Parquet Wishes and Leprechaun Dreams

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Recap: Game 17 (at Philadelphia)

BOSTON CELTICS AT PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

December 5, 2007
7:00 PM EST (Comcast SportsNet)
Wachovia Center (Philadelphia, PA)
Announcers: Mike An-Gorman-agement and Tommy "Want to Touch the" Heinsohn ; Gary PoonTanguay and Donny "We Are" Marshall (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
Sixers Starting Lineup: Andre Miller Has a Posse, Groundskeeper Willie Green, Uncle Samuel Dalembert, Andre Iguodala And Cents, Reggie Evans To Betsy

Well, after a nice long rest, the Celtics are back in action against one of their Atlantic Division rivals ... who themselves are currently going through a bit of an upheaval.

Sixers general manager Billy "Jean" King can now add the word "former" to that title, as he was given the heave-ho yesterday due to a 5-12 start for his club (I'm actually surprised that he was outlasted by coach Maurice "Sandy" Cheeks). Anyway, in his place Philadelphia has hired former Nets GM Ed Stefanski-Pants (the man responsible for getting Vindifference and Richardson Jefferson Airplane in New Jersey uniforms).

This will be Philly's first game with their new man at the helm ... Will the current players try to put on a good show, to convince the boss that they're worth keeping around? Let's find out!

FIRST QUARTER

Iguadola knocks down the stepback jumper over Pierce to open the game; Rondo tries to answer with the jumpshot of his own, but misses badly and Evans pulls down the rebound. He passes to Miller, who brings the ball upcourt, then finds Iggy under the basket; Paul is up on him tight this time, so he passes back to Miller, and he takes it down the lane against Rajon for the layup (0-4 11:07).

Allen buries the trey to immediately get Boston back within one, then Dalembert tries the alleyoop to Iguadola, but it's too high over his head and Garnett is able to recover the loose ball. He gives it to Rondo, who takes it back the other way, then finds Ray open for another three-point attempt ... This one mises the mark, but Perkins grabs the offensive board, and kicks the ball back out to Allen. Without missing a step, he feeds the ball right back inside to Kendrick, and he finishes with the hook shot over Dalembert (5-4 10:04).

It's still a one-point Celtics lead with seven minutes left in the quarter, when Pierce tries to make the alleyoop pass inside to Perkins, but the ball bounces off the backboard (d'oh!) and nearly rolls out of bounds. Luckily, Kendrick is able to recover the ball and scores on the layup (13-10 6:57); Boston has now made six of their first nine shots to open the quarter.

Dalembert makes two free throws to get Philly within one, then KG frontrims a jumpshot and Miller nabs the rebound. He takes it back the other way, and all the way into the paint, where he turns around and knocks down the "jay" over Rondo (13-14 6:03).

Perk answers with another hook shot over Dalembert, but at the other end Evans is left open for the 15-footer (15-16 5:27) ... Neither team is playing much in the way of defense thus far, as Allen misses the three-point attempt and Dalembert pulls down the rebound. He gets the ball to Iggy, who dribbles up the floor before passing back inside to Samuel with Perkins covering him. Instead of forcing the issue, he dishes it to Miller, who finishes with the reverse layup (15-18 4:53).

Rajon then slices down the lane to draw in the defense, before passing off to Garnett for the uncontested layup to get Boston within one with 4:33 left in the quarter ... Philly calls a timeout, and when play resumes Hugh Laurie is in game for Rajon, while Iggy knocks down the jumper over Pierce (17-20 4:23).

Pierce tries to answer with the jumpshot over Iguadola, but is wide of the mark and Mille comes away with the rebound; he goes coast to coast, where he's bumped by House going for the layup. The shot misses, but he still gets a trip to the line, where he makes one-of-two free throws (17-21 3:53).

Glen "Macrosomia" Davis is in early (replacing KG), while Pierce is double-teamed in the paint, so he makes the bounce pass inside to Perk for the layup (19-21 3:34); our young center is off to a good start, as he has yet to miss a shot (8 PTS, 4-4 FG)!

Davis then goaltends a layup attempt by Miller (whoopsie), but at the other end Ray buries the outside jumper (21-23 3:12), as the Celts as a team aren't too shabby in terms of field-goal percentage themselves (10-15 FG).

Iguadola answers with the basket (Philly isn't far behind, shooting 11-for-14 from the floor!), then House slices down the lane and scores on the finger-roll (23-25 2:29)!

