December 12, 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 "We Are" Marshall (in-studio) ; Greg "Old Saint" Dickerson (sideline reporter)
Celtics Starting Lineup: Rayden, I've Got a Rajon Rondo, Kevvy G, Glen "Macrosomia" Davis, Da Troof
Kings Starting Lineup: John "Smoked" Salmons, Beef-A-Beno Udrih, "Rad" Brad Miller, Mikki "And Minnie" Moore, Ron Artesting Testing One-Two-Three
The Celts got a nice long rest, but that didn't prevent the injury bug from rearing its ugly head ... and in the unlikeliest of ways.
Perk'd Off dropped a bed on his foot (bostonherald.com) ... yes, you read that correctly. And apparently, that freak accident will keep the big man out of our starting lineup tonight.
Not only that, but Scotty 2 Hotty is also unavailable (back issues), so that means that KG will slide over to the center position and rookie Glen Davis gets the first starting assignment of his pro career.
"Big Baby"'s big moment will come against Ron Artest and the Sacramento Kings ... Sac-Town is the only Western Conference team that is winless on the road (0-8) while the C's will be going for their 11th straight win at the Garden. Sounds like a pretty good mix to me!
FIRST QUARTER
Miller wins the opening tap against KG (he's not used to it), and gets the ball to Udrih. He finds Salmons in the lane, but he's stripped from behind by Rondo, and Davis grabs the loose ball; he gets it to Rajon, who heads back the other way before dishing to Pierce spotting up behind the three-point line. His shot is wide of the mark, but Garnett swallows up the offensive board and kicks it out to Rondo, who finds Paul (now all alone under the basket) for the layup (2-0 11:24).
Udrih then backrims the three-point shot, and "Big Baby" collects his first rebound as a starter (how does it feel, young fella?). He passes upcourt to Pierce, who gets the ball inside to Garnett with Moore covering him. He tries to work his way around the big man, but his shot winds up going up and over the backboard out of bounds (huh?!?); that gives Sacramento back possession, and Artest buries the jumper with KG right in his face (2-all 10:27).
Allen answers with a jumper of his own, but at the other end Davis is called for the foul trying to keep Moore out of the paint. It's still Kings' ball, however Salmons squanders the opportunity by hoisting up the quick three-point shot ... Whoops, spoke too soon, as the loose rebound is tipped out to Artest.
Okay, never mind, Ronnie just stepped back and launched another ill-advised three-point shot ... KG pulls down the rebound, then gives it to Ray, who takes it upcourt himself before passing back to Garnett and he banks in a shot off glass (6-2 9:23).
Miller then makes the bounce pass inside to Moore for the layup ("Big Baby" got lost on defense) that gets the Kings within two. At the other end, Allen is double-teamed in the paint, so he sends the ball out to a wide-open Garnett as he knocks down the 20-footer (8-4 8:37).
KG then steals a bad pass by Moore, as he sends it back the other way to Allen, who quickly throws up the alleyoop pass back to Kevin for the impressive two-hand slam (10-4 8:12)!
Miller scores to quiet the crowd, then Udrih steals a pass from Ray and gets the ball back to Brad, who sends an alleyoop pass over to Moore and he finishes with a dunk of his own (10-8 6:46).
Two free throws by Davis give Boston the four-point lead again with 6:07 remaining in the quarter, but Udrih loses Rondo off the dribble and slices in between both of Boston's big men for the too-easy layup (12-10 5:50).
Allen then misses a three-point shot, and Moore comes away with the carom. He gets the ball upcourt to Udrih, who then lobs a pass back to Mikki hustling his way to the basket; it was almost too high for him, but Moore is able to recover and lays it in to tie the score (12-all 5:20).
Pierce tries to quickly answer, but backrims the jumpshot and Moore hauls down the rebound. Luckily, Davis is able to poke the ball out of his hands, and Rondo recovers (nice play); he slices down the lane to draw in the defense, then kicks it out to a wide-open Allen for the three-pointer (15-12 4:38).
At the other end, Udrih again tries to take it strong to the hoop, but Davis steps in and draws the offensive foul call (you gotta love "Big Baby"!). That gives Boston back possession, as Sacramento calls a timeout with 4:02 showing on the clock; when play resumes Parker Posey comes into the game (replacing Davis), while Pierce spins around Salmons and goes all the way in for the layup (17-12 3:45).
