November 18, 2007
6:00 PM EST (Comcast SportsNet)
Amway Arena (Orlando, FL)
Announcers: Mike An-Gorman-agement and Tommy "Want to Touch the" Heinsohn ; 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
Magic Starting Lineup: Keith "Muggsy" Bogans, Jameerkat Nelson, Dwight Howard Fine and Howard, Ahmad Rashard Lewis, Hedo "Nism" Turkoglu
While it's still early in the season, tonight's matchup between the 8-2 Orlando Magic and our beloved 8-0 Boston Celtics could be one of the Eastern Conference's marquee matchups right now ...
Big man Dwight Howard and (expensive) free-agent acquisition Rahard Lewis are providing an impressive one-two punch, good enough for first place in the Southeast Division ... This will prove to be a great test for our veteran club, as the last couple of wins have been of the "ugly" variety (to put it kindly); too many turnovers and an inability to properly close out games are sending up some red flags amongst the more paranoid of Celtics Nation, so let's see what the "Not Big Three" can do against a quality opponenet like Orlando.
FIRST QUARTER
Perkins wins the opening tap against Howard to give Boston the initial possession of the night ... However, Allen misses the fallaway jumper over Bogans, and Dwight grabs the rebound. He gets the ball to Nelson, who brings it upcourt and passes inside to Dwight. He takes the hook shot over Perk, and KG is whislted for goaltending (0-2 11:30).
At the other end, Garnett misses the shot and Bogans pulls down the rebound. He passes up ahead to Howard, who again takes it right at Perk; he comes up short on the layup attempt, and Kevin controls the loose board. He passes to Allen, who dribbles up the floor and passes inside to Kendrick; he tries to return the favor against Howard, but Dwight knocks the ball away and Hedo is there to pick it up.
We head back the other way, as Bogan is left open for the outside shot, but it clanks off the back of the rim and Kevin comes away with another rebound. He gives it to Rondo, but he just trips and falls trying to makes his way up the court; Nelson winds up with the steal, and he finds Bogans for the layup (0-4 10:20).
A basket by Pierce puts Boston in the scoring column, then Nelson drives down the lane against Rondo; Perk comes over to help, but that leaves Dwight wide open under the basket for the dunk (2-6 9:27); not a wise move by Kendrick.
Pierce follows that up by missing the outside shot (Lewis might have got him across the arm but no foul was called), and Howard controls the rebound. He gives it to Nelson, who takes it the other way, and finds Bogans spotting up in the corner for the three-point basket (2-9 8:54).
Glenn Rivers M.D. decides to take a quick timeout before things get too out of hand; when play resumes, Hugh Laurie is in to replace Rondo, while Allen works the baseline against Lewis before passing out to House behind the three-point line. However, his shot is blocked by Nelson (!); Ray is able to recover the loose ball, and finds Garnett standing at the free-throw line for the quick jumper (4-9 8:27).
Turkoglu and Garnett trade baskets, then Bogans hits the little floater over House (6-13 6:23). At the other end, Allen makes the nice pass inside to Perkins; he misses the layup attempt, but gets his own rebound and is fouled by Howard from behind. That puts Kendrick at the line, where he makes just one-of-two free throws (7-13 6:06).
Perk then blocks a layup attempt by Nelson, but Hedo comes away with the loose ball and kicks it out to Lewis. His three-point attempt is wide of the mark, and Garnett snags the rebound. He gets the ball upcourt to Allen, who tries to take it in for the layup but runs right into Rashard for the offensive foul; Orlando regains possession, as Trevor Raisin' ArizONa comes in for Turkoglu while Nelson avoids House and takes it in over Perk for the layup (7-15 5:28).
Perk is then called for the travelling violation (Boston's fifth turnover); the Magic get the ball once again, as Nelson loses House off the dribble and takes it right at Perk for another layup (7-17 5:02)!
A basket by Pierce gets the deficit back into single digits, but Nelson immediately inbounds the ball to Bogans and he finds a hustling Howard at the other end of the court who finishes with the dunk (9-19 4:37).
