December 23, 2007
6:30 PM EST (Comcast SportsNet)
TD Banknorth Garden (Boston, MA)
Announcers: Mike An-Gorman-agement and Tommy "Want to Touch the" Heinsohn ; Greg "Old Saint" Dickerson and Donny "We Are" Marshall (sideline reporters)
Celtics Starting Lineup: Rayden, I've Got a Rajon Rondo, Perk'd Off, Kevvy G, Da Troof
Magic Starting Lineup: Jameerkat Nelson, Keith "Muggsy" Bogans, Dwight Howard Fine and Howard, Ahmad Rashard Lewis, Hedo "Nism" Turkoglu
You may remember the Orlando Magic as one of a handful of teams that have been able to escape the clutches of the 2007-08 Boston Celtics with a victory ... Much like when the Celts fell to the Detroit Pistons a few days ago, that loss in Orlando was a "sign" to some that the "Not Big Three" could not hang with the true power teams in the Eastern Conference.
Well, fast forward to the present day, and the Magic have fallen on some hard times ... Losers of six of their last eight games (including an embarrassing home defeat on Friday at the hands of the Utah Jazz), Dwight Howard and his crew do not appear to be the dominant force that they once seemed to be.
Can the Celtics take the opportunity to send a message to this club, and let them know that they're not afraid of them? Let's find out!
FIRST QUARTER
On the first possession of the game, Turkoglu misses the floater in the lane, but Howard grabs the offensive rebound and Perkins fouls him from behind trying to block his putback attempt; that puts Dwight at the line at the 11:44 mark, and he proceeds to miss both free throws ... With his free-throw shooting woes this season, I'm guessing that this could be the beginning of a trend for young Howard as the night wears on.
A layup by Garnett puts Boston on the scoreboard first, then Rondo strips Nelson clean, and Allen picks up the loose ball to start the fast break. He finds Rajon hustling up the floor, who turns that into an alleyoop pass to Pierce for the dunk (4-0 10:38); nice.
A basket by Nelson gives Orlando their first points, then at the other end Perk goes up for the two-handed dunk but Howard blocks the shot (I think he got more hand than ball there) and Bogans recovers the loose ball ... However, he steps out of bounds, so Boston regains possession and Garnett hits the pull-up "jay" over Lewis (6-2 9:52). Rashard answers with the three-pointer, then Allen just blows by Bogans and finishes with the layup (8-5 9:18).
Pierce is then called for the foul on Turkoglu (Heinsohn: "We're not three minutes into the game and already there's different looks at both ends of the floor on what's a foul!"), so Hedo makes his way to the line with 9:03 on the clock and connects on both free throws to get the Magic within one.
On the next possession, Paul makes a nice pass inside to KG, where he's immediately double-teamed; without hesitation, he gives the ball up to Perkins, but he can't make a clean catch and the ball goes out of bounds ... That gives Orlando the chance to take their first lead, however Lewis misses the simple 10-footer, and Garnett comes away with the rebound.
He passes upcourt to Rondo, who finds Pierce in the corner behind the three-point line; he fakes the shot (taking Bogans out of the picture), then drives down the lane and passes inside to Perkins, who quickly kicks it out to Rajon for the floater in the lane (10-7 8:18).
Bogans tries to answer with the three-point attempt, but is wide of the mark and Garnett corrals another rebound (his third already). We head back the other way, as Allen tries to make a move to the basket, but dribbles the ball right off his own foot; Nelson picks it up and goes coast to coast before getting tripped up by Rondo. That puts him at the line, where he makes both foul shots (10-9 7:42).
During the free throws, Tommy asserts that Nelson was not in the act of shooting when he was fouled, which starts up the following exchange:
Heinsohn: "What's the free throw [totals] now?"Rondo makes the sweet move around Nelson and takes it in for the layup with seven minutes remaining in the quarter, then Pierce steals the bad pass by Jameer to start another Celtics' fast break. He passes to Rondo, who gets the ball to Ray, and he immediately finds Pierce open for the three-point attempt ... That misses, but Lewis fouls KG going for the ensuing rebound.
