarter when another Rondo-to-Shaq connection gave them the lead on a lay-up by Shaq with 2:09 left. During that time a stubborn Minnesota team held onto a lead that fluctuated between 2 and 10 points.
Hungry Like a Wolf
This was one time the Celtics could do without the love…as in Kevin Love, the league’s rebounding leader. The Wolves are the top rebounding team in terms of total rebounds per game. But more important they are in the top 7 in rebounding differential and are out rebounding their opponents by 2.6 per game.
Kirby, Hoover, or Electrolux?
In this contest, it was no contest as the hungry Wolves held a 45-30 margin at the end. This was accomplished on the shoulders of the above mentioned Kevin Love – a rebound vacuum machine. He had 10 in the first quarter alone and set a new building record with 24 according to Tommy Heinsohn and Mike Gorman. Luckily, Love did have trouble scoring and was held to 12 points on 3 of 11 shooting.
A still-not-100% Rondo used his composure, shooting and passing to put the Celtics over the top late in the game. He hit his jumpers over a sagging Minnesota defense with Luke Ridnour playing off him after dishing to Shaq in the lane for the lead at 88-87.
Glen Davis, filling in as a starter for the injured Kevin Garnett, started off cold again, but finished strong, adding 17 points on 7 of 15 shooting.
But the surprise of the game, after Rondo’s jump shots, was the play of Von Wafer at both ends of the floor. He tied for team lead with 6 rebounds, had a big steal, and scored 10 important points. The team outplayed Minnesota by 15 points in the 15 minutes that Wafer played.
After scoring zero points on 0-4 shooting, Nate Robinson hit two clutch foul shots to put the Celtics up 96-93 with 4.6 seconds left. Timberwolf Michael Beasley, who had 19 points, though it felt like he scored 30, then missed on a three pointer to end the game.
Another Team Effort
Ray Allen hit 4 of 5 three pointers. Jermaine O’Neal blocked 4 shots and scored 5 points in 17 minutes of play. Luke Harangody even did well by holding Love off the boards in his 16 minutes of play.
The Celtics pretty much stole this one from a game Minnesota team. Miami Heat cast off Michael Beasley is gaining valuable experience as a primary scorer and Kevin Love is making a name for himself as a ‘20 and 15’ guy. Another cast off, Darko Milicic, is playing his best ball ever and is a force in the middle defensively. The Wolves are only 9-26, but tonight played a tenacious game.
The Celtics next play the San Antonio Spurs, the team with the league’s best record (29-4) on Wednesday.
This has been an incredible season so far for the Boston Celtics. They are oldest team in the league and, surprising to many, one of the very best. They are currently 24-7 and tied with the Miami dreadnought for first in the East.
The addition of Shaquille O’Neal has gone far better than most people, including the experts, believed it go. He is a very efficient scorer around the hoop, and effectively managing his shortcomings, his defense has been pretty good as has his rebounding most of the time.
Rajon Rondo has played at a level that few players ever see and is leading the league in assists in a runaway at a record setting pace for the Celtics.
Kevin Garnett is playing at a level nearer to his pre-injury abilities than most experts thought he ever would again. He is the reason the defense plays at the level it does. His low post offense has been a welcome sight, his jump shot is still there and he is rebounding at a high rate again.
In the spirit of legend Larry Bird, Paul Pierce is looking more like the team’s conductor than he ever has. What does the team need? Points? Rebounds? Assists? He usually delivers what the team needs. More important, he is trying to get everyone else involved and makes the team better as a whole. He has been great to watch.
Ray Allen is back and…if that is even possible….is in better shape than ever. He is an incredible physical specimen and equally an incredible gentleman and team statesman. More important he is hitting that three pointer with deadly accuracy and, with a tip of the hat to Paul Pierce, is probably the team’s best clutch shooter. What a weapon to have on any team.
Glen Davis has stepped up his game as I hoped and expected. He is knocking down that jumper with consistency and confidence. He is scoring around the hoop more effectively and with a balance of cleverness and strength as he wills the ball in at the rim. His defense is good in most situations.
Marquis Daniels is playing better and with a more defined role. He has sparked the team playing the point in Rondo’s absence and has had a few impact games already.
The Challenges
With Perkins already out, Garnett out, Delonte West out, and Rajon Rondo still out, this team has to circle the wagons.