Garnett scores as the Celts are still struggling offensively, then Nelson misses the jumper and the ball goes out of bounds; Parker Posey comes in to replace Perk with 3:50 left in the quarter, as the Celts regain possession and Paul loses Lewis off the dribble and takes it down the lane for a layup (13-19 3:34).
Garnett then fouls Howard trying to keep him out of the paint; it's still Magic possession, but Lewis misses the three-point attempt and Ray comes away with the rebound. He gets the ball up to Pierce, who again takes it down the lane but this time Dwight rejects his layup attempt (that's Orlando's fourth block already). Nelson collects the loose ball and takes it the other way, where he finds Lewis behind the three-point line and he buries it (13-22 2:58).
Things are not looking good, as it's a 10-point deficit with 1:52 left and Allan Tony comes in for Ray; KG immediately finds him underneath the basket with the bullet pass, and he's fouled by Nelson. That puts Tony at the line, where he makes both free throws (15-23 1:38).
Now it's Garnett's turn to take a seat (to be replaced by The Scals of Justice) ... however, his first contribution to the game is fouling Howard trying to keep him out of the paint. That puts Dwight at the line, where he misses the first foul shot but makes the second (15-24 1:27).
Ariza then steals a pass by House and takes it back the other way; he dishes the ball to Nelson, who misses the layup attempt but James "Saint" Augustine (just into the game) tips it in (15-26 1:05).
Boy, the team is playing some ugly ball right now, as Posey is called for the offensive foul; that gives Orlando back possession, and Hedo makes the C's pay by sticking the pullup jumper (15-28 :34.8).
Tony banks in the shot over Nelson with 13 seconds remaining, but it's still an 11-point deficit (17-28) at the end of one ... Boston's strong defensive play was non-existent in that first quarter, as the Magic shot 55 percent from the field (12-22 FG).
SECOND QUARTER
Lewis is called for a defensive three-second violation at the start of the quarter, so the Celts elect to have Pierce shoot the free throw, which he dutifully converts on (18-28 11:32). Boston then has a chance to get within single digits, but Scals misses the three-point attempt and Turkoglu secures the rebound. He passes upcourt to Keyon Dooling-Banjos, who finds Lewis underneath the basket with both Posey and Allen covering him; however, that doesn't stop him from scoring on the turnaround jumper (18-30 11:04).
Pierce answers with the bucket, then Rondo knocks the balll out of Lewis' hands and Paul is able to recover it; he quickly sends it upcourt to a hustling Rajon who goes in for the layup attempt, but he's fouled by Dooling from behind and hits the floor hard (lands right amongst the cameramen). He's slow to get up, but appears to be okay and steps to the line where he makes both foul shots (22-30 10:32).
However, Tony then fouls Dooling before he's able to make the inbounds pass; that's not smart, as that calls for an automatic trip to the charity stripe and he makes both of them (22-32 10:32). You can audibly hear Pierce telling Allen "you gotta make 'em earn it!", referring to the free throws.
Anyway, on the next possession Rondo is called for an offensive foul as he knocks down Carlos "El Loco" Arroyo taking it to the basket. The Magic get it back, as Lewis trips over his own two feet and knocks down Tony, but the refs call the foul on Allen (you can hear Doc yelling "That's a terrible call!"). That means it's still Orlando ball, and Arroyo takes it down the lane where he misses the layup, but there's a LATE whistle as the refs call the foul on Tony.
That's his third (!), so Ray is back in the game as Carlos makes both free throws (22-34 9:59). Rondo then scores a layup off the pass from Pierce (just the second assist for Boston tonight), while at the other end Arroyo knocks down Rajon and is called for the offensive foul (thank you!). Boston regains possession, and Pierce takes it to the basket where he's fouled by Augustine, sending him to the line where he makes one-of-two free throws (25-34 9:30).
