Recap: Game 1 (vs Washington)

BOSTON CELTICS VS. WASHINGTON WIZARDS

November 2, 2007
8:00 PM EST (Comcast SportsNet)
TD Banknorth Garden (Boston, MA)
Announcers: Mike AnGormanagement and Tommy "Want to Touch the" Heinsohn ; Gary PoonTanguay and Donny Darko (in-studio) ; Greg "Old Saint" Dickerson (sideline reporter)
Celtics Starting Lineup: Rayden, I've Got a Rajon Rondo, Perk'd Off, Kevvy G, Da Troof
Wizards Starting Lineup: DeShawn "Of the Dead" Stevenson, What's Eating Gilbert Arenas?, Brendan Haywood Jablowme, Caron AskJeeves, AntawnWalker Jamison

So, anyone watching tonight's episode of "The Ghost Whisperer"? Hey, TBS is showing Lindsay Lohan in "Herbie the Love Bug" ...

Oh right, there's a game tonight.

Ahem ... OPENING NIGHT, BABY! It's time to get serious, as one of the most anticipated Celtics seasons in recent memory will finally get underway, and the "Not Big Three" will get a chance to prove that all the hype was worth it.

The team's first opponent-slash-victim, the humble Gilbert Arenas and his Washington Wizards ... Prior to a rash of injuries, the Wiz were one of the hottest teams in the East last season, so this presents a perfect opportunity for our guys to test their mettle right off the bat and get a feel of where they will measure up in the conference this year.

FIRST QUARTER

Haywood wins the opening tap against Perk, and gets the ball to Arenas (boos immediately come raining down from the crowd); he tries to pass to Butler, but Pierce harasses him and the ball bounces off his chest and all the way to the other end of the court out of bounds. Boston gains possession, and Garnett goes for his first shot as a Celtic, but the jumpshot doesn't even touch the rim (yikes); Gilbert gets the rebound and takes the ball upcourt himself, then tries to get the ball inside to Haywood. However, it's another bad pass, and Brendan has to save it from going out of bounds; that gives Perkins and Pierce the chance to surround him, and Haywood's forced to call a 20-second timeout.

The crowd is loving this initial defensive intensity, as when play resumes Jamison misses the outside shot, and Pierce grabs the rebound; he gets the ball upcourt to Ray, who goes for the three-point shot but misses. Arenas takes down another rebound, and at the other end he tries for the pullup jumper over Rondo which hits nothing but air (that gets a rise out of the fans). KG snatches the loose board and gives the ball to Ray, who brings it upcourt before passing to Pierce at the top of the key; he goes for the shot over Arenas, but it's wide of the mark (each of the "Not Big Three" have taken a shot now ... and all have come up empty).

Butler then misses (both teams have so far combined to shoot 0-for-6 from the field), while at the other end Garnett makes a move on Haywood to draw the foul; that puts KG at the line, and he hits both free throws for his first points in Green (2-0 10:13).

Haywoood then tries to shoot over Perkins but can't connect; Kevin pulls down the rebound (his third already) and gives it to Rondo, who pushes the ball upcourt (run, baby, RUN!). He gets it back to KG, who tries to pull up over Haywood and misses the shot (the Celts still look like they're trying to force the issue). Stevenson saves the loose rebound from going out of bounds by slapping the ball to Arenas; he takes it the other way and passes back to DeShawn, who gets away from Pierce for the outside jumpshot but that too misses (Washington is now 0-for-5 from the field, and Boston isn't much better at 0-and-4!).

Garnett snags another rebound and passes upcourt to Rondo, who finds Ray in the corner, and he proceeds to drive down the lane - to draw in the defense - before throwing it up to Perkinds underneath the basket for the easy layup (4-0 9:11).