Gorman: "Aw, it's too early to look at free throws ... "
Heinsohn: "No no, I wanna know!"
Gorman: "Five-zip ... "
Heinsohn: "Right! And it's gonna get worse, because these guys are not calling it the same way at both ends of the floor ... Bogus!"
As Tommy would say, Lewis is "incredulous" over the call (he actually lies down on the court in protest), but the refs won't change their minds as it remains Celtics' ball ... However, Rondo tries to lob the pass over to Garnett, and Rashard is able to pick it off.
He gets the ball to Bogans for the (apparent) 2-on-1 fast break. Keith gives it back to Lewis, who has only Ray Allen to beat ... He goes in for the layup attempt, but KG - who looked to be out of the play - hustles in and rejects the shot!
Wow, great defensive play (which the crowd definitely appreciates), as Nelson is able to recover the loose ball and tries to score ... but Garnett hauls off and blocks that one as well! Awesome, as the ball heads out of bounds, and Kevin actually jumps up over Lewis' back to try and save it (how can you not love this guy?!?).
He's unsuccessful, though (gets a Tommy Point for his efforts anyway), as Orlando retains possession and Turkoglu buries the three-pointer (12-all 6:17) ... Garnett answers with the jumper (6 PTS, 3-3 FG), then Howard tries to bank in a shot over Perkins and misses badly. Kendrick collects the rebound, and makes a fullcourt pass to Rondo, who again blows by Nelson and scores on the reverse layup (16-12 5:36)!
The Magic need a timeout, and when play resumes Howard is fouled by Perk with 5:16 remaining. He steps up to the line and makes the first free throw (surprising) but misses the second (not surprising) and KG grabs the rebound. He passes to Rondo, who makes his way up the floor and finds Allen open in the corner for the deep jumper (18-13 5:01).
Howard then scores on the hook shot over Perk, while at the other end Pierce makes the nice pass inside to Garnett, who eludes Lewis (like his feet were glued to the floor) and finishes with the two-hand jam (20-15 4:18).
The crowd is chanting for "Defense!", and Bogans obliges by stepping out of bounds (tee hee); Keyon Dooling-Banjos comes into the game at this point to replace Keith, as Boston regains possession and Rondo makes the bounce pass inside to KG ... It's a little low (not to mention that he's double-teamed by Orlando's two big men), but that doesn't stop Garnett from - somehow - making the pass underneath to Perk, who finishes with the thunderous slam dunk (22-15 3:46)!
That prompts another timeout from Orlando ... It doesn't help, as Lewis misses the three-point attempt, and Garnett snags another rebound. He makes the outlet pass to Allen, and he gets the ball to Rondo. After dribbling around a bit, he gives the ball back to Ray, and - in one motion - he makes the no-look pass inside to KG (sweet!). With Lewis right in his face, Kevin kicks it out to a wide-open Pierce behind the three-point line, but his shot is wide of the mark (Paul's now 1-for-5 from the field).
Ooh, that would've been nice, to have all that crisp ball movement pay off with a trey to blow the roof of this building ... Instead, Lewis gets the rebound and passes to Dooling, who finds Turkoglu behind the arc; his three-point attempt also misses, and Rashard fouls Perkins (his second) going for the rebound at the 2:45 mark.
Parker Posey comes into the game at this point to replace Garnett (8 PTS, 4-4 FG, 5 REB) ... Meanwhile, Pierce sets the pick on Dooling to free up Allen, and he buries the 20-footer (24-15 2:32).
A basket by Maurice "The Pants Man" Evans gets Orlando within seven, then Paul tries to drive down the lane but dribbles the ball off his foot and out of bounds with 1:26 remaining. That gives the Magic back possession - as Allan Tony comes in to replace Ray (6 PTS, 3-3 FG) - but Rondo strips Howard of the ball; he takes it back the other way, and finds Pierce for the layup (27-18 1:08).