Again, not much defense on display tonight, as the Sixers call for time, and when play resumes Miller passes underneath to Evans for the too-easy layup (23-27 2:06); see what I mean? Philly has now made seven straight shots! This year's Celtics team just shouldn't let that happen!

House drains the three-pointer (to be fair, the C's have now made four straight field goals themselves) to get Boston back within one with 1:45 remaining ... Undeterred, Miller gets the ball to Jason Smithee who finishes with the two-handed dunk (26-29 1:23)! Ye gods, the Sixers are now shooting an unprecedented 81 percent (13-16 FG)!

Allen then has his shot blocked by Miller (Boston is now 12-for-19 from the field) and the ball goes out of bounds with 1:03 showing on the clock ... It's still Celtics' ball, however, and Ray winds up being triple-teamed (!), so he's forced to kick the ball out to House. He swings it around to Parker Posey (just in for Pierce), and he throws up the awkward leaner to beat the shot clock, but it winds up being an airball, so that's a violation for Boston. Philly regains possession, and Iggy is left open for the three-pointer (26-32 :28.6); wow.

House tries to answer and misses the three-ball, but Davis comes up with the offensive board; he attempts to go back up and lay it in, but Ashton Korver slaps the ball out of his hands and it goes off Glen's knee out of bounds with 9.3 seconds remaining ... The Sixers have a chance for the last shot, but Smith misses the three-point attempt at the buzzer (I'm surprised that didn't go in like all the rest); nevertheless, it's still a six-point Philadelphia lead (26-32) after one.

If these Sixers' players are trying to impress their new boss, then I think they've found a way to do it, shooting 14-for-18 from the floor in the first twelve minutes of action and outrebounding one of the league's best clubs seven to three ... ouch.

SECOND QUARTER

The Scals of Justice, House, Posey, Davis, and Ray are on the floor to start the quarter ... However, the Sixers are still scorching hot, as Miller scores on the layup (he now has 15 points) to give Philly the eight-point advantage early. At the other end, House makes the nice bullet pass inside to Scalabrine, and he quickly hands the ball off to Davis who goes in for the layup and is slapped across the arms by Miller; that puts him at the line, where "Big Baby" makes both foul shots (28-34 11:12). For the record, those are the first two free-throw attempts for Boston tonight (yikes).

Louis "Billy Dee" Williams quickly scores (Sixers are getting anything they want right now), and with 10:42 on the clock Glenn Rivers M.D. goes for some more substitutions, putting Rondo and Pierce back into game while Allan Tony makes his first appearance of the night (Davis and Posey are the only two who get to stay on the floor). Meanwhile, Posey fakes the three-point attempt but instead passes inside to Rondo for the easy layup (30-36 10:32); good, we need more plays like that, please.

It's an eight-point deficit with 9:11 to go, when KG returns to the game (Davis takes a seat) ... Unfortunately, Williams makes a nice pass inside to Dalembert (who has Garnett on his back), where he draws the foul PLUS goes high off the glass to score the layup. He steps to the line, and adds the free throw to complete the three-point play (31-42 8:54).

Things are looking bad, as the Celts are down by nine with five minutes left in the half ... However, Ray tries to get things started as he drives down the lane and draws contact on Korver. That earns him a trip to the charity strip, and he dutifully knocks down both foul shots (42-49 4:35).

Posey then strips Korver under the basket, and Pierce picks up the loose ball; he gives it to Rondo, who pushes it upcourt to start the fast break, and finds a hustling Posey who slices down the lane for the layup (44-49 4:17).

Now we're cookin', as Korver tries to score inside against Garnett (not wise) but winds up with a miss instead ... Miller is able to collect the loose rebound off the floor, however he can't score on the putback. Unfortunately, Dalembert winds up with yet another offensive board, and this time he finishes with the one-hand slam (44-51 3:55)! Man, you just can't let that happen if you're trying to start a comeback, you just can't.

Miller scores to make it a nine-point game again, while at the other end Ray has his layup attempt roll in and out of the rim (that one hurt) and Dalembert snags the rebound. He gets the ball to Miller, who dribbles coast to coast and takes it in for the layup, but is fouled by Rondo so steps to the line instead and makes both free throws (44-55 2:02).