Arenas then tries to drive down the lane himself, but Perkins gives him the foul at 8:54 (and adds a few choice words as Gilbert walks away). That leads to the following exchange between our two announcers:

Gorman: Perkins picks up the foul, but he let Gilbert know that he had read the blog ...
Heinsohn: [laughs] ... He read the blog. What has this game come to, with players sending blogs to each other? Wow!
Gorman: You too could be a blogger ...
Heinsohn: I could be a blogger ...
Gorman: You could be!
Heinsohn: I'm afraid not ...

"Sending blogs," tee hee ... Anyway, Gilbert makes the first free throw to put Washington in the scoring column, but he misses the second and Pierce grabs the rebound; Rondo brings it upcourt and passes inside to Garnett, who steps back for the fallaway jumper over Haywood (6-1 8:32).

Jamison banks in a shot for the first Wizards field goal of the night, while at the other end Pierce gives the little crossover move on Butler and knocks down the pullup jumper (8-3 7:47). Caron then scores, while at the other end Perkins throws a pass intended for Pierce over his head and out of bounds; Washington regains possession, and Arenas tries the alleyoop pass inside to Haywood, but Pierce slaps the ball out of his hands out of bounds. It's still Wizards ball, as Arenas tries for the quick pullup "jay" with Rondo in his face; that misses, and Perkins grabs the rebound. He gives the ball to Ray, who brings it upcourt, and Arenas ends up bumping him for the foul (that gets the crowd started on a "GIL-bert!" chant).

Meanwhile, Pierce tries the pullup jumper from the free throw line over Stevenson, but the shot misses. Jamison pulls down the rebound and passes to Arenas (crowd's still booing), who quickly gets the ball up ahead to Butler, and he knocks down the jumpshot over Pierce (8-7 6:40).

Rondo misses, then Caron again tries to pull up with Pierce in his face; this time the shot misses, but Haywood has nice position underneath against Perkins for the offensive rebound, and finishes with the strong two-hand slam (8-9 6:09).

The crowd has been taken out of this game early, as Brendan blocks a shot by Perk out of bounds; it's still Boston possession, but Garnett misses a turnaround jumper over Jamison. At the other end, Antawn can't knock down the jumper, and KG scores the loose board (his fifth). He passes to Rondo, who brings it back the other way and finds Pierce under the basket; Paul then kicks it back out to Kevin, who tries to shoot over Haywood but misses ... man, KG is controlling the boards but shooting just 1-for-5 from the field.

Haywood rebounds the missed shot, but gets tied up by Perk and a jump ball is called; the Celts win the tap, and Rondo just blows by Arenas before making the nice pass inside to KG. Unfortunately, he can't handle it, and the ball goes off his fingertips out of bounds (Garnett might be fighting some nerves tonight).

However, the Wizards can't capitalize, as Butler misses the shot and Pierce grabs the rebound; he dribbles coast to coast before finishing with the layup over Haywood to put Boston back ahead (10-9 4:23).

Stevenson scores (the Wizards are now 5-for-15 from the field), while at the other end Ray ends up being double-teamed and is forced to heave one up at the basket to beat the shot clock; that misses (Boston's just 4-for-15) and Butler controls the rebound. He gives the ball to Arenas, who quickly gets it up to Jamison, and he pulls up - without hesitation - over Pierce for the three-point shot ... of course, this results in an airball (Ha HA!). Rondo ends up with the loose ball, as we head back the other way; he passes to Pierce, who tries to drive down the lane, but Jamison slaps it out of his hands. However, the ball ends up going right to KG, who finishes with an uncontested layup (12-11 3:20).

With 3:01 remaining in the quarter, Perkins is called for a three-second violation, which results in a technical foul. During the stoppage of play, Allan Tony and The Scals of Justice come into the game (Pierce and Perk sit down); meanwhile, Arenas makes the free throw to tie the game at 12 apiece. It's still Washington possession, and Butler tries to back down Tony for the hook shot; the shot misses, but Stevenson is able to tip it in over Garnett (12-14 2:52).