Garnett then plays some tight defense on Miller, forcing him into the travelling violation (the Kings' sixth turnover already) ... The Celts once again take control, and Pierce decides that if taking it to the basket worked once, why not try it a second time? Sure enough, he finishes with another layup to put Boston up by seven (19-12 3:14).
It's still a seven-point advantage with 2:42 remaining, when KG takes a seat (The Scals of Justice comes in for him) ... However, Quincy Rollin' Douby takes the opportunity to make the nice bounce pass inside to Kenny Thomas Roasters and he goes up over Scalabrine for the layup (19-14 2:27).
Pierce scores yet again (8 PTS, 4-8 FG) with the pullup "jay" over Salmons, but at the other end John answers with the 15-footer right in Paul's grill (21-16 1:51). Ray then scores, while Francisco "Cherry" Garcia frontrims the jumpshot and Pierce comes away with the rebound. He takes the ball upcourt himself, then passes inside to Scals where he's hacked by Garcia, so Brian steps to the line and makes both foul shots (25-16 :31.2).
Leon Powe Powe Power Wheels comes in for Posey at this point (good to see Leon get the opportunity for some playing time early), however Ray is then called for the foul on Garcia ... The refs say that Allen got him on the elbow, but replays don't bear this out (unless there's a hidden third elbow on Francisco's body that I'm unaware of); anyway, let's get that disturbing image out of our heads, as Garcia steps to the line and makes one-of-two free throws (25-17 :19.5).
Hugh Laurie (into the game for Rondo) misses a three-point shot at the buzzer, as the Celtics maintain a 25-17 lead after one ... The Celts shot 50 percent from the field in the quarter (10-20 FG), but allowed the Kings to shoot even better (8-15 FG). However, they made up for it by forcing Sacramento into six turnovers (with only two themselves), while outrebounding their foes 10 to 5.
SECOND QUARTER
Pierce, Powe, Scals, House, and Allan Tony are on the floor to start the quarter ... while Artest immediately steals the ball from Paul and goes coast to coast for the layup (25-19 11:40).
Two free throws by Pierce erase that little blunder, then Tony strips Garcia and Paul is able to recover the loose ball; he takes it upcourt himself, then finds House open for the 20-foot jumpshot. That's wide of the mark, but Miller can't control the rebound and lets it slip out of his hands and out bounds. Boston retains possession, and Pierce makes the nice bounce pass inside to Powe for the layup (29-19 10:51).
At the other end, Artest misses the jumper, and Thomas fouls Powe going for the rebound. That gives the ball back to the C's, as Pierce takes the opportunity to hit the fallaway "jay" over Artest (31-19 10:15).
Things are looking good thus far, as Garnett and Posey come back into the game at the 8:26 mark (Pierce and Scals take a seat) ... Scratch that, as Artest's layup caps a 7-2 Kings run mere moments later (33-26 7:52); wow, that came outta nowhere.
Two free throws by Posey break the Sacramento scoring streak (say that five times fast), but Miller then takes it into the lane and scores on the little floater (35-28 7:20).
It gets worse, as Udrih slaps the ball out of House's hands, and Eddie ends up stepping out of bounds trying to recover ... Sacramento regains possession with 6:40 left in the half, as Ray Allen returns to the court in place of Powe (2 PTS, 3 REB). Unfortunately, he can't stop Miller from knocking down another short jumper to get the Kings back within five (35-30 6:18).
Posey then misses a three-point attempt (ugh), and Artest comes away with the rebound. He passes upcourt to Udrih, who tries to drive to the basket against House, but Posey is called for the reach-in foul; that's his third, so "Big Baby" comes back in to replace him (Glenn Rivers M.D. also takes the opportunity to sub Rondo in for House). When play resumes, Artest tries to take it strong to the basket, but winds up having his layup attempt blocked from behind by KG (yeah!).
Rajon collects the loose ball, as we head back the other way ... He passes to Ray, who swings it around to KG at the top of the key. He then lobs a pass inside to Davis, who goes up against three defenders for the layup attempt; that comes up short (there should've been a foul called), but "Big Baby" gets his own rebound (nice) and kicks it out to Ray wide open behind the three-point line. Sadly, that shot bounces in and out and over the backboard out of bounds.
Wow, the C's are now shooting 1-for-10 from three-point land (ouch), as Sacramento regains possession ... Miller sets a screen on Rondo, so Garnett comes over to cover Udrih, but is whistled for the foul. It's non-shooting, so Garcia inbounds to Miller (covered by KG), and it takes the refs all of three seconds to whistle Number Five for his second foul!
