November 21, 2007
7:30 PM EST (Comcast SportsNet)
TD Banknorth Garden (Boston, MA)
Announcers: Mike An-Gorman-agement 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
Warriors Starting Lineup: Baron Von Davis, Kelenna Azubuike Quantum Fighter, Andris Bath-Biedrins, General Pietrus, Uneven Stephen Jackson
The quest for the perfect 82-0 season is over ... You've won this round, Bill Belicheck!
Of course, there's nothing to be worried about just yet; sure, the guys haven't been playing their best basketball as of late. But remember, this is still a team that's learning how to work together. There's bound to be some bumps along the road.
Speaking of bumps in the road, the Golden State Warriors are up next ... After starting the season 0-6, Baron Davis and his mates have managed to string together a three-game winning streak (including an absolute drubbing of the Knicks last night where they forced 29 turnovers). How will that streak hold up against a Celtics club that is now looking to start a new streak of their own? Let's find out!
FIRST QUARTER
Both teams have a rough time getting the ball into the hoop at the start of the game ... In fact, they combine for only one field goal (KG's dunk off the alleyoop pass from Perk) in the first three minutes and 20 seconds! A little rundown of the stats during that time:
- Celtics: 1-5 FG, 1-2 FT (Garnett), 2 TO (both travelling violations on Perk)
- Warriors: 0-6 FG, 3 TO (all committed by Davis)
At the other end, Davis is fouled by Rajon in the paint while taking the shot, so he heads to the line and makes both free throws to get Golden State in the scoring column (5-2 8:20).
Ray answers with the outside jumper, then Pietrus tries to makes his way down the lane for the layup attempt, but Perkins just swats that mess out of bounds. It's still Warriors ball ... but not for long, as Jackson throws a pass over Biedrins' head and into the stands for yet another turnover. Celts get it back, and Perk makes another nice pass inside to Garnett, who finishes with the one-hand jam over Davis (7-2 7:30).
Jackson scores the layup with 7:18 remaining in the quarter to finally give Golden State a made basket (1-9 FG), but Pierce quickly fires back with the 18-footer (9-4 7:09).
Jackson then misses the shot, and Pierce grabs the rebound; he takes the ball coast to coast, then just explodes past Pietrus and takes it right in against Biedrins for the layup PLUS the foul (11-4 6:47) ... However, he misses the free throw; hey, you can't have everything!
The Warriors call a timeout, and when play resumes Full Monta Ellis comes into the game for Azubuike and immediately knocks down the pullup "jay" (13-6 6:25).
At the other end, Baron picks off the bad pass by Ray and takes it all the way in for the open layup (13-8 6:04).
Undeterred, Allen slices down the lane between two defenders for the layup of his own (15-8 5:43); he's 3-for-4 from the field tonight, which is a good sign since he's now shooting just 38 percent (19-50 FG) over the course of four games. It's time for him to start heating up ... However, the team as a whole is cooling down, as KG is double-teamed and tries to make a crosscourt pass to Pierce, which Ellis picks off and takes the other way for the uncontested basket (15-10 5:15).
Pierce then has his pass picked off by Ellis for Boston's third turnovers in their last four possessions (their fifth of the game); he gets the ball to Jackson, who finds Davis spotting up in the corner, where he launches the three-point attempt but comes up short. Garnett grabs the rebound, then passes upcourt to Rondo, who finds Perkins underneath the basket.
However, Davis sneaks up from behind and strips him for yet another steal (oh man). He quickly pushes the ball upcourt, then passes to Jackson, who tries the three-point shot with Pierce right in his face; that misses, and Ray grabs the rebound (at least Boston is winning the battle of the boards 10 to 5).
Glenn Rivers M.D. has seen enough, and calls for the timeout ... The starters remain on the court when play resumes, as Allen misses the three-pointer (uh oh, the bad mojo is rubbing off on him now) and Davis pulls down the loose board. He takes it upcourt himself, and Pierce just backs off of him (daring him to shoot), so Baron stops on a dime and launches another three-point shot. Paul's gambit pays off, as the ball rims out and Pierce controls the rebound; he takes it back the other way, then passes to Rondo who gets the ball back to Paul and he drives down the lane for the sweet finger roll (17-10 3:50).
It's an eight-point lead with 2:23 left in the quarter, when Allen picks off the pass by Davis (time for a taste of their own medicine!) and takes it right at Biedrins for the layup (22-12 2:15)! That wakes the crowd up, but Ellis scores on the jumpshot, which is followed by Pierce committing the travelling violation (Boston's seventh turnover) ... ugh.
