December 2, 2007
12:30 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
Cavs Starting Lineup: The Devin Miss M, Daniel "Titty" Gibson, SeeOurZydrunas, Drew Gooden Plenty, Pavlovic's Dog
Here's one of those games that has you biting your fingernails in apprehension a little bit ... The Celts were obviously looking to avenge last Tuesday's loss in Cleveland (only their second of the season, remember), but now comes word that Cuckoo Lebronza will not be playing this afternoon (sprained left index finger).
The Cavs were hopeful that the injury - which he suffered the day after dropping 38 points on the C's in a game against Detroit - would not keep him out of action for this rematch, but it looks like they're going to let him rest and risk extending the club's two-game losing streak in James' absence.
However, therein lies the problem: with the Cavs' only big-name player out of action, you have to wonder if the C's will let their guard down and take this team a little TOO lightly ... Overconfidence is always a concern in these situations, after all.
Speaking of injuries, the Celts get a little good news in that department, as Allan Tony
has recovered sufficiently from his thigh issues and has been cleared to play today.
FIRST QUARTER
Zydrunas wins the opening tip against Perk, as Pavlovic tries to drive down the lane against Pierce ... but Garnett sails into the picture for the monster rejection! The ball winds up in Brown's hands with just three seconds left on the shot clock, so he quickly (foolishly?) gives it up to Pavlovic, and he tries the off-balance shot that winds up being an airball.
That's a 24-second violation (good way for the C's to start off the game) as Boston takes possession, and Perkins finds KG in the paint for the little turnaround jumper over Gooden (2-0 11:22).
Ilgauskas tips in a missed shot by Pavlovic to tie things up early, then Garnett tries to again score over Gooden, but this time comes up short. Zydrunas grabs the rebound and passes to Gibson, who dribbles upcourt before giving it back to Ilgauskas for the outside "jay" over Perkins; that too misses, and KG pulls down his first rebound of the night.
At the other end, Perkins has his hook shot blocked by Zydrunas (whoops), and Brown recovers the loose ball. We head back the other way, as Devin tries to work his way around Pierce, but Paul just rips the ball out of his hands (nice defense) ... He passes up ahead to Allen, who has a step on Pavlovic and finishes with the easy layup (4-2 10:05).
Pavlovic then misses a three-point attempt, but the ball bounces off the rim towards the sidelines and Zydrunas beats Rondo to the rebound before throwing it off Rajon's leg out of bounds ... Wow, nice hustle play by the big man, as Cleveland regains possession; however, Gooden spends a little too much time in the paint and is called for the three-second violation. That makes it Celtics ball once again, as Perkins lobs the pass inside to Pierce for another layup (6-2 9:15).
Pavlovic drives to the basket and scores (he's getting to the basket a lot thus far) to get his team back within two, then KG backrims the shot over Ilgauskas and Gooden takes down the rebound. He passes to Brown, who takes it upcourt and then gives the ball right back to Drew with only the smaller Rondo covering him; that's not a good matchup, so Rajon is forced to grab him, sending Gooden to the line where he makes both free throws (6-all 8:27).
Pierce gets to the line and knocks down two foul shots of his own with 8:13 on the clock, off what appeared to be a clean strip by Devin (Heinsohn: "The refs aren't awake either, it's ... 12:48 according to my watch!"), but Gibson quickly inbounds to Brown and he makes a fullcourt pass to Ilgauskas hustling up the floor (look at that big white guy move!). That catches the Celtics' defense off-guard, so he finishes with the alleyoop pass to Gooden for the one-handed layup (8-all 8:09); hmm, that play took all of four seconds, pretty good ball movement.
Celts must still be confused, as Perkins shuffles his feet in the paint and is called for the travelling violation; Cleveland regains possession, and Zydrunas scores to give his team the lead with 7:30 remaining. At the other end, Pierce tries to make the shovel pass inside to Kendrick, but it was a little low and Perk ends up losing it out of bounds.