That was kinda weak, as Sacramento again inbounds the ball, but Miller winds up missing the outside shot ... Both KG and Artest get tied up going for the loose rebound (Ronnie has Kevin's left arm locked up), so Garnett proceeds to give Artest a mighty hip toss to the floor!
Actually, that move was pretty sweet; looked like something right out of the WWE playbook (en.wikipedia.org) ... unfortunately, that also means that KG has picked up three fouls in exactly 19 seconds (yikes). He has to take a seat (Scals replaces him), while Arest steps to the line and makes both free throws (35-32 4:51).
Pierce also comes back into the game (Tony sits down), as Paul misses the outside jumpshot, and Moore comes away with the rebound. He passes upcourt to Udrih, who finds Artest at the top of the key covered by The Truth. He drives on Pierce, and the rest of the Celtics collapse on him, so he kicks it out to a wide-open Beno (fit for king and queen-o) and he buries the three-pointer to tie the score (35-all 4:08)!
Ray tries to answer with a trey of his own, but misses wide right and Artest hauls down the rebound. Now the Kings are looking for the lead, as Miller passes the ball to Garcia in the corner; Ray is right on him, but Francisco decides to pull up for the shot anyway and nails another three-point dagger (35-38 3:26); egads!
Looking to put an end to this scoring tear, Pierce makes the bounce pass inside to Davis, where he's fouled by Garcia and makes both free throws with 3:06 remaining in the quarter. However, Udrih answers with the 15-footer (37-40 2:43); Sacramento is now 8-for-15 shooting in the quarter!
Two more free throws from Davis (he's 6-for-6 from the line while Boston as a team is a perfect 12-for-12) get the C's within one, then Artest tries to pass inside to Thomas but he can't make the clean catch and the ball goes out of bounds (that's Sacramenty's ninth turnover). Boston regains possession, but House front-rims the jumpshot (the C's are now 3-for-12 shooting in the quarter) and Udrih controls the rebound.
We head back the other way, as Salmons winds up in the corner covered by Scalabrine. He pumpfakes to get Scals off his feet, then takes it to the basket for the layup PLUS the foul on Davis; yikes, one free throw later and the Kings find themselves with a four-point lead (39-43 1:36)!
Scals then airballs a three-point attempt (which draws some boos from the crowd) and Thomas grabs the rebound; he gets the ball upcourt to Udrih, who passes inside to Miller, but Scalabrine comes up with the steal (way to redeem yourself, Brian!) and passes to Pierce as we head back the other way ... He gets the ball in House's hands, who immediately gives it back to Pierce, and he busts out the crossover to send Udrih sprawling to the floor (how embarrassing!); with his defender suitably indisposed, Paul takes it down the lane where he draws the foul on Thomas. That puts him at the line, and he makes both free throws (41-43 :51.2).
Beno banks in a shot (he's on fire) to get Sac-Town's lead back up to four, while at the other end Scalabrine backrims the three-point attempt and Thomas winds up with the rebound. He tries to make the fullcourt pass to Artest, but Brian gets back to cover him and he actually knocks the loose ball off Ron and out of bounds!
Wow, Scals has done all he can to get back in the crowd's good graces, as it's Celtics' ball with 22.2 seconds left ... After eating up some clock, Pierce takes it into the paint (to draw in the defense) and kicks it out to House for the three-pointer (44-45 :04.8).
Kings can't get a shot off, as the score remains 44 to 45 at halftime ... Sacramento was pretty much scorching from the floor in that quarter (16-28 FG), including 2-for-5 from three-point range. That's one area where the C's are really strugging (2-15 3PTers), but they are a perfect 14-for-14 from the free-throw line (Sacramento have made 7 of their 8 free-throw attempts), so they've got that going for 'em.
THIRD QUARTER
"Big Baby" backrims a jumpshot to open the second half; Moore secures the rebound and sends the ball upcourt to Udrih. He then passes to Artest, who tries the stepback jumper over Pierce and nails it (44-47 11:24).
At the other end, KG misses a layup attempt (!) over Moore, but Davis grabs the offensive board and scores on the putback (46-47 11:06).
Artest then tries to pass inside to Miller, however Garnett knocks it away and Pierce picks up the loose ball. He heads back up the floor, and passes inside to Ray, who's fouled by Salmons while attempting the shot; so, he steps to the line and keeps Boston perfect by knocking down both free throws (48-47 10:43).