That's the third foul on Rajon, so Tony comes back in to replace him ... He tries his hand at jump-starting this offense, with the pass inside to KG who drives on Smith and draws the foul while scoring the layup (there ya go); he heads to the line, but misses the free throw (46-55 1:49).

Evans rebounds the miss and passes upcourt to Miller, who finds Iguadola spotting up in the corner; he pulls up for the tough shot with Pierce right in his face, but - of course - the ball finds nothing but net (46-57 1:20) ... It's been that kind of night for Philadelphia shooting the ball, folks.

Pierce scores to try and put a stop to this madness, but then Evans is fouled by T-Allen; he steps to the line, but misses both free throws (well well) and Smith loses the rebound out of bounds. Boston regains possession, and Pierce drives down the lane between two defenders for the layup (50-57 :33.8); it would be nice to have Paul heat up right about now.

In the last possession of the quarter, Tony tries to take the ball to the basket, but comes up short on the layup attempt ... However, Garnett grabs the offensive rebound and throws down the monster one-hand slam with 3.8 seconds on the clock!

I'm not sure if that'll rile up the troops for the second half, but it does cut the deficit down to five (52-57) at halftime ... And realistically, that's more than the Celtics could've asked for, after allowing the Sixers to shoot 60 percent from the floor (24-40 FG) while being outrebounded 11 to 19.

Garnett seems to have broken out of his little mini-slump (14 PTS, 5-8 FG) ... but he won't be able to mount a comeback all on his own, especially if the team doesn't find a way to stop the likes of Miller (19 PTS) and Iguadola (14 PTS, 6-7 FG) in the second half.

THIRD QUARTER

Hoping to build on that last play, Pierce makes a nice pass inside to KG for the two-handed dunk to open the quarter and get Boston within three. At the other end, Miller has his shot blocked by Rondo (!) and Garnett grabs the loose ball; he passes up ahead to Pierce, who gives the ball back to KG, and he tries to dish inside to Perkins but Iguadola knocks it away and off of Kendrick out of bounds (Heinsohn: "That was an over-pass!").

Philly regains possession, as Iggy makes the alleyoop pass inside to Dalembert, but Ray is right there to strip him; Miller recovers the loose ball, but botches the layup attempt and Perkins grabs the rebound (he also gives Evans a little elbow that sends him sprawling to the floor that the refs ignore). He passes to Ray, who dribbles upcourt and finds Rondo in the corner, but he passes back to Allen and he buries the three-pointer (57-all 10:27)!

Iguadola then misses the outside shot, but Green grabs the offensive rebound; luckily, Perkins is able to tie him up and forces the jumpball call ... Kendrick wins the tap, and the ball goes out to Ray, who again brings it up the floor himself. He sends the ball over Rondo's way, and he finds Pierce standing at the free-throw line where he pulls up over Iggy and knocks down the "jay" (59-57 9:48)!

Heinsohn says that "emotion has come back into those green uniforms", as Dalembert misses the contested shot over KG (Philly has now missed their first six shots of the quarter) and Perkins nabs the rebound. He passes up ahead to Rondo, who eludes Miller (thanks to a pick from KG) and looks to have the easy layup ... However, the shot rims out (what the?!?) and Dalembert comes away with the rebound. Now we head back the other way, as Miller makes the bounce pass inside to Iguadola, who goes up over Pierce for the layup PLUS the foul (59-all 8:31)!

So, that means that Iggy has a chance for the three-point play, but lo and behold he misses the free throw and Pierce comes away with the rebound. He takes it coast to coast for the pullup jumpshot over Miller, and is able to draw the foul, so he gets his own trip to the line and makes both free throws (61-59 8:17).

Miller then has his baseline jumpshot go off the side of the backboard (it's a total reversal of fortune for the Sixers, as they've missed seven of their first ten shots of the quarter) and KG comes away with the "rebound". He sends the ball upcourt to Rondo, who finds Pierce behind the three-point line; that shot misses, but Garnett grabs the offensive board and kicks it out to Rondo, who tries to drive past Miller but gets tripped up (no foul called) and has his shot bounce off the bottom of the rim and out of bounds. Philly regains possession, and Green buries the pullup jumper over Rajon (61-all 7:14).

The basket by KG puts Boston back up by two, then Perkins is called for the foolish reach-in foul on Miller (his fourth), so Davis comes back into the game with 5:43 on the clock to replace him ... Meanwhile, Iggy drains the three-pointer to put the Sixers back ahead (65-66 5:32).