The Cavs get a chance to extend their new-found lead, but Gooden misses the outside shot and KG secures the rebound. He gives the ball to Rondo, who tries to take it back the other way but is whistled for a palming violation!
That's Boston's third straight turnover, but then Pierce slaps the ball out of Ilgauskas' hands and Garnett picks it up (Cleveland has four turnovers themselves); he gives it to Ray who starts the fast break, then passes to Paul who goes in for the layup ... but he knocks down Gibson and the refs call the offensive foul!
Egads, yet another turnover gives the Cavs another chance to score ... However, Gibson front-rims the 15-foot jumper, and Perk swallows up the rebound. He gets it upcourt to Rondo, who feeds the ball inside to Garnett; he's covered by both Gibson and Zydrunas, so he passes off to Kendrick who muscles his way in for the layup (10-all 5:50).
Ilgauskas scores over KG (Cleveland is shooting just 5-for-12 from the floor thus far), while at the other end Pierce finds Allen along the baseline, where he's able to avoid Pavlovic off the dribble and scores on the reverse layup (12-all 5:07); for those wondering, Boston is shooting 56 percent (5-9 FG) from the field.
Gibson then misses the three-point attempt, and Garnett grabs the rebound (his fourth). He throws the ball upcourt to Rondo, who passes inside to Perkins. He's covered by Ilgauskas, but (away from the ball) KG sets a pick on Pavlovic to free up Allen; Kendrick sees all this play out, so he dishes it to him cutting down the lane and Ray scores on the layup (14-12 4:23); that's the Celts' fifth assist on six made baskets (impressive).
A basket by Gooden ties the game yet again, then Garnett tries to force up the shot and backrims it; Gooden collects the rebound and passes to Gibson, who finds Mailer-Damon Jones behind the three-point line ... He launches one up and can't find the bottom of the net, but
Dwayne "The Rock" Joneson tips the rebound out to Gooden for a fresh 24-second clock; he gives the ball up to Gibson, but he misses the shot and Perkins grabs the rebound. However, he tries to make the outlet pass to Rondo and it goes over his head and out of bounds!
That gives Cleveland back possession with 3:04 on the clock, as Glen "Macrosomia" Davis and Parker Posey come into the game (whilst KG and Perkins sit) ... Meanwhile, Dwayne Jones mishandles a pass from Gooden and the ball goes out of bounds to give the C's back control; Davis proceeds to try and make the bounce pass inside to Pierce, but it's just out of his reach and again bounces into the stands (for Boston's sixth turnover). The Cavs get another crack at it, as Pavlovic lobs a pass inside to Gooden, who's fouled from behind by Posey while scoring the layup; however, he misses the free throw (14-16 2:23).
Hugh Laurie comes into the game to replace Rondo, but then Pierce has his shot blocked by Pavlovic and Gooden collects the loose ball. He passes up ahead to Gibson for the three-point attempt; that's wide of the mark, and "Big Baby" pulls down the rebound. He gives the ball to House, who takes it back the other way and makes a nice bounce pass inside to Ray where he converts on the layup; not only that, but Dwayne Jones nicks him from behind, so he steps up to the line and makes the free throw to complete the three-point play (17-16 1:19).
During the stoppage of play, Tony Allen comes into the game for the first time (replacing Pierce) ... Meanwhile, Gooden misses the jumpshot and Tony grabs the rebound; he brings it upcourt himself, but is called for the palming violation (ugh, what a sloppy game thus far). That gives Cleveland back possession, as Gibson drives past Ray and takes it in against Davis for the layup plus the foul (refs ignore the two bunny hops "Boobie" took to get to the basket but focus on "Big Baby" barely brushing up against him); anyway, he makes the free throw to give the Cavs the lead (17-19 :40.4).
At the other end, Dwayne Jones blocks Posey's layup attempt and Eric "Fleece as White as" Snow grabs the loose ball; he takes it slowly upcourt for a chance at the final shot, as he passes to Gibson who tries to drive around Tony for the layup attempt ... but Davis swats that thing back to halfcourt as the buzzer sounds!
