January 2, 2008
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, Perk'd Off, Kevvy G, Da Troof
Rockets Starting Lineup: Luther Are Good at Giving Head, Nilla-Rafer Alston, Yao Take Check?, How Much Hayes Could a Wood Chuck Hayes, Shane Battier-Up
Time for the Celts to start 2008 in the same fashion that they finished off '07 ... by dominating the NBA standings.
At 26-3 (thanks to sweeping their four-game West Coast road trip), this team is making it harder and harder for the naysayers to pooh-pooh their spot amongst the league's elite clubs.
Now that they've returned home (and with Rajon Rondo back from injury), who will be the next victim? How about the Houston Rockets, who themselves are coming in short-handed, as Shady McGrady will not play tonight (knee injury) ... Will mighty Yao prove to be too much for the Celts' big men to handle?
FIRST QUARTER
Yao wins the opening tip against Perk, as the ball goes to Alston and he makes the pass to Head. He's covered by Rondo, so he passes inside to Yao, and he immediately gives it up to Hayes for the layup attempt; the misses, but Chuck gets his own rebound and kicks the ball out to Head, and he buries the trey (0-3 11:31).
Rajon then scores off the nice feed from Garnett (welcome back young fellow), and he follows that up by stealing the ball from Alston! He gets it up ahead to Pierce for the three-point attempt, but that misses and Yao gets the rebound. He gives the ball to Alston, who brings it up the floor and takes it all the way in for the little floater (2-5 10:15).
Another basket by Rafer gives Houston the early five-point lead, then KG buries the turnaround "jay" over Hayes (4-7 9:13). At the other end, Yao tries the fallaway jumper over Perk, and winds up with an airball (Heinsohn: "If you can get that guy to do that all night long, that's a big defensive play!"); Garnett grabs the rebound and gives the ball to Ray, who takes it upcourt himself, then pulls up at the free-throw line over Alston and buries it (6-7 8:12).
Head then tries the pullup jumper - with KG in his face - but it's another airball (!) and Pierce collects the rebound. He quickly gets it up the floor to Allen, who throws up an alleyoop pass to Garnett for the one-hand slam PLUS the foul on Hayes. He makes the free throw to complete the three-point play and get the crowd pumped (9-7 7:53).
Yao then misses an outside shot (the Rockets have started this game just 3-for-10 from the floor), and li'l Rajon takes down the rebound. He heads back the other way, then gets the ball to Pierce, who makes a nice bounce pass back to Rondo (who immediately took off towards the basket) and he finishes with the easy layup (11-7 7:24); the Celts are now 5-for-9 from the field, with four assists off of those five made baskets (impressive).
Yao then misses again (the offensive load must be like the Great Wall of China on this man's shoulders) and Pierce grabs the rebound; we head back the other way, and KG winds up being fouled by Hayes (his second), so he heads to the line and makes one-of-two free throws (12-7 6:45).
Luis "Coca" Scola comes in to replace Chuck, while Alston throws up yet another airball (!) and Garnett collects the rebound. He gets it up the floor to Rondo, who finds Ray wide open in the corner and he buries the trey (15-7 6:21)!
Getting back home has obviously gotten these guys re-energized, as Houston has to call timeout to try and cool them down ... When play resumes, KG blocks Head's layup attempt from behind (the Rockets have now miseed seven straight shots!), but Yao grabs the loose ball and finishes with the dunk (15-9 5:58).
Ray answers with a jumper, then Battier is called for the offensive foul as he knocked Pierce off his feet while trying to set up position underneath the basket; that gives Boston back possession, as Garnett lobs a pass inside to Paul (he was actually able to get the ball over Yao), and he finishes with the layup (19-9 5:17).
Battier follows that up by missing the shot badly, and KG pulls down another rebound. He makes the outlet pass to Pierce, who gives it up to Rajon, and he executes a fancy crossover move to leave Alston in the dust (nice); as Yao comes over to try and stop him, he simply dishes off to Perk and he scores with the layup (21-9 4:19).