At the other end, Rondo misses the little floater in the lane, and Haywood grabs the rebound; he passes upcourt to Butler, who finds Jamison in the lane, and he proceeds to blow by Scalabrine for the bucket (12-16 2:22).

The crowd is getting restless, but Ray works the baseline against Haywood and scores the layup with 2:03 left in the quarter to get the Celts back within two. After a Wizards timeout, Arenas tries to make the bounce pass inside to Haywood, but Hugh Laurie (just into the game) slaps the ball away from behind; Ray then picks it up and takes it all the way in himself for the basket (16-all 1:34).

Arenas then knocks down the shot with Tony right in his face (he's only 1-for-3 thus far), but Allen quickly answers with his first three-pointer in Green (19-18 :56.0)!

Arenas tries to answer with his own three-point shot, which misses badly and Ray grabs the rebound; he brings it upcourt himself, then finds Scalabrine in the corner, who upfakes to lose the defender and then makes his move to the basket. The shot misses, but he gets his own rebound and lays it in (21-18 :23.2); that's the first Tommy Point of the season!

Arenas again loses control of the ball in the closing moments (playing a little tight after his prediction?), so the quarter ends with the Celts up 21 to 18.

SECOND QUARTER

The second quarter opens with Scals, House, Tony Allen, Pierce, and Scotty 2 Hotty making his first appearance in a Celtics uniform ... Meanwhile, Paul wastes no time hitting the three-pointer to give Boston the six-point edge. At the other end, Jamison drives to the basket and gets fouled by Pierce, so that puts Antawn at the line where he sinks both foul shots (24-20 11:27).

Tony then steps out of bounds, so the Wizards regain possession and Darius "The Thong" Songalia makes a nice bounce pass to Arenas (who completely lost Allen) for the wide open layup (24-22 10:55).

Pollard then sets the pick on Arenas to get Tony free, and he winds up being covered by Songalia; he takes it at the big man and scores the layup while being fouled, making the free throw to complete the three-point play (27-22 10:40) ... It's still a five-point lead with 9:54 on the clock, when Arenas sits down (8 PTS, 2-5 FG); meanwhile, House finds Pierce in the corner behind the three-point line, and he buries it (32-24 9:48). That's twelve points for Pierce; don't let all the hype about Allen and Garnett make you forget that he's still around!

Now the crowd is starting to wake up, as Songalia is called for the travelling violation trying to make the move around Scals. Boston regains possession, but Stevenson knocks the ball away from Pierce. Paul is able to recover, however the shot clock is now winding down and he's forced to throw up a three-point shot to beat the buzzer; that misses, but Scals grabs the offensive rebound and kicks the ball back out to Pierce, who swings it around to an open House and he knocks down the trey (35-24 9:02)!

It's a twelve-point Celtics advantage with 6:32 remaining in the half, when KG and Ray come back into the game to replace Pollard and Tony respectively (not much in that first outing for Scotty, which isn't a total surprise); Arenas also takes the opportunity to make his grand return to the floor, and responds with a defensive three-second violation. That's another technical, and Allen makes the free throw (39-26 6:14). It's still Celtics ball, and Ray makes the nice crossover move to freeze Butler, then pulls up for the 15-foot jumper (41-26 6:10).

Arenas tries to answer with a pullup "jay" over House, and comes up with the airball (Washington is 2-for-8 in the quarter); Boston regains possession, and KG hits the fallaway jumper over Haywood (43-26 5:41).

The crowd is rocking now, as Haywood tries to back down KG for the layup attempt, but Kevin comes up with the block. Pierce collects the loose ball and takes it the other way, as he finds House wide open in the quarter; sadly, his three-point shot misses, and Haywood grabs the rebound. He passes upcourt to Gilbert, who swings the ball around to Stevenson and he slices down the lane for the layup over Ray (43-28 4:58); the refs also call Allen for the foul, so DeShawn steps up to the line and misses the free throw. However, Scals fouls Jamison going for the rebound, so that means that Washington retains possession (as Perkins comes back in to replace Scalabrine).