Turkoglu hits a three-pointer with three seconds remaining in the quarter, getting Orlando within six (27-21) at the end of one ... Thus far, the Celts have made nearly as many field goals (13-21 FG) as the Magic have attempted (6-17 FG). The only reason the lead isn't bigger is because of the three-pointers (Orlando is 4-for-8 from behind the line, while Boston is 0-for-4).
SECOND QUARTER
Scotty 2 Hotty, Tony, Pierce, Posey, and Hugh Laurie start the quarter ... Meanwhile, Lewis hits yet another trey - see what I'm saying? - to cut Boston's lead in half (27-24 11:26).
Posey tries to answer but misses his own three-point attempt, and Pollard tips the loose rebound out of bounds; that means that Orlando regains possession, as Dooling tries to drive to the basket against House, but his sneakers literally slide along the hardwood floor for the travelling violation ... That was actually pretty funny, as the C's get the ball back, and Allen just explodes right by Bogans for the layup (29-24 10:34).
Dooling scores, then Pierce works the baseline and takes it right at Adonal Foyled Again to draw the foul, which puts him at the line for two free throws (31-26 10:08). Foyle inbounds the ball to Keyon, who tries to make his way back up the floor, but House slaps the ball out of his hands and Tony - recovering the loose ball - takes it in for the layup (33-26 9:50); nice.
It's still a seven-point lead with 9:04 remaining, when Ray comes back into the game to replace Pierce (6 PTS, 2-7 FG) ... Meanwhile, Pollard gets into the act by blocking Foyle's shot out of bounds (thanks for stopping by Scotty!), as Orlando retains possession with only six seconds on the shot clock; Evans inbounds to Dooling, and he forces up the three-point attempt that misses badly. Ray grabs the rebound, then takes it upcourt himself and passes inside to Pollard, where he's whacked across the arms by Lewis. That puts him at the line, for one-of-two free throws (34-26 8:11).
Evans then hits the little runner on the baseline, while at the other end Allen misses the three-point attempt and Bogans grabs the rebound. He passes to Nelson, who dribbles upcourt, then gets it back to Keith behind the three-point line and buries it (34-31 7:35); Orlando is still raining threes to keep things close (6-11 3PTers).
Glenn Rivers M.D. is - understandably - upset with his team's perimeter defense, and calls timeout to let them know that. When play resumes, KG is back into the game (Pollard sits), while House misses the three-point attempt and Howard pulls down the rebound. He gets the ball to Nelson, as we head back the other way, and he passes to Bogans in the corner; rather than trying for yet another three-point shot, he instead dishes the ball inside to Dwight for the hook shot over Garnett (34-33 7:06).
Tony then misses (Boston is 2-for-7 shooting in the quarter) and Howard gets himself another 'bound; he gets the ball to Nelson for the Magic fast break, and he tries to pass back to Dwight, however the big man loses the handle on the ball as it bounces out of bounds.
Boston regains possession, as Ray misses the pullup jumpshot, but the loose rebound goes off Bogans out of bounds. That gives the Celts another chance at extending their slim lead, but Perk tries to score over Howard and comes up short (man, they have really cooled down) ... Dwight collects the rebound and passes to Jameer, who takes it back up the floor and sends the ball inside to Turkoglu. It's there where he's fouled by Tony, and makes both free throws to give the Magic the lead (34-35 5:53).
Pierce is back on the floor at this point - in place of Tony - while the other Allen is fouled by Nelson taking it to the basket (Orlando coach Stan van Gundy Bloody Gundy didn't like that call); that sends Ray to the line, and he makes both of his free throws to put Boston back up by one (36-35 5:53).
James "Saint" Augustine then misses the outside shot, and Allen grabs the rebound. He takes it upcourt himself, then slices down the lane and Nelson again gets a piece of him, so it's back to the line for two more foul shots (38-35 5:01); that's 10 points now for Ray (first Celtic in double figures).
At the other end, Howard is fouled by Perk - who let's out an audible "Aw shit!" - and he proceeds to make his first free throw but misses the second (Dwight now has six points but it could've been more as he's only 2-for-8 from the line) ... Luckily for Orlando, the rebound bounces out to Bogans (aw shit) and he gives the ball right back to Howard; he tries to score with the hook shot in the lane and comes up short, but Pierce tips the loose board right to Turkoglu.