Nice play by the rookie to preserve the 17-19 score at the end of one ... but ugh, what a quarter that was: Boston had as many turnovers (7) as baskets made (7-15 FG); that's never a good sign.
They did limit Cleveland to 35 percent shooting (8-23 FG), but were outrebounded 9 to 12; all in all, we need to get back on track if we wanna keep our winning ways intact.
SECOND QUARTER
The Scals of Justice, Tony, House, Posey, and Davis are in to start quarter ... Meanwhile, Damon Jones hits a three-pointer to give Cleveland the five-point advantage early. Allen then misses the shot, but "Big Baby" grabs the offensive board. However, his putback attempt comes up short; Tony tries to tip the ball into the hoop, but that too misses (dangit).
Ilgauskas pulls down the rebound, then passes the ball to Damon. He dribbles up the floor, where he gives it back to Big Z with Davis covering him ... He gives the upfake to get Glen up in the air, then absorbs the contact to draw the foul; that's Davis' third foul (!), which puts Zydrunas at the line where he makes one-of-two free throws (17-23 10:38).
It's not looking good, but Glenn Rivers M.D. decides to leave Davis in the game, as House makes the bullet pass inside to "Big Baby" for the layup PLUS the foul on Snow ... He makes the free throw to complete the three-point play (20-23 10:24); hey, nice move by Doc keeping him on the floor!
At the other end, Snow passes inside to Ilgauskas and Scalabrine hacks him across the arms before he even has control of the ball ... however, the refs call it a shooting foul (please) so that gets him to the line for one-of-two free throws (20-24 10:11).
It's still a four-point deficit when KG comes into the game with 9:02 left in the quarter (to replace Scals NOT Davis), as Allen misses the layup attempt (Boston is now shooting 1-for-8 in the quarter) and Ilgauskas grabs the rebound. He gets the ball upcourt to Snow, who finds Pavlovic spotting up in the corner; instead, he drives down the lane for the layup attempt, but Garnett contests the shot and Davis pulls down the board (his third).
He passes to Allen, as we head back the other way, and Posey winds up taking it strong to the basket where he draws the foul on Zydrunas ... Big Z takes exception to the call, and earns a technical for his troubles. So, House makes that free throw, then Posey steps to the line and makes both of his foul shots (23-24 8:24).
Damon then tries to take it to the rim, but "Big Baby" steps in and draws the charge (a fearless move by "Big Baby" considering the three fouls already called on him)! Boston regains possession, but KG misses the turnaround "jay" over Gooden ... Now, Dwayne Jones clearly knocks the loose rebound out of bounds, but the refs give Cleveland possession!
Luckily, Pavlovic misses the three-point attempt, and Garnett pulls down the rebound. He gives it to Tony, who dribbles upcourt, then passes back to Kevin in the lane where he blows the dunk (!) and Gooden controls the loose board ... That gives the Cavs another chance, and Damon beats Allen off the dribble and heads in for the layup (23-26 7:20).
Garnett misses again (he's 1-for-7 from the floor) and Pavlovic is able to snare the rebound; he gives the ball to Snow upcourt, who tries to make the alleyoop pass inside to Gooden but KG grabs him from behind with 6:53 left in the quarter ... Pierce comes back into the game for Tony at this point (after a nice long rest), and when play resumes Pavlovic hits the little runner in the lane (23-28 6:45).
At the other end, Devin tips the ball out of Pierce's hands; Snow picks it up to start the fast break, and passes to Gooden, who slices down the lane with relative ease and finishes with the MONSTER two-hand slam (23-30 6:25)!
Ugh, not a very pretty game thus far ... Posey tries to liven things up by giving an upfake behind the three-point line, to get Pavlovic up in the air, and drives right past him into the lane for the layup; not only that, but he draws the foul on Dwayne Jones, and makes the free throw to complete the three-point play (26-30 6:06).