Haywood then misses the jumper and KG pulls down the rebound (his sixth); he quickly gets the ball to Ray, who brings it upcourt himself. He drives to the basket, and (as the defense collapses around him) kicks it out to Rondo for the open jumper (45-28 4:38).

Two free throws by Arenas gets Washington within fifteen, then Ray misses the three-point attempt and Butler pulls down the loose board. He passes to Arenas, who goes coast to coast and blows past Rondo (not very good defense there); he takes it in over Perkins and appears to score the layup, but Haywood touches the rim so it's an offensive goaltending call. Now it's Boston possession, and Pierce winds up burying the three-point basket (48-30 3:50)! That's 17 points for Paul (he's 5-for-6 from the floor in the second quarter)!

Butler answers with a jumper over KG (that shouldn't happen), then Paul gives the little crossover dribble to elude Caron and pulls up at the free throw line before knocking down another jumper (50-32 3:14).

A basket by Rondo with 1:21 remaining in the half (Arenas goaltended the shot) gives Boston the twenty-point lead, while at the other end Butler tries to make a move to the basket but is met by three Celtics; he's forced to kick it back out to Arenas, and (with the shot clock winding down) he decides to launch a shot about five feet behind the three-point line which misses (BWAHAHAHAHA!) and KG pulls down his eighth rebound.

He gets the ball to Rondo, who finds Ray spotting up for the shot; it's long, and Jamison snags the board. He gets it upcourt to Butler, but Rondo slaps the ball out of his hands and we're going back the other way (whew!). Rajon passes inside to Ray, who is fouled by Jamison (Perk set a mean screen away from the ball that sent Arenas sprawling to the floor) and makes both free throws (56-34 :34.3).

Butler dunks in a missed Arenas shot with 21.9 seconds left, as Glenn Rivers M.D. calls a timeout to discuss the final shot. When play resumes, Rondo blows by Caron and finishes with the layup (58-36 :03.4)!

Great first half by the C's, as their 22-point advantage (58-36) is mostly thanks to our old standby Paul Pierce, who scored 15 points (6-9 FG) in the second quarter alone (19 points overall)!

THIRD QUARTER

KG tries to back down Haywood to open the second half, but Butler reaches in for the steal (Kevin still looks a little tentative on the offensive end tonight) and gets the ball upcourt to Arenas. Covered by Rondo, Gilbert tries to make a lazy crosscourt pass to Jamison, but Garnett reaches up and picks it off (tit for tat). We go back the other way, as Rondo holds the ball for a bit before giving it up to Ray; covered nicely by Stevenson, he's forced to hoist up a three-point attempt to beat the shot clock, and it actually goes in as the buzzer sounds (61-36 11:00)!

Jamison then misses a three-point shot of his own, and Garnett pulls down the rebound; he gets it upcourt to Rondo, who swings the ball around to Ray. Without missing a beat, Allen quickly passes inside to Pierce, who is fouled by Butler while going for the shot; he steps up the line, but only makes one-of-two free throws (62-36 10:04).

Butler then misses and KG pulls down another board (that's his tenth rebound to go with 10 points for the double double already); Ray takes it upcourt, then gets the ball back to Garnett, who passes inside to Perkins and he takes it in against three defenders to draw the foul. It's another trip to the line, and again the Celts only get one out of two foul shots (63-36 9:32).

Caron scores, then Rondo is called for the palming violation; Washington regains possession, as Arenas is left with Perk guarding him. He decides to pull up for the jumper, which misses (crowd is working on a nice "Gilbert sucks" chant) but Butler grabs the offensive rebound over Paul and makes the nice bounce pass to a slashing Arenas underneath the basket. However, he blows the layup (!) but luckily for him Jamison is right there to tip in the miss (63-40 8:41); Arenas is now 2-for-11 from the field. Let's see you blog about that, bitch!