The Magic catch another break, however Hedo misses the three-point shot and Perk is finally able to control the rebound. He makes the outlet pass to Pierce, who tries to pass inside to Garnett, but the refs whistle him for the foul as he was battling Augustine in the paint for position (d'oh!).
Kevin doesn't like the call and receives a technical for his troubles (Heinsohn: "These [officials] are atrocious tonight!"); Dooling makes the free throw to get his team within one, but the Magic still have possession, as Keyon drives down the lane and scores on the layup (38-39 3:43).
Howard scores on the left-handed hook shot to give Orlando a three-point lead with three minutes left in the half, as the crowd is getting a little antsy ... They try a "Let's Go Celtics!" chant to rally the troops, but KG misses (Boston is now 2-for-11 in the quarter) and Dwight hauls down the rebound. He passes to Nelson, who makes his way up the floor, then finds Turkoglu all alone behind the three-point line.
He launches one up as soon as the ball is in his hands, but it's wide of the mark (whew!) and Perk gets the rebound. He passes to Ray, who heads back the other way, and he gives it to Pierce at the top of the key ... Rather than try to answer with an outside shot, Paul takes it strong to the basket and draws the foul on Hedo; that puts him at the line, where he makes both free throws (40-41 2:28).
At the other end, the Celts play some nice defense (which the crowd appreciates), as Dooling loses control of the dribble and Garnett dives on top of the loose ball as the shot clock expires ... Boston regains possession off of the turnover, and KG scores with the hook shot over Augustine (42-41 1:46); he's now just the second Celtic to have a field goal in this quarter (Tony had the other two)!
Dooling misses (Orlando is 7-for-17 shooting in the quarter) and Perk collects the rebound. He sends the ball upcourt to Rondo, and he passes to Pierce spotting up in the corner; Dooling is covering him, but not for long as KG sets the pick and gives Paul all the room he needs to stick the 20-footer (44-41 1:22).
Another basket by Pierce (he's heating up) puts Boston up five, but he then fouls Turkoglu and - with the Celts over the limit - Hedo heads to the line; fortunately, he can only make one-of-two free throws (46-42 :18.8).
The Celtics then hold for the final shot, as Rondo passes the ball to Ray, and he tries to drive down the lane but the defense collapses in on him. Running out of options, he kicks it back out to Rondo, who throws up a three-pointer as the buzzer sounds and buries it!
Way to go Rajon (he now has 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting), as the Celts lead 49 to 42 at halftime ... Boston cooled off somewhat in the shooting department (19-36 FG), but Orlando couldn't do much to catch up (13-35 FG).
THIRD QUARTER
Rondo takes the 15-foot jumpshot to open the second half, but is wide of the mark (his first miss) and Turkoglu grabs the rebound; he passes to Nelson, who dribbles up the floor, then passes to Howard underneath the basket. He tries to get the ball to Bogans, but ends up throwing it right off Keith's back (ha HA!).
Pierce comes up with the loose ball, then gets it back up the floor to Allen ... Ray finishes up the play with an alleyoop pass to KG for the two-hand slam (51-42 11:16)!
Hedo and Kendrick trade baskets, then Rondo strips Howard of the ball and (as he's falling out of bounds) whips it right off of Howard's leg; the ball richochets right to Allen, who takes it back the other way and again passes to Garnett. He's covered by Turkoglu, but is able to finish with the short fallaway jumper (55-44 10:12).
Van Gundy immediatly calls for time (he's not a happy hedgehog tonight), and when play resumes Lewis drains the three-pointer with KG right in his face (55-47 9:51); darnit.
At the other end, Pierce misses the stepback jumpshot over Hedo, and Nelson collects the rebound. He takes it up the floor, then passes inside to Howard; he tries to back down Perk, but is called for travelling (Orlando's 12th turnover).