Garnett then blocks a layup attempt by Sasha, but Dwayne recovers the loose ball and scores on the putback (26-32 5:50).
At the other end, Pierce is fouled by Brown taking the ball to the basket, so he steps up to the charity stripe while Rondo (11 MIN, 0 PTS, 0-0 FG, 0 AST) and Perk come back into the game (House and Davis take a seat) and makes one-of-two free throws (27-32 5:31).
KG is then called for a defensive three-second violation (it's not his night), and Ilgauskas makes the foul shot with 5:20 remaining to give his team a six-point lead ... During the stoppage of play, Ray comes back into the game (Doc now has all his starters on the floor) as Cleveland retains possession and Gibson misses the three-point attempt. Perkins grabs the rebound and gives the ball to Rondo, who makes the fullcourt pass to Allen.
He tries to work the baseline against two defenders and goes in for the layup, but comes up short; however, the loose rebound is tipped out to Rajon, who steps back to reset the offense. He finds KG at the top of the key, and he passes inside to Perk, who tries to back down Ilgauskas but instead gives it up to Ray (who snuck under the basket behind Zydrunas) and he scores on the layup (29-33 4:43).
Now we're getting somewhere, as Zydrunas shoots up an airball and Rondo grabs the loose ball ... He sends it upcourt to Pierce, who finds Ray behind the three-point line; he misses the shot, but Paul controls the offensive board and takes it in for another layup (31-33 4:12).
The Cavs call for time, to try and prevent the C's from building any momentum, and when play resumes ... well, I don't know what happens when play resumes, because a big red square with the words "Video Alarm Detected, Service Id 1 (024551)" flashes across the screen.
I guess Comcast is having more satellite problems (remember missing Ray's game winning shot against Toronto?), but the feed comes back in time to see Brown miss the jumpshot, and Garnett ends up with the loose rebound. He passes upcourt to Allen, who then gives the ball to Rondo, and he drives past Gibson for the layup (33-all 3:37)!
"Boobie" then misses (he's shooting 1-for-7 for the game), and Perk hauls down the carom. He gives the ball to Rajon as we head back the other way, and he finds Pierce standing at the free-throw line; Paul then makes a nice pass inside to KG, who's wrapped up by Gooden before he can make a move, so Kevin heads to the line and makes one-of-two foul shots to give Boston back the lead (34-33 3:10).
Pierce then strips Snow of the ball (for Cleveland's ninth turnover) and gets it up ahead to Ray, who is all alone and finishes with the two-hand dunk (36-33 3:00)!
Two free throws by Ilgauskas gets Cleveland within one with 1:15 on the clock, while at the other end Pierce tries the pullup jumper over Snow but comes up short. Zydrunas grabs the rebound and passes upcourt to Damon, where he finds Gooden in the paint; he tries to dribble around Garnett, but Rajon steps in for the steal, and Drew ends up pushing Rondo out of bounds for the foul ... so, Rajon steps to the line and makes one-of-two free throws (39-37 :51.1).
At the other end, Gibson misses the three-point attempt, and Perk comes away with the rebound (his fifth); he passes upcourt to Ray, who tries to work the baseline around Snow, but slips and loses control ... Kendrick dives out of bounds to save the ball to Pierce (nice hustle) and he passes inside to KG, who's grabbed from behind by Pavlovic. That gets him to the charity stripe, and he makes both free throws (41-37 :24.2); Kevin still ain't shooting great, but he does have seven points now (2-8 FG).
Now the Cavs are looking for the final shot, as Snow is working on Pierce but Referee Brian Forte whistles him for the ticky tack foul (Heinsohn: "He palmed the ball three times in front of this young official!"); Pierce starts arguing and earns a technical foul. Doc doesn't like that so the young ref gives him a technical too!