At the other end, Perkins has his shot blocked by Haywood; Butler gets the loose ball and gets it upcourt to Arenas, who passes to Haywood and he finishes with the hookshot over Kendrick (63-42 8:03).

Doc calls a timeout (no need to give the Wizards any chance to gain momentum), but when play resumes Garnett misses the outside shot and Butler comes away with the loose rebound. However, he dribbles the ball off his foot, and Pierce calmly picks it up to start the fast break; he finds Rondo, who drives to the basket and has his layup attempt goaltended by Haywood (65-42 7:29).

Stevenson then misses and KG pulls down another rebound (he is owning the boards tonight); he passes to Rondo, who trots it upcourt and ends up being double-teamed, so he gets the ball back to Garnett. With some open space, KG pulls up and finally knocks down a jumper (67-42 6:56).

Another basket by KG (he's heating up!) makes it a 27-point Celtics lead with 6:22 remaining, and Arenas' prognasticative skills aren't looking too hot right now ... However, the Wizards aren't ready to lay down just yet, as Haywood throws down a nasty one-handed dunk to begin a 7-1 Wizards run to cut the lead to 21 with 3:51 on the clock. Perk is then called for the offensive foul setting a screen on Butler, as the Wiz have a chance to edge closer, but Arenas misses the three-point attempt; Haywood comes up with the offensive rebound, but loses control of the ball trying to go up for the shot and it goes out of bounds.

Boston regains possession (Perk sits with three fouls and Pollard comes back in), as Ray passes inside to Pierce underneath the basket, but his layup attempt is blocked by Haywood - that could've been goaltending - and Songalia controls the loose ball. He tries to pass to Arenas, but (apparently) he didn't notice that KG was standing right next to him, as he pretty much hands the ball right to him (duh). Garnett then makes the no-look pass to Pierce (still underneath the basket) and Darius is forced to foul him to prevent an easy layup. What a weird sequence, as Paul makes both free throws to quiet the Wizards' offensive push somewhat (74-51 3:06).

The Celts' defensive efforts are able to keep Washington from making anymore of a dent in the lead (the highlights being Pollard's block on Stevenson's layup attempt and Tony's strip of Arenas to prevent the fast break) as the quarter ends with Boston up 79 to 57.

FOURTH QUARTER

Doc decides to have Scals, Pierce, Perkins, House, and Tony in to try and finish off the game ... After a basket by Butler, Eddie misses the outside shot and Jamison grabs the rebound. He gets it to Arenas, who spies Songalia streaking up the court all by himself, so he makes the pass and Darius finishes with the too-easy one-handed dunk (79-61 11:26).

Heinsohn urges the Celts to "not let [Washington] get going", as Pierce misses the shot with Butler in his face; however, Scals knocks the loose rebound out to House (crowd appreciates the effort) and he passes back to Paul. Unfortunately, Songalia slaps the ball away from him; Butler picks it up and House must wrap him up to prevent a wide-open lane to the basket. That sends Caron to the line, where he makes both foul shots (79-63 10:40).

Heinsohn continues to express his nervousness ("Do not let this team get momentum, they are a very very explosive team"), and Doc seems to share that sentiment, as both KG and Ray are up off the bench. Meanwhile, Pierce uses the upfake to get Songalia off his feet and drives to the basket, but Jamison comes in for the block. Luckily, Perkins is right there for the loose ball and scores on the putback (81-63 10:25).

Arenas is fouled by Tony with 10:06 remaining in the game, which is the cue for KG and Ray to re-enter the fray (Tony and Scals take a seat). However, Gilbert takes the opporutnity to blow past House and takes it right at Perkins for the layup, plus the refs whistle Kendrick the foul. Arenas proceeds to make the free throw to complete the three-point play (81-66 9:55).