That gives the Warriors back possession with 1:44 to go, as Parker Posey and Scotty 2 Hotty come into the game (KG and Perk sit). Biedrins takes advantage by going right at Pollard and is able to score on the layup (22-16 1:33).
Allen then misses the pullup "jay" (more struggles for him ahead?) and Pietrus grabs the rebound; he tries to make the pass up ahead to Ellis, but Ray gets a hand on it and actually jumps up on the scorers' table to try and save the ball ... It still goes out of bounds, but at least he gets a nice round of applause for the effort (Heinsohn: "He gets a Tommy Point for a one-hand stand! That was gymnastic-like!").
It's Warriors ball, but Davis misses the jumpshot (Golden State is now 7-for-22 from the floor) and Allen controls the carom; he passes upcourt to Posey, who finds Rondo in the corner and he buries the outside jumper (24-16 :56.3).
Ellis then misses the layup attempt, but gets his own rebound and kicks it out to Jackson behind the three-point line; that shot is awry, and Pollard comes away with the loose board. He passes to Rondo, who brings the ball upcourt, but Jackson fouls Pollard away from the ball ... That's his third (!), so Stephen heads to the bench while Scotty makes his way to the line and converts on one-of-two free throws (25-16 :36.2).
That's how the quarter ends, as Boston leads 25 to 16 after one.
SECOND QUARTER
Allan Tony and Hugh Laurie are in to start the quarter along with Posey, Pollard, and the other Allen ... Meanwhile, Marco "Whoa" Belinelli drives to the basket against Ray and picks up the foul while scoring the basket, sending him to the line where he makes the free throw to complete the three-point play (25-19 10:26).
Pollard is then fouled by Pietrus making a move to the basket (Heinsohn: "That was a walk!") so he gets another trip to the line with 10:13 on the clock, but still can only manage one of his two free throws.
Scotty returns the favor at the other end by fouling Ellis ... Once again play is stopped as Monta heads to the free throw line, and Doc takes the opportunity for some more substitutions, getting KG and The Scals of Justice into the game (Ray and Pollard sit) while Ellis makes just one of his foul shots (26-20 10:03).
Man, the game has pretty much slowed to a crawl at this point, as KG banks in a shot at the 9:14 mark for Boston's first field goal of the quarter. Pietrus then misses the three-point attempt (Golden State is now 0-for-8 from three-point land) and Azubuike fouls Posey going for the rebound; the Celts regain possession, and House finds Tony alone in the corner, where he knocks down the open jumper (32-21 8:46).
Belinelli tries another three-point attempt but comes up short; House grabs the rebound and takes it back the other way, before knocking down the pullup "jay" (34-21 8:20).
Ellis scores (the Warriors are just 2-for-5 from the field in the quarter), then House bricks the three-point shot (the Celts also have yet to make a trey, missing all five of their attempts) ... Luckily, Ellis tips the loose rebound out of bounds, giving Boston back possession. Garnett takes the opportunity to take it into the paint against Jackson, where he misses the shot but tips the rebound out to House. Eddie swings the ball around to Posey, who passes back inside to Kevin and he's immediately double-teamed. That's not a problem, as he kicks it back out to Tony, who finds House in the corner and he - finally - knocks down a three-point basket (37-23 7:28)!
Ellis then has to force up a three-point attempt to beat the shot clock, and comes up short (Golden State has now missed eleven straight three-pointers!); Tony grabs the rebound, then takes it upcourt himself before passing inside to KG, who hits the turnaround jumper over Jackson (39-23 6:52).
The Warriors quickly call for time, but when play resumes Davis has his layup attempt blocked by Posey (!) and Garnett collects the loose ball; he gets it up ahead to Tony, who finds House and he passes inside to KG. Golden State again tries to double-team him in the paint, so he kicks the bal out to Scals who is wide open for another trey (42-23 5:34)!
Things are looking good, as Pierce comes back into the game to replace Tony with 5:13 on the clock ... However, Jackson hits the Warriors' first three-point basket of the night (1-12 3PTers) to cap a 7-2 Warriors run (44-30 3:45).
Pierce then tries to get the ball inside to KG, but he mishandles the pass; Scals gets the loose ball about three feet from the basket but still manages to shoot up an airball (wow). Luckily, Pierce gets the "rebound" and is fouled by Davis going up for the shot, so he heads to the line and makes both free throws (46-30 3:18).
A three-pointer by Davis (they're heating up now) with 33 seconds left in the half gets Golden State back within thirteen ... The Celts then try to work some time off the clock, but Posey throws a pass right off KG's fingertips as the 24-second clock expires (that was TOO much time off the clock). Boston now has 13 turnovers, as the Warriors have a chance to get even closer with 8.2 seconds remaining, but Azubuike misses the pullup jumper in the closing moments.