As you can imagine, this gets Mister Heinsohn riled up:
"This is a disgrace, and he's trying - this young official's trying to assert himself to gain control. And y'know the easiest way to do that, is admit you make a mistake! Then the coach and the player just turns around and walks away! But when you become arrogant, like this official has become, then you're inviting trouble from everybody concerned! For the rest of the game now, coaches are gonna be up and on that guy because of what he did!"Anyway, Ilgauskas makes one of the two technical free throws, then Snow steps to the line and goes one-for-two himself (41-39 :08.4).
Rajon draws the foul against Gibson with 1.5 seconds left (it's whistle-happy around here to finish the half) and he makes both free throws to give Boston the 43-39 halftime lead ... Not the greatest 24 minutes of basketball I've seen so far this season, as Gooden has a double-double already (10 PTS, 10 REB). However, Ray Allen seems to have broken out of his shooting slump (13 PTS, 6-10 FG).
THIRD QUARTER
Ray continues to be the Celts' lone consistent source for offense at the start of the second half, as he has the only two fields goals (three-pointer and layup) for the first 4:40 of the quarter ... However, the Cavs cannot make any headway, as Gooden misses the outside jumpshot at the 6:53 mark (Cleveland has managed only five field-goal attempts - and missed three of them - in that time) and Pierce controls the loose rebound. He takes the ball upcourt himself, then passes inside to Perkins, who has his layup attempt blocked by Ilgauskas (sheesh).
Now Gooden comes away with the loose ball ... but tries to make the fullcourt pass to Pavlovic, which Rondo easily picks off (for Cleveland's 13th turnover of the night!). He takes it back the other way, passing the ball to Allen, who finds Garnett underneath the basket. He in turn tries to get the ball to Perk, but Gibson gets a hand on it and KG is called for the foul as he pushed away Gooden trying to recover the loose ball!
Wow, Kevin sure is struggling, as are (most of) his teammates ... Cleveland regains possession, and Gooden drives to the basket, where he's fouled by KG (his third); he steps to the line with 6:09 remaining in the quarter, and proceeds to miss both free throws!
When it rains it pours, I guess (the Cavs are now 10-for-18 from the foul line) ... Rondo gets the rebound, and at the other end he tries to drive on Brown, but HOLY HELL he's called for travelling!
Okay, we're at the halfway mark of the quarter now (52-44 5:53) after that turnover, so I'm gonna stop transcribing until one of these teams figures out how to actually score ...
*twiddles thumbs*
Ah, here we go; Rajon hits two straight jumpers (in this game, that's better than one of those "He's on fire!" streaks from NBA Jam [klov.com]) to force the Cleveland timeout. However, when play resumes, Pavlovic takes it right at KG and scores on the layup (56-46 4:29).
At the other end, Garnett is left open for the 15-foot jumper and bricks it (Boston is 4-for-11 shooting from the floor in the quarter), but Perk grabs the offensive board and is fouled by Dwayne Jones trying to score on the putbaack; he heads to the line and makes both free throws (58-46 4:09).
"Big Baby" comes in to replace KG at this point (a mercy substitution perhaps, as Kevin has just nine points on 2-for-12 shooting) ... On the very next possession, Gooden tries to take it to the basket against the rookie, but Davis reaches in and strips him!
Ray comes up with the loose ball and dribbles up the floor, but play is stopped as Drew picks up the technical for arguing that he got fouled; Ray makes the free throw, as Boston retains possession, but Pierce misses the fallaway "jay". Davis comes away with the offensive rebound, but he tries to make the no-look pass to Perkins (who wasn't expecting it) and the ball goes off his fingers out of bounds.
Now Cleveland has a chance to score, but Damon misses the 15-footer and Allen grabs the rebound; he passes upcourt to "Big Baby", who hits the sweeping hook shot over Gooden (61-46 2:59) to get the crowd excited.