The Celts appear to be losing momentum, but Pierce tries to keep things going as he works his way along the baseline around Iguadola and scores on the reverse layup (67-66 5:16).

Iggy answers with another bucket (he now has 21 points), then KG misses the fallaway jumpshot over Evans and Davis tips the loose rebound out of bounds. Philly regains possession, as Iguadola tries for the pullup "jay" over Pierce but comes up short; Garnett hauls down the carom, then makes a fullcourt pass to Pierce hustling down the floor. He's immediately double-teamed, which causes him to lose the dribble; luckily, Smith bails him out as he's whistled for the foul.

Celts get another opportunity to take the lead, as Paul inbounds to Garnett, who quickly gives it back to Pierce and he sends the nice pass inside to "Big Baby" for the layup (69-68 4:12); that's Paul's seventh assist of the night (to go with 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting).

It's starting to come together, as Smith misses the shot and Davis snares the rebound. He passes to Ray, who dribbles up the floor, then passes inside to Pierce, where he's bumped off the shot by Iguadola. That sends him to the line, where he makes both foul shots (71-68 3:40).

KG takes a seat at this point (Posey comes into the game), while Korver takes advantage of the "new guy" and hits the fallaway jumper over James (71-70 3:16).

Davis rebounds a Rondo miss and scores on the putback to put Boston back up three with two minutes to go in the quarter, but at the other end Williams hits the three-pointer to immediately tie things up again (75-all 1:55).

Posey answers with a trey of his own (yeah!), then Williams sends an alleyoop to Dalembert for the strong two-hand slam (78-77 1:16) ... Not to be outdone, Posey hits another three-ball (!), then Rondo picks off the pass by Williams but Louis swiftly slaps the ball away from him and it goes off Rajon's knee out of bounds with 30 seconds on the clock.

It's Sixers' ball with a chance for (close to) the last shot, and Miller slices down the lane, where he's fouled by Davis but still manages to score the layup (Heinsohn: "Big Baby breathed on him, that's all!"); he makes the free throw to complete the three-point play (81-80 :06.9) ... You might be interested to know that, after leading all players in scoring in the first half, that was Miller's first points of the third quarter.

Meanwhile, Rondo goes all the way in for the layup with one second on the clock (boy, Philly just fell asleep on defense right there), as the Celts now lead 83 to 80 heading into the final stanza ... Celts were hot from the floor (10-for-16 shooting in the quarter), but the Sixers made 7 of their last 10 field-goal attempts to keep up (they're still shooting 34-of-60 for the game).

FOURTH QUARTER

Back-to-back baskets by Dalembert and Miller put Philadelphia back ahead early in the quarter, then Davis tries to score against the Sixers' center but comes up short on the layup attempt. Samuel nabs the rebound and passes to Miller, who takes it upcourt and finishes with the bullet pass inside to Korver for the layup (83-86 10:15).

The home crowd is finally awake, but Posey nails yet another trey to tie the game at 86 apiece ... At the other end, Miller gives the pumpfake to get Tony up in the air, then absorbs the contact to earn himself a trip to the line and makes both foul shots (86-88 9:46).

During those free throws, Garnett comes back into the game to replace "Big Baby", then House is left wide open behind the three-point line and buries it (89-88 9:32)!

Philly tries to answer, as Miller tries to make the pass inside to Dalembert, but KG picks it off and sends it back the other way to Tony; he finds House for another three-point attempt, but that comes up short. Luckily, Kevin grabs the offensive board and sends the ball out to Pierce, who drives into the lane to draw in the defense. With the Sixers sufficiently distracted, he kicks it out to House for one more three-point shot ... and he makes it (92-88 8:46)!

Paul is happy (that's his tenth assist), as the Sixers call timeout ... When play resumes, Iggy tries to pass inside to Dalembert, but Eddie comes away with the steal (yay!) and dribbles coast to coast up the floor before passing off to Tony; he's covered by Korver, but is still able to convert on the basket (94-88 8:00).

Now the Sixers are starting to wilt under the pressure, as Iggy frontrims the jumpshot and Dalembert fouls Posey going for the rebound. Boston regains possession, but House misses from three-point land and Iguadola corrals the rebound. He gives the ball to Williams, who heads back the other way, but goes for the quick pullup jumper and can't covert (see, they're starting to panic!).