Boston regains possession, but Perk backrims the jumpshot; Rondo is able to tip the loose rebound back to Kendrick, though, as the C's get another crack at scoring ... He gives the ball to Allen, who finds Pierce in the corner, and he tries to drive on Turkoglu. However, the refs call an offensive foul on Garnett away from the ball (he nudged Lewis and the big man hit the floor like a ton of bricks); as Mister Heinsohn so eloquently puts it, "That's another bogus call!"
That gives the Magic a chance to cut into the lead, however Rashard clanks the three-point attempt, and Garnett grabs another rebound. He passes to Allen, who makes his way upcourt before giving the ball to Rondo. He drives to the basket, but (as the defense swarms in around him) makes a behind-the-back pass to Ray spotting up behind the three-point line.
However, his shot misses (Boston is now 1-of-9 from beyond the arc); luckily, Turkoglu fouls Garnett going for the rebound. The Celts retain possession, and Pierce finds Rajon for the open jumper (57-47 7:52).
A basket by Lewis gets Orlando back into single digits with seven minutes left in the quarter, then Allen misses another three-point attempt and Nelson grabs the rebound ... He tries to make an outlet pass to Bogans hustling up the floor, but it's too hard and the ball sails out of bounds. That gives Boston back possession, and Pierce executes the sweet crossover move to lose Bogans; the defense collapses in on him, so he kicks it out to a wide-open Rondo and he buries the three-pointer (60-49 6:29)! Rajon is on fire (15 PTS, 6-7 FG)!
The crowd is making a lot of noise right now, as the Magic look totally flustered ... They're down to just four seconds on the shot clock, when Lewis has his shot attempt blocked by Garnett (again); Bogan recovers the loose ball, but throws up an airball as the buzzer sounds!
Great defensive stand by Boston ... The crowd is up on their feet chanting "Let's Go Celtics!", as Garnett is double-teamed under the basket, so he kicks it out to an open Pierce and he knocks down the trey (63-49 5:40).
Orlando calls for time, as Gorman declares that the Celtics "own the third quarter", and I'd be hard-pressed to disagree with that assessment ... When play resumes, Perk fouls Howard (his fourth), so Dwight heads to the line but - naturally - can only make one of his two free throw attempts (63-50 5:04).
Doc keeps Kendrick in the game, while Pierce buries another three-pointer with Evans right in his face (66-50 4:40); Heinsohn notes that "Evans shook his head in total despair" after the shot went in (tee hee). That makes Boston 3-for-5 from three-point land in the quarter (a big difference from the first half).
At the other end, Rondo plays some magnificent defense on Carlos "El Loco" Arroyo and forces him to heave up a desperation shot with one second on the shot clock; that misses badly, and Pierce grabs the rebound. He then makes the outlet pass to Rajon, who executes the crossover move to leave Arroyo frozen in his tracks. A bunch of Magic players come over to try and stop him, but that just gives Rondo the opportunity to make a crosscourt pass to Ray wide open in the corner; he pulls up, and nails the three-pointer of his own (69-50 4:00)!
This is great stuff, as Orlando needs another timeout. When play resumes, Arroyo scores a basket while being fouled by Rondo (his third). He steps to the line with a chance for the three-point play, but he misses the free throw and Garnett corrals the rebound (his tenth).
He passes upcourt to Rajon, who finds Pierce in the paint covered by Evans. He starts to back down Maurice, then spies Allen open behind the three-point line; he makes the pass, and Ray hits yet another trey (72-52 3:24) ... Wow, I guess we're getting an early Christmas present tonight!
The Magic are still trying to play the role of the Grinch, however, as they end the quarter on a 12-6 run to get within fourteen (78-64) heading into the final stanza ...
FOURTH QUARTER
A basket by Evans gets Orlando within twelve early in the quarter. Howard then fouls Posey underneath the basket (his third) at the 11:10 mark, as Doc takes the opportunity to put Garnett back into the game and give Pierce a rest (34 MIN, 18 PTS, 6-15 FG, 6 AST) ... KG gets right to work, hitting the fallaway "jay" over Turkoglu (80-66 10:55).