However, despite that little moment of clarity, the ugliness of this game will not dissipate ... It's a 12-point game with 52.6 seconds remaining in the quarter, when Rondo tries to make the bounce pass inside to Davis, but the ball bounces off of Snow's foot and goes right back into Rajon's face! That leaves our point guard a little shaken (but not bloodied), as Gorman remarks "just when you think you've seen it all, I've never seen that happen".
Yep, it's one of those kind of games thus far ... Rondo stays in the game (good for him) and tries to spin around Snow for the layup; that comes up short, but Davis is in perfect position for the offensive board and scores on the putback (64-50 :38.1); Heinsohn: "Big Baby! He's gonna have a following, they're gonna start putting banners up there in the rafters!"
Davis almost scores again at the buzzer, but (upon further review by the refs) the ball was still in his hands as the red light went off, so the score remains 64 to 50 heading into the final stanza.
FOURTH QUARTER
Davis, Posey, House, and the two Allens start the quarter ... Meanwhile, Pavlovic misses the three-point attempt, and Posey grabs the rebound. He passes to House, who brings the ball upcourt, then tries to pass inside to Davis but his back was turned (oy) so the ball bounces off him; luckily, Eddie is able to recover and (in the ensuing confusion) passes to a wide-open Posey underneath the basket for the layup (66-50 11:23).
Zydrunas then misses, and James comes away with another board; he gets the ball to House, who takes it back the other way and pulls up from the free-throw line for the jumper (68-50 10:48).
Now things are going a little more smoothly, as Ray fakes taking a jumpshot but instead makes the soft pass inside to Davis for the layup at the 9:18 mark, to get Boston's lead up to twenty ... Meanwhile, Devin misses the shot (Cleveland has now missed six of their first seven shots in the quarter) and Posey pulls down yet another rebound; he passes to House who slowly brings the ball upcourt. He ends up giving it to Ray, who's forced to take the off-balance three-point attempt to beat the shot clock.
That misses badly (it's Boston's first miss of the quarter, as they had made five straight), but "Big Baby" is fouled by Sasha going for the rebound ... The crowd is applauding his efforts, but Tony winds up missing the shot and Brown snatches the carom.
At the other end, the Cavs try to kick-start their offense again, but House steals a bad pass by Ira Noobie (the Celts' tenth swipe of the game) and gets the ball upcourt to T-Allen, who's fouled by Pavlovic. That puts him at the line, where he makes one-of-two free throws (77-56 6:08).
That pretty much signals the end of this one ... although the Cavs respond with an 11-0 run in garbage run (with back-to-back three-pointers by Newble). However, the Celts come out with the win (80-70) and that's all that matters in my book!
FINAL SCORE: Boston 80, Cleveland 70
GAME RATING:
9
PULLING A WIGGUM
BOSTON TOP PERFORMERS:
- R. Allen: 34 MIN, 20 PTS (8-16 FG, 1-7 3PTers), 4 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL
- Rondo: 29 MIN, 12 PTS (4-6 FG), 5 REB, 2 STL, 1 BLK, 1 AST, 2 TO
- Davis: 21 MIN, 9 PTS (4-5 FG), 7 REB (4 OFF), 1 STL, 1 BLK
- Ilgauskas: 27 MIN, 12 PTS (3-12 FG), 13 REB
- Gooden: 31 MIN, 10 PTS (4-11 FG), 11 REB
- Pavlovic: 37 MIN, 11 PTS (5-14 FG), 2 REB
POST-GAME NOTES:
- Garnett (25 MIN, 9 PTS, 2-12 FG, 8 REB, 2 BLK) and Pierce (29 MIN, 7 PTS, 2-7 FG, 4 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL) had their troubles tonight.
- However, Paul did walk away as tonight's Tommy Award winner ... so, y'know, he's got that going for him, which is nice (imdb.com).
- Speaking of troubles, both teams were having trouble finding the bottom of the net tonight ... The Cavs shot just 33 percent from the field (25-76 FG), while the Celts weren't much better (27-72 FG, 2-14 3PTers).
No comments:
Post a Comment