That means that the Celts still have a sizable lead (50-37) at halftime, thanks in large part to the contributions of Pierce (12 PTS) and Garnett (11 PTS, 5-9 FG, 6 REB) plus a sizable advantage on the boards (24 rebounds for Boston in comparison to 11 for Golden State) ...
THIRD QUARTER
Pierce makes a nice pass inside to Rondo for the layup to open the second half; at the other end, Jackson drives down the lane before giving the ball up to Biedrins, but his layup attempt is stuffed from behind by Perk (nice). Ray collects the loose ball and takes it back the other way, finding Rondo who passes to KG, but his pullup jumper is wide of the mark. Luckily, the loose rebound is tipped right back to Kevin, and he passes to Pierce, but he elects to go for the awkward fallaway jumper that misses badly. Pietrus comes away with the board, but his foot landed out of bounds, so that gives the Celts yet another opportunity and Garnett (finally) buries the outside shot (54-37 10:27).
Jackson makes two free throws to get Golden State within fifteen, then Rondo tries to make the pass inside to Perkins, but it's way off the mark and Ellis winds up with the loose ball (Boston's 14th turnover); he takes it back the other way and passes to Davis, who misses the three-point attempt but Monta grabs the offensive rebound and scores on the putback (54-41 9:52).
Another sloppy start for the C's ... A trey from Ray (his 40th straight game with at least one three-point basket) makes it a 17-point Celtics lead with eight minutes to go in the quarter. Rondo then slaps the ball out of Davis' hands; Allen picks it up and makes the fullcourt pass to a hustling Rajon, who finds himself leading a 2-on-0 fast break (!), so he decides not to be greedy and gives it to Perk for the reverse dunk (62-43 7:44) - Kendrick put a little mustard on there to wake the crowd up!
Unfortunately, Pietrus hits the jumper while being fouled by Rondo (his third), but Mickael can't convert on the free throw and Pierce collects the rebound (his seventh). Back the other way we go, as Paul passes to KG, who kicks it out to Ray behind the three-point line; his shot misses, and Biedrins gets the carom. He quickly hands the ball off to Ellis, who makes the quarterback-like throw to a wide-open Pietrus for the dunk (62-47 7:08); that kind of takes the air out of the building somewhat.
It gets worse, as Davis strips Rondo of the ball (that's his fifth steal as Boston has six steals total as a team!) and makes the fullcourt pass to a hustling Ellis for the uncontested slam (62-49 6:51).
Doc has seen enough and calls for timeout; when play resumes, Pierce blows by Jackson along the baseline and finishes with the two-hand flush (64-49 6:39) ... heh, KG was under the basket, so Paul almost had to posterize him to get the bucket!
Crowd is getting loud again, as Davis misses the fallaway "jay" and Perkins nabs the rebound. He gets the ball up ahead to Ray, who drives to the basket and takes a hard foul from Davis; that puts him at the line, where he makes both free throws (66-49 6:20).
Jackson follows his lead and takes it strong to the basket himself, where he draws the contact from Perk and makes two foul shots of his own. At the other end, KG misses the shot and Stephen comes away with the board; he takes it upcourt himself, then finds Pietrus alone for the three-pointer (66-54 5:20)!
Ray then tries the left-handed runner down the lane, but comes up short, and Jackson finds himself with another rebound. He passes the ball up ahead to Pietrus, and he finds Ellis wide open in the corner for the jumper (66-56 4:49); Golden State is on a roll now, as they've made 6-of-10 shots from the field in this quarter.
At the other end, Perk tries to take advantage of Jackson guarding him and take it inside for the layup, but Pietrus comes over and basically jumps on his back to draw the foul call. Kendrick takes exception to that and gets his elbow up around Mickael's chin area (ooh, why'd you do that Perk?); KG separates the two, but it's too late as the refs whistle Perkins for the technical foul ... Jackson shoots the free throw but misses, so Perk gets his turn at the line and makes both of them (68-56 4:35).
After a miss by Davis, Doc puts Posey into the game to replace Kendrick at the 4:06 mark (let him sit on the bench and cool down a little), while Pierce makes the nice pass inside to KG for the layup (70-56 3:58).
A basket by Baron (he's 3-for-13 from the field) gets the Warriors within twelve, then KG is double-teamed in the paint, so he kicks the ball out to an open House for the three-pointer (73-58 3:29). Jackson answers with a basket, then Ray is covered by Davis but Garnett sets a pick to free Allen up and he buries another trey (76-60 2:54)!