That puts the C's back ahead, and Artest tries to counter that by throwing up a wild three-point attempt; that misses badly, and Allen pulls down the rebound. He takes the ball upcourt himself, and finds Pierce alone behind the three-point line; unlike Ronnie, he takes the proper form and buries the shot (51-47 10:06)!
The crowd's doing their part to get this club back into the game, but both teams proceed to go ice cold ... The Kings miss their next five shots, but the Celts can't capitalize and miss four themselves (two by Ray, including a layup attempt that's rejected by Artest).
It's looking like this field-goal fecundity will come to an end, as Rondo drives down the lane before making the nice pass inside to Davis who goes up for the two-hand slam ... but he blows the dunk (wow)! Luckily, the refs call Moore for the foul, so "Big Baby" steps to the line and makes two more free throws (53-47 8:15).
Salmons then dribbles the ball right off his foot and out of bounds (Sacramento's 15th turnover); Boston regains possession, and KG takes the deep jumper over Moore and nails it (55-47 7:46).
The Kings call for time to try and regroup, and when play resumes Miller hits the 15-footer to break the Celts' 11-0 scoring run ... At the other end, Pierce misses the three-point attempt, but Davis tips the loose rebound right back to Paul. He then gives the ball to Rondo, who passes inside to Garnett; he tries to take it strong to the hoop, but comes up short (dangit!) and Moore comes away with the rebound. We head back the other way, as Udrih winds up draining another basket (55-51 6:28).
Pierce then tries to pass the ball to Davis, but it goes off "Big Baby"'s fingertips and out of bounds; the Kings regain possession, as Artest ends up being covered by Davis, so he pulls up and knocks down the 15-foot jumper (55-53 5:59).
Sacramento's building some momentum again, as KG tries to work the baseline against Moore, but winds up being fouled by Miller; the Kings are over the limit, so Kevin earns himself a trip to the charity stripe. He misses the first free throw (that's the first Celtics' miss from the line tonight, they had made 18 straight!) and makes the second (56-53 5:35).
At the other end, Artest rises up over Pierce and buries another three-pointer (Heinsohn: "I'm glad he's on the West Coast!") ... Luckily, Ray answers with a trey of his own (59-55 4:57); Boston is shooting just 4-for-12 from the floor in the quarter, but they're still holding onto the lead and that's the important thing!
Another three-ball from Allen gives the C's a seven-point edge with four minutes left in the quarter, then Udrih uses some fancy footwork to draw the foul on Rondo, getting himself to the line where he makes both free throws (62-57 3:43).
Pierce misses a jumpshot and Moore hauls down the rebound (his eighth); he passes upcourt to Udrih, who finds Garcia in the corner for the trey (62-60 3:12)!
Davis answers with the layup off the nice pass from Rondo, then Artest tries to slice down the lane but Paul knocks the ball out of his hands and off his foot out of bounds ... Boston regains possession, as Pierce misses the three-point shot, but "Big Baby" goes up over Salmons for the loose board (his ninth rebound, fifth of the offensive variety) and lays it in (66-60 2:09)!
That makes the crowd happy ... Garcia then misses a three-point attempt, and Miller ties up Davis going for the rebound, a jumpball is called, as Brad tips it out to Salmons, who drives down the lane and misses the short jumpshot. However, Garcia is up high and tips the ball into the hoop (66-62 1:39).
"Big Baby" then tries to score over Miller, but comes up short; Garcia snags the rebound, as we head back the other way and Miller is left wide open for the 15-footer (66-64 1:08).
Two free throws by Davis (he's still a perfect 10-for-10 from the line) with 52.6 seconds remaining puts Boston back up by four, as House comes into the game to replace Rondo; he immediately makes himself useful by stealing the ball from Spencer Hawes-enpfeffer to start the 3-2 Celtics fast break, but Douby breaks up his pass to KG as the ball goes out of bounds ... oh man, it was clearly off Douby, but the refs give Sacramento possession!
That was bogus (Heinsohn: "Terrible call, terrible call, terrible call! Did he hear me?") as it's Kings' ball with 27.2 seconds on the clock ... However, Garcia tries to drive down the lane for the layup attempt, and Garnett comes up with the big rejection!
The ball goes out of bounds with 7.5 ticks on the clock, and Douby winds up missing the shot as the buzzer sounds, keeping the score at 68 to 64 (Celtics) heading into the final stanza.