Both the offense and defense face equally tough challenges. KG is to the defense what Rondo is to the offense. As the fulcrums of each, the most critical pieces are missing.
Rondo is expected back within a week or so. Garnett is out about two weeks. Nate Robinson has been having his difficulties assimilating, playing solid defense, being a distributor, and now, perhaps because of all that, his shot hasn’t there been either. At this stage of the game and with the freedom Doc has allowed him, I thought he would more of a positive than he has been. Nate continues to pay hard and we hope things will start to go better for him and the team when he is in there soon. Nate has a ton of scoring ability and the Celtics need that right now.
Playing well is one thing. Playing hard is another. Even if they don’t play well, I expect we will see this team play hard.
They say the Chinese character for ‘crisis’ also means ‘opportunity.’
Such is the case here. Players like Luke Harangody, who was on the floor when the Celtics made a strong move against the Hornets, and Von Wafer, who is starting to show signs of defensive effort, will get chances to contribute.
Buried on the bench for most of the season, these minutes are valuable to the development of each player within the Celtic system.
Avery Bradley is seeing minutes he otherwise would not. He shows a lot of promise as a future NBA guard. His offense is behind his defense as everyone expected, but these minutes can’t be a bad thing for Bradley’s development either.
So Boston must do some improvising, play harder, and throw in players deeper on the charts. In a year where they are trying for a better record to gain some valuable home court advantage, they will probably lose a few more games along the way.
But this is as mentally tough of a team as there is in the league. They will face the challenges and if any team can overcome adversity, this one will. They are an abundantly talented team and their depth has been a blessing.
Getting everyone healthy for the final run is the goal, and that looks quite possible at this point.
They face the Toronto Raptors this evening at 6pm.
Kevin Garnett limped off the court in the first quarter after injuring himself on a dunk attempt. Klaatu and Gort weren’t around, but every Celtic fan in the universe held his or her breath.
Initial reports are that this is not a break or fracture and it not related to his knee. It is a calf muscle injury and not serious. Doc says that KG will ‘miss some games’. That is it for now. That folks, is the good news.
The Celtics, already playing a sluggish game, looked comical at times in their offense in the first half. The more Rajon is out and the more Nate Robinson plays poorly, the worse they look. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce both had moments of awkward ball handling and ineffective play making.
With Perkins out and KG leaving early, the Celtics were without their two best front line defenders. They are a completely different team without both of those big men and it showed tonight against a largely inept Pistons team that has a dearth of talented big men. Rarely used perennial underachiever Chris Wilcox came in and had a big game. So did Austin Daye, who was left open at the arc all night.
Rajon Rondo’s return will help quite a bit, but without KG and Perkins, this team has little chance of going anywhere.
The good news is that KG’s injury doesn’t appear to be serious.
That seismic rumble you heard was just the unified heart palpitations of Celtic Nation.
BTW… the Celtics lost to the Pistons as Paul Pierce made an effort to lead the Cs with 33 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals. No one else had more than twelve.
My own opinion is that Ray Allen was underused offensively in this match. 8 shot attempts for 12 points from one the game’s great shooters is just not enough in a game where offense was needed.
But beyond that, that all important effective ball movement for the team was missing. Defensively, with KG out, offense becomes more important.
The Celtics ground out a tough win against an improving Pacer team with consistently solid defense and a second half spurt to return to their winning ways. They won 95-83 in a game they trailed for a large portion of it.
The Green Machine is now 24-5 and have are 11-4 on the road.
After being down double digits since early in the second quarter, the Celtics went on what turned out to be an extended run of 27-7 from midway in the 3rd quarter to midway in the 4th quarter, to turn a 10 point deficit into a 10 point lead of 77-67 midway through the 4th quarter.
Marquis Daniels played some solid point guard to start the 4th quarter and the shots were falling for Glen Davis, Von Wafer, and Ray Allen as they busted open the game with a nice 11-0 run. Daniels hit his patented short jumpers around the paint and played effective defense against both TJ Ford and Danny Granger. Daniels was a nice key to this win.
I haven’t been able to put up blog entries as often as I should for the past month or so. I will be more consistent going into the new year.
Paul Pierce had an offensive out burst in the second quarter after getting into foul trouble in the first. That helped keep the Celtics close to the scrappy Pacers.