Celts are trying to make a run, as Hedo misses the layup attempt and Rondo comes away with the loose rebound. He passes to Pierce, who dribbles upcourt and is tripped up by Turkoglu; Paul falls to the floor and loses the ball, but no foul is called (WHAT?!?). Arroyo picks it up and passes ahead to Dooling, and Scals is forced to grab him to prevent the layup, so he gets to the line and makes one-of-two foul shots (25-36 8:56).
Both Howard and Garnett come back into the game at this point (Pierce sits for Boston), as Rondo hits the outside j to get the C's back within nine. At the other end, Hedo passes inside to Dwight who has his layup attempt blocked by Posey (!) but the loose ball goes right to Arroyo and he buries the trey (27-39 8:28).
Things are looking bad, as Ray tries to answer but misses his three-point try, and Turkoglu grabs the rebound. He passes upcourt to Arroyo, who tries to make the alleyoop pass inside to Howard (covered by Scalabrine) and Brian grabs at him from behind. Dwight takes exception to that course of action, and responds by giving Scals a shove.
That causes a bit of a commotion underneath the basket, what with the refs having to get involved to restore order ... Scals winds up being called for the foul - that's no surprise - while Howard and Garnett are both charged with technicals (KG kind of put his hands on Dwight and was giving him some words); Howard gets to the line after all that and can only make one-of-two free throws (27-40 7:59). Man, it doesn't seem worth all that effort just for one point.
Anyway, during the stoppage of play, Perk comes into the game to replace Scals, and wastes no time insinuating himself into the action as he sets a mean screen on Arroyo to free up Rondo; as Howard comes over to try and cover him, Rajon passes to a wide-open Kendrick underneath the basket for the dunk (29-40 7:46).
Dwight then tries to work the baseline around Perkins, but the refs call him for travelling (good for them). The Celts regain possession, as Perk tries to pass inside to Rondo, however Lewis comes away with the steal; he pushes the ball upcourt for the fast break, but his bounce pass to Dooling is a little too strong and it bounces right out of bounds (Orlando's fifth turnover of the quarter).
Boston gets another opportunity, as KG misses the turnaround jumper over Turkoglu, but the loose rebound is tipped out to House and he finds Ray, who blows by Hedo for the layup (31-40 6:47) ... It's still a nine-point deficit when Turkoglu misses a three-point attempt, but Lewis grabs the offensive rebound and kicks it out to Bogan who buries the trey (33-45 6:10).
Looks like the momentum is back in the Magic's favor, as Howard goaltends a shot by Rondo with 5:10 left in the half, but at the other end Lewis just blows past KG and finishes with the strong one-hand slam to the delight of the crowd (37-49 4:52).
Rajon answers with the jumper (12 PTS, 5-5 FG), then Perk fouls Howard underneath the basket, putting him at the line where Dwight misses the first free throw but makes the second (39-50 4:20).
At the other end, Ray misses the jumpshot, but Perk grabs the offensive board and kicks it back out to Rondo, who passes to KG; he tries to back down Lewis, but instead gives it back to Rajon, and he drives down the lane to draw in the defense. His gambit works, so he kicks it out to House for the wide-open three-point shot ... Unfortunately, the ball bounces off the rim and over the backboard out of bounds.
Orlando regains possession, as Nelson finds Bogans open behind the three-point line, but his shot clanks off the side of the backboard (ha HA!) ... Whoops, Celts can't capitalize, as Perkins fouls Howard going for the loose rebound (damn!). That's his third foul, so Kendrick heads to the bench in favor of Posey; Pierce is also back into the game (in place of House) as Dwight heads to the line and makes both free throws (39-52 3:29).
Posey tries to make himself useful by immediately putting up the three-point shot; it misses, and KG grabs the offensive rebound, however Nelson strips him of the ball (d'oh!). Now we're headed back the other way, as Jameer passes to Lewis, who's grabbed by Pierce so he earns a trip to the charity stripe where he makes both foul shots (39-54 3:05) ... Now it's Glen "Macrosomia" Davis' turn to try and add some muscle to our frontline, as he comes in during the stoppage of play to replace Posey.