FOURTH QUARTER
Crowd starts off the fourth quarter LOUD, as KG is sticking to Hawes like glue while precious seconds drain off the shot clock; he's finally able to make the pass to Garcia, but Kevin simply switches onto him as Francisco goes in for the layup. Sure enough, Garnett gets a hand up and forces him to try and shoot over him ... a shot which completely misses the rim as the buzzer sounds!
Great defensive stance to open the quarter, as Boston regains possession and KG sticks the fallaway jumper over Hawes (70-64 11:23) ... The fans are pleading for defense now, as Garcia forces up a wild shot with Tony right in his face; it misses (obviously) and Posey grabs the rebound. He passes to Pierce, who takes the ball upcourt himself, then gets it inside to Garnett. He's double-teamed, so he kicks it out to an open House for the trey (73-64 10:19)!
The Celts are trying to put the clamps down now, as Miller barrels into Posey and is called for the offensive foul (20 turnovers for Sacramento) with 7:42 left in the game; Boston regains possession, but Garnett misses the turnaround jumper over Thomas (Celts have now missed five straight shots) and Udrih comes away with the rebound. He takes it back the other way, and finds Miller at the top of the free-throw line, where he pulls up and buries the shot (73-66 7:07).
Two free throws by Posey puts the Celtics' lead back up to nine, while at the other end Miller backrims a three-point attempt but gets his own rebound. He kicks the ball out to Udrih, who tries the pullup jumpshot over House, but that misses and Thomas fouls Posey going for the rebound; that gives possession back to the C's, as Pierce makes a nice pass inside to James who's able to elude Miller and scores on the layup (77-66 5:51).
Salmons then misses a three-point attempt (Sacramento is now 1-for-9 shooting in the quarter) and Pierce secures the rebound; he takes it upcourt himself, then drives past Artest and Miller is forced to grab him. That puts Paul at the line, where he makes both foul shots (79-66 5:10).
Pierce has two more free throws with 2:34 remaining in the game (Boston is an astonishing 27-for-28 from the line tonight!) to make it a fifteen-point Celtics lead; Artest tries to trim that down with a three-point shot, but it's wide of the mark and KG snatches another rebound. He passes upcourt to Pierce, who's immediately grabbed by Ronnie (probably in frustration) so he heads back to the charity stripe and knocks down two more (87-70 1:58).
KG picks up his fourth foul with 1:22 left trying to guard Salmons (remember those three quick ones he picked up earlier?), so he heads to the bench to a nice round of applause as Davis comes back into the game ... Not that it matters much, as Celts "survive" a couple of late three's by Udrih to come away with the 90-78 victory.
FINAL SCORE: Boston 90, Sacramento 78
GAME RATING:
12
PULLING A WIGGUM
BOSTON TOP PERFORMERS:
- Pierce: 44 MIN, 26 PTS (7-15 FG, 1-6 3PTers, 11-12 FT), 6 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL
- Davis: 26 MIN, 16 PTS (3-6 FG, 10-10 FT), 9 REB (5 OFF)
- R. Allen: 36 MIN, 15 PTS (5-13 FG, 3-6 3PTers), 4 AST
- Garnett: 35 MIN, 11 PTS (5-10 FG), 6 REB, 2 STL
- Artest: 41 MIN, 16 PTS (7-19 FG, 0-5 3PTers), 4 AST, 3 REB, 2 BLK
- Udrih: 37 MIN, 16 PTS (6-12 FG), 4 REB, 3 AST
- B. Miller: 35 MIN, 14 PTS (7-12 FG), 7 REB, 3 AST
POST-GAME NOTES:
- This was the first game of the season where the Celtics had to change their starting lineup ...
- However, "Big Baby" more than fit the bill, as his efforts were rewarded by being named tonight's Tommy Award winner.
- When Davis was asked during the post-game interview about Perkins, he replied "I want my big guy back, y'know. I take care of my veterans. Whatever he needs, he need me to rub his toe, he need me to massage it, whatever he needs to do to get back I'm willing to do that. I'm willing to help my team" ... Geez, I was afraid if the conversation kept going, Davis would start sounding like a toe-sucking fetishist (en.wikipedia.org).
- Boston finished the night shooting 30-for-32 from the free throw-line (Sacramento was 11-for-12).
- That saved them from a poor shooting night on the floor (27-69 FG, 6-22 3PTers) ... The Kings shot 44 percent (31-70 FG).
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