Tony pulls down the rebound and takes it upcourt himself, then passes to House who sends it inside to KG. He's covered by Dalembert, so he makes the bounce pass to Posey cutting down the lane, where he's fouled by Korver; that puts him at the line, where he makes one-of-two free throws (95-88 7:03).

Williams scores, while at the other end Pierce muscles his way to the hoop against Louis; not only does he draw the foul, but Dalembert goes up and grabs his shot out of the air while it was on its way down. That's a goaltending violation, so Paul heads to the line and makes the free throw to complete the unconventional three-point play (98-90 6:25).

Green then misses the outside shot, and Dalembert nearly hip-checks Posey into the first row going for the rebound ... That gives Boston back possession, and KG passes inside to Tony who scores on the layup (100-90 5:20).

Williams scores, then Kevin tries to make the pass inside to House, but Miller picks it off and Eddie winds up giving the foul trying to get it back (his third) ... So, it's Sixers' ball with 4:40 left in the game, as Iggy tries for the 15-foot jumper but is off the mark and Pierce collects the rebound.

He takes the ball upcourt himself, but tries to dribble behind his back (tsk tsk) and Williams strips him of the ball ... Now we head back the other way, as Louis goes in for the layup over Posey; that misses, but Evans is right there to tip it in (100-94 3:33).

The crowd is trying to get their team back into the game, but Posey ends up launching a three-point attempt over Green from about three feet behind the line ... and it still goes in (103-94 3:07)! Wow, that's now 17 points (4-6 3PTers) off the bench for James!

That might be the final nail in the coffin, as Miller loses the ball out of bounds with 2:59 on the clock; Boston regains possession, and KG winds up double-teamed in the paint. Without hesitation, he kicks the ball out to Pierce, who swings it around to Posey; he might have had a chance for another contested three-point shot, but he instead finds House in the corner, where he gives the upfake to lose Williams and then pulls up and buries the 15-footer (105-94 2:48).

Great ball movement, as the Celts look to have finally put this game away ... Sure enough, Philly cannot mount a significant comeback, and Boston survives for the 113-103 victory.

FINAL SCORE: Boston 113, Philadelphia 103

GAME RATING:


11
PULLING A WIGGUM


BOSTON TOP PERFORMERS:
  • Garnett: 35 MIN, 22 PTS (8-12 FG), 7 REB, 3 STL
  • Pierce: 43 MIN, 19 PTS (6-11 FG, 7-7 FT), 12 REB
  • Posey: 27 MIN, 17 PTS (6-9 FG, 4-6 3PTers), 5 REB
  • House: 17 MIN, 15 PTS (5-10 FG), 2 REB
  • R. Allen: 34 MIN, 12 PTS (3-12 FG, 2-6 3PTers), 2 REB
PHILADELPHIA TOP PERFORMERS:
  • Miller: 42 MIN, 26 PTS (10-16 FG), 12 AST, 5 REB
  • Iguodala: 45 MIN, 24 PTS (10-17 FG), 3 REB
  • L. Williams: 27 MIN, 18 PTS (8-13 FG), 3 AST
  • Dalembert: 32 MIN, 13 PTS (5-6 FG), 9 REB
TONIGHT'S COG (CELT OF THE GAME): James Posey

TOMMY QUOTES:
  • "The only guy that looks good with short shorts is Scalabrine, his wife oughtta be really proud! He's got great legs!"
POST-GAME NOTES:
  • The Celtics were wearing their throw-back jerseys tonight (which are pretty much the same as their regular jerseys except they say "BOSTON" on the front instead of "CELTICS") ... Y'know, I gotta admit, sometimes I have "throwback envy" when looking at these other teams. Their logos are so different, they really stand out!
  • Philly ended up shooting 56 percent from the floor (44-79 FG) ... Boston's percentage, however, was nothing to sneeze at either (40-76 FG).
  • The Sixers are now 0-6 when their opponent reaches 100 points.
  • Posey was tonight's Tommy Award winner.
  • Prior to tonight's game, Doc Rivers was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month (first time a Celtics coach has won the award since April 1992!).
  • Speaking of Doc, I'm not positive, but I think he let the word "shit" slip during his postgame press conference ... One of you beat writers, verify this for me if you can!
  • Hope he enjoyed the ride, because Just Pruitt is back in the Developmental League.

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