On the next play, KG is called for the offensive foul setting the screen on Nelson (Heinsohn: "Bull!"). Orlando regains possession, but Bogans misses the three-point attempt (that would've been disastrous) and Pierce controls the rebound. He passes upcourt to Rondo, who finds Ray but he can't convert on the three-pointer (Allen is just 2-for-8 from the field). Hedo grabs the loose board, as we go back the other way, and Howard hits the pullup "jay" from about twenty feet out with Davis right in his face (39-56 2:00)! Yikes.
Things are going from bad to worse, as Dwight blocks the layup attempt by Davis for the shot clock violation; Orlando regains possession, as Ariza misses the three-point shot, but Turkoglu pulls down the offensive board and makes a nice bounce pass inside to Nelson for the easy layup (39-58 1:12).
Rondo scores (he's a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor), then Ariza misses and Pierce nabs the 'bound; he takes it upcourt himself, as the Celts are holding the ball for (close to) the final shot. He tries to make a move around Hedo, but Nelson comes over for the double-team, so Paul passes to Rondo and he drives down the lane right at Howard (is that a wise move?).
Rajon ends up getting knocked to the floor, but the refs don't blow the whistle until they make sure the shot doesn't go in (at least that's how Heinsohn sees it). That gets him to the line with 0.9 seconds on the clock, but he proceeds to miss both free throws!
A fitting way to end this half, I suppose ... Celts are trailing big, 41 to 58.
Now, I'm not one to blame the referees for everything (let's call that "pulling a Tommy") ... However, I must point out that there have been a number of questionable calls in Orlando's favor; the free throw disparity bears this out (the Magic were 16-for-20 from the line in the first half, compared to the Celtics' 7-to-11 shooting).
In fact, Dwight Howard (17 PTS, 5-7 FG, 7-10 FT) has nearly as many free throw attempts as the entire Celtics team ... Of course, Boston has been pretty sloppy with the ball (twelve turnovers), which I suppose might have something to do with that deficit.
THIRD QUARTER
Nelson buries the pullup "jay" over Rondo to open the second half, but Rajon answers with the bounce pass inside to KG who hits the turnaround shot with Lewis in his face (43-60 11:21).
However, at the other end Rashard is left wide open for the three-pointer to extend it to a 20-point deficit (uck) ... Pierce and Lewis trade baskets, then Paul gets Rashard to bit on the upfake to draw the foul (Lewis' third) which earns Pierce a trip to the line where he makes both free throws (47-65 9:56); Pierce now has 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting.
Lewis stays in the game, as Hedo misses the three-point attempt and KG grabs the rebound. He passes to Rondo, who dribbles up the floor before pulling up over Nelson for the jumper (49-65 9:20); incredible, as Rajon is now 7-for-7 from the field!
Ray scores the layup to get Boston within 14 (the Celts are 5-for-5 thus far in the quarter), but at the other end Nelson loses Rondo off the dribble and sticks the jumper (53-69 8:05).
Rajon answers with another jumpshot (still perfect), then Hedo misses the layup attempt and Rondo comes away with the rebound; he takes it upcourt and passes inside to Garnett, who quickly gets the ball to Perk where he's hacked by Howard (now he's got three fouls). That puts Kendrick at the line, and he knocks down both free throws (57-69 7:12).
Undaunted, Dwight spins around Perk and scores on the layup, then Pierce misses the three-point shot but KG tips the loose rebound to Rondo and he finds Ray for the short jumper (59-71 6:23). Howard answers with another basket (21 PTS, 7-10 FG), but KG doesn't let that stand as he drains the turnaround jumper over Lewis (61-73 5:46).
Hedo scores on the layup (Celts just can't get a defensive stop), then Garnett is tripped up by Lewis but is called for the offensive foul (I'm getting sick of these refs); Orlando regains possession as Turkoglu tries to pass inside to Howard, but Perk picks it off - there you go! - and gets the ball to Ray, who takes it back the other way and finds KG in the corner. His pullup jumper misses, but Rashard tips the loose rebound out of bounds.