Ray is then fouled making a move to the basket at 9:35, and Rondo comes in to replace House during the stoppage of play. Allen makes both free throws, but at the other end Arenas pulls the same stunt, blowing by Rajon this time and again taking it right at Perk for the layup (83-68 9:28); I think he just realized that time is running out on his prediction to come true (Heinsohn: "He's gonna turn everything loose here, and he's liable to single-handedly get them back into the game, and that's what I don't like").

Things aren't looking good, as Pierce is stripped from behind by Gilbert; Butler collects the loose ball, then passes back to Arenas, who misses the three-point attempt (Wizards haven't hit one yet from behind the line, as they're now 0-for-13!). Garnett snatches the rebound, and makes the fullcourt pass to Pierce, who eludes Butler and goes in for the basket; Arenas grabs at him, but that doesn't prevent Paul from scoring the layup, and he makes the free throw for the three-point play (86-68 8:25); that wakes the crowd up.

Songalia scores, while at the other end Ray passes inside to KG, who gives the upfake on Jamison then leans into the contact while taking the shot; that sends KG to the line for his 17th and 18th points of the night (88-70 7:18).

Butler then passes inside to Arenas for the layup attempt, but Garnett just elevates for the monster block (crowd loves it and so do I!). Rondo controls the loose ball, and gets it up ahead to Pierce, who finds Scals wide open for the three-point attempt. Unfortunately, he front-rims it, and Arenas gets the rebound before making the fullcourt pass to Jamison for the layup (88-72 6:52); the foul is also called on Ray, but Antawn misses the free throw and Garnett pulls down the rebound (his 17th!). He gives it to Rondo, who brings it upcourt and blows past Arenas before taking it in over Jamison for the layup (90-72 6:30).

Looks like the Celts are back in control, as Gilbert is fouled by Rajon but misses both free throws (more catcalls from the crowd), while at the other end Scals is wide open for the three-point attempt but instead takes it to the basket and has his shot goaltended by Arenas (92-72 5:32).

Stevenson then misses, but Songalia grabs the offensive rebound; it looks like Scals gets a nice block on his putback attempt, but - apparently - Pierce grabbed Darius from behind and the refs whistle him for the foul. Paul takes exception to that, and earns himself a technical to boot (hmmm). That sends Songalia to the line, where he makes three straight foul shots (92-75 5:18).

At the other end, Scals misses a three-point attempt, but Ray grabs the offensive rebound and kicks it out to Pierce, who passes back inside to KG who is double-teamed but still manages to get off the hook shot (94-75 4:42) ... I think Heinsohn can exhale now, as Kevin misses the turnaround jumper over Jamison, but Ray takes down another offensive board and gives the ball back to KG. He kicks it out to Pierce (with Butler covering him), who passes back inside to Garnett, then cuts to the basket and KG obliges with the nice pass and Paul finishes with the layup (96-75 3:10) to push Boston's lead back up over twenty.

Washington calls a timeout, and when play resumes Arenas is on the bench (nighty night, Agent Zero) and Roger MasonJar comes in to replace him; he promptly misses a three-point attempt and KG pulls down the rebound at the 2:57 mark for his first 20-point/20-rebound night as a Celtic (sweet). He gives the ball to Pierce, who brings it upcourt before passing back to Garnett; he's immediately double-teamed, but still finds a way to get to the basket for a layup (98-75 2:39).

He started off a little shaky, but I think us Celtics fans will take nights like this from the big man ... Scals gives the foul to Nick SumYoungGuy with 2:30 remaining so that the substitutions may begin; Tony, Leon Powe Powe Power Wheels, and Glen "Macrosomia" Davis come in for Pierce/Allen/KG to a thunderous (and well-deserved) ovation.

A fine way to start the season, as the Celts win big, 103 to 83.