Jackson tries to answer and misses the three-point shot, but the loose rebound bounces out to Ellis and he passes to Pietrus wide-open in the corner ... His three-point shot also fails to find the mark, and Ray comes away with the board. He passes upcourt to Pierce, who swings the ball around to House and he goes for the three-point attempt of his own that's wide to the right. However, KG tips the rebound out to Pierce for a fresh 24-second clock; he passes to Eddie, who dribbles back to set up the offense before passing inside to Garnett. He immediately kicks it back out to Posey, who dishes off to Ray behind the three-point line (great ball movement) and he buries another one (79-60 2:10)! Allen is heating up, as he now has 21 points (7-15 FG).
The Celts are firmly in control now, as they head into the final stanza with an 81-to-64 advantage.
FOURTH QUARTER
House, Pollard, Posey, Pierce, and Tony are in to start the fourth ... Pierce rebounds a missed shot by Pollard (his fifth offensive board) and scores on the layup to make it a 19-point lead again with 10:37 on the clock. At the other end, Tony strips Ellis of the ball; Paul picks it up and makes a fullcourt pass to Allen, who finds Posey hustling to the basket and he avoids Austin Croshere International Man of Mystery for the layup (89-68 10:10)!
Croshere answers with the basket, then Pierce makes a nice pass inside to Tony who finishes with the uncontested two-hand slam (91-70 9:37) ... It's down to a 16-point lead with 5:46 left in the game, when KG is inserted back into the lineup (not sure why that's necessary), and House lobs a pass inside to Garnett who's fouled by the rookie Jean-Claude-Brandan Wright and makes both free throws (95-77 5:17).
Ellis then misses on the jumpshot, but Croshere grabs the offensive board and tries to score on the putback; not so fast, as KG winds up with the block (he's a potty mouth tonight as he tells Austin to "Get that shit outta here!") and House comes away with the loose ball. He takes it back the other way and sends it over to Tony, who passes inside to Kevin and he immediately spins on Wright for the jumper. Not only that, but Brandan smacked him across the arm as well, so that means a trip to the charity stripe where KG makes the foul shot to complete the three-point play (98-77 4:05).
With that free throw, Garnett has tied Bob Lanier for 37th on the NBA's all-time scoring list (19,248 PTS). Hmm, I guess that's why Doc put him back in ... However, he'll have to remain tied with Lanier for at least one more game, as he takes a seat with 3:25 left in the game, and Glen "Macrosomia" Davis comes in to replace him (Gorman: "That's probably one guy you don't wanna invite over to Thanksgiving dinner!").
"Big Baby" makes a monster rejection on the layup attempt by Belinelli in the closing moments to get the bench up on their feet (Heinsohn: "That's not a small baby play, that's a Big Baby play!"), as the Celtics get back to their winning ways by handily taking care of the Warriors, 105 to 82.
FINAL SCORE: Boston 105, Golden State 82
GAME RATING:
17
KILLER
BOSTON TOP PERFORMERS:
- R. Allen: 31 MIN, 21 PTS (7-18 FG), 7 REB, 3 STL
- Garnett: 32 MIN, 20 PTS (8-14 FG), 10 REB, 3 AST, 1 BLK
- Pierce: 34 MIN, 19 PTS (8-14 FG), 10 REB (5 OFF), 4 AST
- House: 25 MIN, 15 PTS (6-13 FG), 3 REB, 3 STL, 2 AST
- Ellis: 42 MIN, 21 PTS (10-15 FG), 4 STL, 3 AST
- Jackson: 29 MIN, 15 PTS (4-15 FG), 5 REB
- Davis: 28 MIN, 13 PTS (3-13 FG, 6-6 FT), 5 STL, 4 AST, 3 REB
TOMMY QUOTES:
- "[to Gorman] I know you were very happy to be able to go out into the Florida sun and get that big stick of yours working ... "
- The previous scoring low for Golden State this season was 96 points on opening night (against Utah) ... Shooting just 33 percent from the field (29-87 FG) will do that to you.
- This was Ray Allen's 800th career NBA game.
- Prior to tonight, Rondo was fourth in the ENTIRE LEAGUE in field goal percentage (57.5 percent) ... However, his performance tonight might hurt that number (4 PTS, 2-6 FG, 6 AST).
- Posey played 22 minutes (4 PTS, 1-4 FG, 4 REB); he did not practice yesterday due to back spasms, but gutted it out tonight.
- Ray Allen was tonight's Tommy Award winner.
- The Warriors' Al "Pickled" Harrington did not play tonight (health problems with a family member).
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