Celts get another chance, but Ray misses the three-point shot (he's now 4-for-12 from the floor) and Ariza corrals the rebound; he gets the ball upcourt to Nelson, who passes inside to Lewis. He's covered by Perk, so Rashard kicks the ball back out to Ariza, but his shot is blocked by KG (more defense, more I say!) ... Rondo controls the loose ball, as we head back the other way, and he passes to a hustling Garnett, who finds Pierce slicing down the lane for the layup! Not only that, but Nelson fouled him as the ball was going through the hoop, so that puts Paul at the line where he makes the free throw to complete the three-point play (64-75 4:00).
Turkoglu scores to try and silence the suddenly-boisterous crowd, but Pierce won't let that stop him, as he drives to the basket around Ariza and absorbs the bump from Hedo while simultaneously scoring the basket! That gives Paul the chance for his second straight three-point play, and he nails the free throw to make it so (67-77 3:33)!
Now the Celtics bench is yelling and screaming, trying to encourage their mates ... The Magic, meanwhile, look rattled, as Nelson misses the three-point shot and KG grabs the rebound to the delight of the crowd. He passes upcourt to Ray, who finds Rondo and he gets it back to Pierce. The defense surrounds him, so he makes the crosscourt pass back to Rajon who misses the 15-footer (his first miss of the night!) but Garnett is in perfect position to tip it in (69-77 2:55)!
Orlando is forced to call a timeout, and when play resumes Ariza is called for travelling (alright!); Boston regains possession with a chance to inch closer, and Pierce loses Bogans off the dribble to get himself open for another jumper (71-77 2:24); the man is on fire ... However, Lewis then drives around Posey, as James ends up fouling him from behind, but Rashard is still able to score the layup and makes the free throw for his own three-point play (71-80 2:02).
Heinsohn claims that play was a "momentum breaker", and (unfortunately) he looks to be right, as Ariza steals the ball from Rondo and gets it up ahead to Bogans behind the three-point line; his shot misses, but the refs call Posey for the foul away from the ball as he was blocking out Howard from getting the rebound! I'm sorry, but that is just a bad bad call, as the Magic retain possession and Ariza knocks down the jumper (71-82 1:33).
Celts look deflated now, as KG picks up his fourth foul with 1:05 left in the quarter (Scotty 2 Hotty comes in to replace him) ... Pollard does make himself useful, by allowing Howard to goaltend his layup attempt, getting the C's within nine with 24.3 seconds on the clock. Lewis then tries to drive down the lane, but Pierce steps in and takes the charge (refs got the call right for a change)! That gives Boston a chance to cut the deficit down further still (even though they only have 2.1 seconds to work with), but Pierce inbounds the ball to House who banks in the shot just before the buzzer sounds!
A little bit of good fortune heading our way, mayhaps? In any event, that makes the score 76 to 83, Magic, heading into the final quarter ...
FOURTH QUARTER
Doc starts the fourth quarter with a lineup consisting of Pollard, Posey, House, Pierce, and Tony ... Meanwhile, at the 10:01 mark, Bogans fouls Pierce to send him to the line; he misses the first free throw, but makes the second to cut the deficit down to just six. At the other end, Tony picks off the pass from Arroyo intended for Turkoglu, then takes it all the way in for the two-handed dunk (81-85 9:44)!
Actually, that was kind of a weak dunk (like he was winding up for something more "poster-riffic" but then got cold feet right before taking off) ... but I don't care 'cause the Celts are back within four! Orlando calls a timeout, and when play resumes Hedo misses the three-point shot and House comes away with the rebound (yes!); he takes it upcourt himself, then passes inside to Pierce who's double-teamed and gets knocked down by Turkoglu while trying to make a move to the basket. There's no foul called, of course, and Nelson takes it all the way in for the uncontested layup (81-87 8:59); what a load of bullshit.
Ray and KG come back into the game at the 8:38 mark (Pollard and Tony take a seat), as Pierce makes the crosscourt pass to House in the corner but his foot is out of bounds when he catches the ball; that's Boston's 18th turnover (!), so Orlando regains possession but Lewis misses the three-point attempt (whew!).