FINAL SCORE: Boston 103, Washington 83

GAME RATING:

18
KILLER

BOSTON TOP PERFORMERS:

• Pierce: 39 MIN, 28 PTS (10-19 FG, 3-6 3PTers), 5 REB, 4 AST, 1 BLK
  
• Garnett: 38 MIN, 22 PTS (9-17 FG), 20 REB, 5 AST, 3 STL, 3 BLK
  
• R. Allen: 38 MIN, 17 PTS (5-10 FG, 2-5 3PTers), 4 REB, 2 AST
  
• Rondo: 32 MIN, 15 PTS (7-10 FG), 4 STL, 2 AST, 3 TO
  

WASHINGTON TOP PERFORMERS:

• Arenas: 40 MIN, 21 PTS (5-20 FG, 0-5 3PTers, 11-14 FT), 5 REB, 3 AST, 4 TO, 2 STL
  
• Butler: 34 MIN, 18 PTS (8-15 FG), 8 REB, 7 TO
  
• Haywood: 32 MIN, 10 PTS (4-8 FG), 12 REB (6 OFF), 3 BLK
  

TONIGHT'S COG (CELT OF THE GAME): Paul Pierce

POST-GAME NOTES:

• This was a great offensive outing for the C's shooting 48 percent from the field (39-81 FG), with 20 assists on those 39 made baskets ... but even more impressive (and encouraging) was their performance on the defensive end, limiting the Wizards to just 35 percent shooting (28-80 FG) to go along with twenty turnovers!
• In fact, Washington set a new NBA record in futility, for the most three-point attempts in a game without connecting once (0-16 3PTers) ...
  
• Pierce addressed the crowd prior to tip-off ("On behalf of the Celtics organization, myself, my teammates, it's been a long ten years I've been here ... You fans have stuck with me and my team throughout the good times and the bad times; it's time to turn those days around. And also, I just want y'all to know that Red will always be with us, and in his words, what would Red say? Let's go Celtics!")
  
• You shouldn't be surprised to know that tonight's season opener was held before a sold-out crowd (the first of many, I reckon) ...
• This game was also televised nationwide on ESPN (again, I'd wager it's the first of many).
• Parker Posey did not play tonight, serving a one-game suspension mandated by the NBA for his no-contest plea in a reckless driving charge from way back in April (sports.aol.com).
• As for those who did play, Scalabrine had to play with a sheet of steel in his right shoe, due to a strained big toe (which Doc was afraid might cause him to miss the game completely). Also, Scott Pollard saw his first action after missing the entire preseason with a strained left ankle (although he finished with one block, one missed shot, and three fouls in eight minutes of "action").
• Several members of the Patriots and Red Sox were in the stands cheering on the Green; the World Series trophy was on display at center court before the start of the game.
• Randy Auerbach (Red's daughter), Pierce, and Bob "Cheap" Cousy were on hand for a naming ceremony prior to the game, as the Celtics floor was officially rechristened the "Red Auerbach Parquet" (a painted replica of Red's signature will now forever grace the hardwood).
• Blue Man Group (blueman.com) performed during halftime.
  
• I'm convinced that the music being played during the announcement of the Celtics' starting lineup was from one of the Mega Man games (capcom.com).
  
• During the pregame, Globe beat writer Marc Spears called Perkins the "black Travis Knight" ... ouch.
• Rookies Just Pruitt and Snifter of Brandon Wallace start off the season on the inactive list ... sorry guys.
  
• The Wizards are now 0-2 to start the season.
• Kevin Garnett was the inaugural "Tommy Award" winner for the 2007-08 season.
• The last Celtics to have a 20/20 game in his debut was Sidney "Sticky" Wicks back in October of '76 against Indiana (21 PTS, 22 REB).
  
• An interesting bit of counter-programming last night on the DIY Network ... Apparently, there's this show called "Man Caves" (diynetwork.com) - which sounds vaguely pornographic, to be honest - and tonight's episode would show the home viewers how to renovate their basement into a Celtics-themed sports bar! Sounds cool, but I'm not sure why a Celtics fan would watch that when an actual game is on at the same time.