Dooling and House trade baskets, then Posey fouls Howard and he makes one-of-two free throws (82-69 9:37). At the other end, Tony passes inside to Kevin, and he tries to make the move around Howard but instead draws the foul ... Almost immediately after the whistle, Kevin tries to get up in Dwight's face, but Perk steps in to keep them separated.
KG is obviously not happy (he keeps repeating to the ref "He hit me in the face!"), but is able to calm down enough to step to the line and makes one-of-two foul shots (83-69 9:22); Kevin's having a great night, with 19 points (8-10 FG) and 11 rebounds.
However, things are getting a might chippy, as Perk is fouled by Evans with 8:14 to go, but also receives a technical for giving Maurice a little shove after the play. Hey Celts, don't let these guys take you out of this game emotionally ... especially now that Howard throws down a nasty one-hand slam to get Orlando within single digits (85-76 7:57).
Perkins then misses the shot, and Dwight pulls down the rebound. He passes to Arroyo, who takes it back the other way, and finds Turkoglu at the top of the key ... He tries to make his way around Rondo to get to the basket, but winds up being whistled for travelling; Boston regains possession with 7:21 on the clock (as Pierce returns to the game while Posey sits), however Garnett tries to dribble around Howard and he gets called for taking too many steps himself!
The Magic get another opportunity to inch closer, as Arroyo is left open (gasp!) but front-rims the jumpshot, and Perk grabs the rebound (his tenth). He then makes the outlet pass to Pierce, who swings the ball around to Ray. He's covered by Arroyo, but Kendrick comes into the picture and sets a mean pick - nearly knocking Carlos to the floor - which frees up Allen and he proceeds to knock down the three-ball (88-76 6:39)!
That sends the Magic into another timeout, and when play resumes Lewis tries to answer with his own three-point attempt; it clanks off the rim, and Perkins finds himself with another rebound. He passes to Pierce, who makes his way up the floor, then gives the ball to Rondo; he's covered by Arroyo, so gives it back to Paul in the paint.
He tries to make his way around Lewis, but Howard comes over for the double-team as the shot clock is winding down; that forces Pierce to take a deep fallaway jumpshot as the buzzer sounds ... and he hits it (90-76 5:53)! It's a Christmas miracle!
Big big shot, which might have just killed Orlando's momentum ... Sure enough, the Celtics hang on for the 103-91 victory.
FINAL SCORE: Boston 103, Orlando 91
GAME RATING:
16
SLAM DUNK
BOSTON TOP PERFORMERS:
- Pierce: 41 MIN, 24 PTS (8-18 FG), 6 AST, 5 TO
- Rondo: 38 MIN, 23 PTS (8-10 FG), 6 AST, 4 REB, 4 STL
- R. Allen: 40 MIN, 22 PTS (7-13 FG, 4-8 3PTers), 4 AST
- Garnett: 39 MIN, 21 PTS (9-13 FG), 12 REB, 5 AST, 3 BLK
- Howard: 43 MIN, 23 PTS (9-15 FG, 5-16 FT), 14 REB, 4 AST, 2 BLK
- Turkoglu: 36 MIN, 19 PTS (5-11 FG), 5 REB, 3 AST
- Lewis: 34 MIN, 15 PTS (4-12 FG), 3 REB
POST-GAME NOTES:
- Perk addressed the crowd prior to the game and wished everyone a "safe and happy holidays". Why, thank you Kendrick!
- At 22-3, the Celts are off to their best start since the '90-'91 season.
- This is the first time Boston has had four players (Pierce, Garnett, Ray, and Rondo) with 20 or more points since May 5, 1999.
- The Celtics shot 52 percent from the floor (38-73 FG) and 79 percent from the free-throw line (19-24 FT) ... That's where they really distanced themselves from the Magic, who were just 64 percent from the line (23-36 FT).
- Rondo was tonight's Tommy Award winner.
- It's time for the C's first West Coast road trip (four games in five days) starting Wednesday at Sacramento.
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