Garnett controls the loose board and gets it upcourt to House, who passes to Ray and he tries to get the ball back to Eddie, but Nelson picks off the pass (shit) as we head back the other way. He finds Lewis, who misses another three-point attempt and Posey pulls down the rebound; he hands the ball off to House, who dribbles up the floor and passes inside to KG. He spins around Howard but misses the layup (!) and Hedo gets the carom.
He passes off to Nelson, who takes it the other way yet again, and dishes inside to a hustling Howard, who's fouled by Garnett underneath the basket ... That's KG's fifth foul, as Dwight heads to the line with 7:04 remaining and misses the first free throw. Meanwhile, Pollard comes back in to replace Kevin, then Howard misses the second free throw (!) and House nabs the rebound. Fortune smiles upon us!
At the other end, Dwight is called for the defensive three-second violation; that means another technical on the Magic, and Ray makes the free throw to get his team within five (82-87 6:46).
It's still Celtics' ball, and Pierce makes the nice pass to House open in the corner where he buries the trey (85-87 6:36); that's Boston's first three-pointer of the night (1-8 3PTer)!
Bogans tries to answer, but misses the three-point attempt and Pierce snatches the rebound. He takes it upcourt himself, then drives down the lane to draw in the defense, and kicks it out to an open Posey for another trey (88-87 6:04) and Boston's first lead of the game!!!
My heart can't take much more of this, as Howard is fouled by Pollard under the basket and starts swinging his elbows out ... and the refs are too damn chicken-shit to call another double-technical, because that would mean that Dwight would be gone so they'll let him get away with it (bull!). Instead, Howard heads to the line, where he misses the first free throw but makes the second (88-all 5:48); Dwight has now missed half of his free throw attempts (9-18 FT).
At the other end, House misses the jumper and Eddie fouls Nelson going for the rebound; Boston is over the limit, so Jameer heads to the line and makes both free throws (88-90 5:28).
Rondo and KG come back into the game at this point, as Garnett misses the fallaway jumper over Howard and Nelson comes away with the rebound; he takes it upcourt himself, then passes to Hedo who gets the ball inside to Howard. He's covered by Kevin, so Dwight kicks it back out to Turkoglu behind the three-point line and he buries it (88-93 4:53); dammit.
Doc calls for time, and when play resumes Pierce backs down Bogans before going in for the layup (90-93 4:38). The Celts then trap Nelson along the baseline, where he's forced to try and make a crosscourt pass to Turkoglu, but Pierce picks it off and gets the ball to Ray who goes in for the layup of his own (92-93 4:13)!
Now the Magic have to sweat a little, as Lewis misses a three-point attempt ... but the refs call the foul on Posey (WHAT?!?); that's his sixth foul, not to mention that Rashard goes to the line for three free-throw attempts and makes two of them (92-95 3:45).
Ray then misses the three-point shot, and Nelson grabs the rebound. He dribbles upcourt, then finds Hedo in the corner, where he buries another trey (92-98 3:14); Heinsohn: "You know what I wanna do? Pull his green card!"
KG quickly scores a layup, then Nelson passes inside to Howard, who mishandles the ball but the refs bail him out and call Tony for the ticky-tack foul (I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this point); that sends Dwight to the line, where he makes one-of-two foul shots (94-99 2:35).
However, at the other end Howard is called for the defensive three-second violation (I'm shocked). Ray elects to take the free throw, but front-rims it (now I'm REALLY shocked!) ... It's still Celtics' ball, and Allen redeems himself with the three-pointer (97-99 2:14); all is forgiven, Ray!
Nelson then misses the shot, and KG nabs the rebound. He passes upcourt to Pierce, who slices down the lane but runs right into a triple-team (!), so he has to kick it out to Rondo; the young point guard hesitates (should've taken the shot) and that costs the team, as Paul didn't get out of the paint and is whistled for the three-second violation! Orlando regains possession with 1:38 left in the game, and Nelson gets tripped up by Rajon, so he goes to the line and makes both foul shots (97-101 1:28).
After a Boston timeout, Pierce tries to make a move around Bogans and Lewis comes over to help out. Seeing the double-team coming, Paul makes the nice pass inside to a wide-open Tony but he blows the layup (!) and Lewis controls the rebound. He gives the ball to Nelson, who takes it back the other way and pulls up for the three-point shot; that misses, and Pierce snatches the loose board. He sends it up to Ray, and he works the baseline around Hedo to draw the foul call; Allen steps to the line and makes both free throws (99-101 :54.0).
C's need a stop now, and that's exactly what they get as Nelson tries to make the crosscourt pass to Turkoglu but Ray picks it off! He takes the ball upcourt himself, then gets it to Pierce who works the baseline around Bogans before kicking it back out to Ray. However, he has trouble controlling the pass (and Hedo almost comes away with the steal) but Allen is able to recover and launches the three-point attempt that winds up being an airball (argh!).
KG grabs the offensive board, and - in one swift motion - passes out to a wide-open House, but he too misses the three-point attempt. Bogans then falls out of bounds going for the rebound, and it sure as hell looked to me like he was the last one to touch the ball ... so guess what the refs call? That's right, they say it's Orlando ball. Of course they do.
Turkoglu inbounds the ball to Lewis and KG is forced to give the foul; that's his sixth, so his night is over (Pollard comes in to replace him) while Rashard heads to the line and makes both free throws (99-103 :15.0).
Boston calls timeout, and when play resumes Pierce drives to the basket where he's clobbered by at least three Magic players ... however, the refs simply say that it went off one of the defenders out of bounds (fuckity fuckity fuck you refs); the Celts retain possession with 10.3 seconds to go, and Tony inbounds the ball to Ray who quickly pulls up and buries trey (102-103 :07.7)!
Now Orlando needs a 20-second timeout ... Turkoglu inbounds the ball to Lewis, and Pierce immediately fouls him (only five-tenths of a second went off the clock), so Rashard heads to the line where he misses the first free throw (!) but makes the second (102-104 :07.2).
It's for all the marbles now, as Scals inbounds the ball to Rondo; he passes to Pierce, who goes for the deep three-point attempt over Bogans (I think they could've come up with a better shot than that) but backrims it and Howard skies for the rebound as time expires ... Wow, what a finish to this game. Unfortunately, it all adds up to Boston's first loss of the '07-'08 season, 102 to 104.
FINAL SCORE: Boston 102, Orlando 104
GAME RATING:
10
PULLING A WIGGUM
BOSTON TOP PERFORMERS:
- Pierce: 42 MIN, 28 PTS (10-17 FG, 8-11 FT), 6 AST, 5 REB, 2 STL
- R. Allen: 39 MIN, 19 PTS (7-17 FG, 2-8 3PTers), 5 REB
- Rondo: 30 MIN, 18 PTS (8-9 FG), 5 REB, 3 AST, 3 TO
- Garnett: 37 MIN, 14 PTS (7-13 FG), 11 REB, 1 BLK
- Howard: 41 MIN, 24 PTS (7-9 FG, 10-20 FT), 6 REB, 3 STL, 3 BLK
- Lewis: 40 MIN, 22 PTS (6-11 FG, 8-10 FT), 3 AST
- Nelson: 38 MIN, 18 PTS (6-15 FG, 6-6 FT), 6 AST, 5 REB
- Turkoglu: 39 MIN, 16 PTS (7-13 FG), 6 REB
POST-GAME NOTES:
- Orlando is Boston's first opponent this season to shoot over 50 percent from the field (33-65 FG).
- The Celts had another careless night with the ball, accumulating 19 turnovers.
- It's possible that Garnett's less-than-stellar (by his standards) performance tonight was brought about due to suffering from flu-like symptoms ... However, KG - ever the proud warrior - would not use that as an excuse during the post-game press conference.
- Rondo was tonight's Tommy Award winner.
No comments:
Post a Comment