Alston answers with a three-pointer, then Hugh Laurie (just into the game for Rondo) pulls up over Rafer and banks in the shot (23-12 3:01) ... A three-ball by Eddie makes it a 14-point lead with 1:03 left in the quarter. Alston then tries to answer and misses from beyond the arc, however Aaron Brooks-Shields takes down the offensive board; rather than try to set up for a high-percentage shot, though, he simply jacks up a wild three-point attempt that barely catches the rim.
Unfortunately, Bonzi-Buddy Wells is able to bail him out by getting his own offensive rebound, but he kicks the ball out to Yao and he misses the jumpshot over Perkins (Yao's now just 2-for-10 shooting!) ... Pierce comes away with the loose board, and passes to House as the C's look for the final shot. He gets the ball back to Paul, who tries for the deep jumpshot over Bonzi, but it comes up short.
That keeps the lead at fourteen (30-16) at the end of one ... A nice offensive output by Boston (13-19 FG), while also limiting Houston to just 30-percent shooting (7-23 FG)!
SECOND QUARTER
Pierce, Allan Tony, Parker Posey, House, and Scotty 2 Hotty start the quarter ... Meanwhile, Paul buries a three-pointer (with Battier right in his face) to beat the shot clock (33-16 11:37); wow.
It's still a 17-point advantage when Scola fouls Pollard under the basket with 9:32 on the clock. So, he steps to the line, while Glen "Macrosomia" Davis comes in to replace Pierce (11 PTS, 5 REB); in the meantime, Scotty makes the first free throw, but misses the second and Yao grabs the rebound. He gets the ball up the floor to Bonzi, and he passes to Brooks for the pullup jumper (36-20 9:10).
House scores again, then Posey steals the ball from Wells; he takes it back the other way, and passes to Tony spotting up in the corner. His shot misses, but "Big Baby" is right there to tip it in (40-20 8:32)!
It's down to a 15-point lead with 7:26 remaining, when KG and Ray come back into game (Davis and Tony take a seat) ... Meanwhile, House misses the shot and Wells controls the rebound. He sends the ball upcourt to Yao, who passes inside to Scola and he scores over KG (40-27 6:51).
It doesn't take long for Perk and Rondo to return to the floor (Posey is the only non-starter left in the lineup), as Bonzi knocks down the outside shot to get Houston within eleven with 5:33 remaining.
Glenn Rivers M.D. calls for time, and (sure enough) when play resumes Pierce is back in the game ... Paul passes the ball inside to Perkins, who kicks it back out to Rondo and he scores the little floater in the lane (42-29 5:00).
At the other end, Yao comes up short on the hook shot over Kendrick (KG might have actually gotten a piece of that), but Scola picks up the loose rebound and dishes it to Alston behind the three-point line. His shot is wide of the mark, however Scola gets another offensive board and passes inside to Wells, who throws down the one-handed dunk over Perk (42-31 4:28)!
Garnett scores (8 PTS, 3-3 FG), then Property of Mike James backrims the jumpshot ... However, Scola gets himself his third straight offensive rebound (!) and passes inside to Yao, where he's fouled by Perkins; it's a non-shooting foul, so Scola inbounds the ball to Wells, and he buries the step-back jumper over Pierce (44-33 3:28). That's 13 points (5-8 FG) for Bonzi!
Garnett and Scola trade baskets, then Ray misses the turnaround jumper over Head, and Scola grabs the rebound (his sixth). He passes to James, who takes it back the other way, then gets the ball inside to Yao; Kendrick again commits the foul (his third), so Pollard has to come back in at the 2:24 mark.
Meanwhile, Houston retains possession, and the Rockets again pound the ball inside to Yao. He tries to make a move around Scotty, but the refs whistle Number 66 for the foul (Heinsohn: "That was a guess! [That ref] looks like the guessing type, too!"); that puts Yao at the line, where he makes both free throws (46-37 2:13).
At the other end, Yao goaltends a shot by Pierce (who now has 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting), but Head quickly answers by knocking down the three-pointer (48-40 1:38)! Oh my ... Pierce is then fouled by Bonzi, but can only make one-of-two from the line. That keeps the lead within single digits, while Head chops it down further by draining the 18-footer (49-42 1:13).
The crowd is getting antsy now, but Pollard scores on the hook shot over Scola (51-42 :46.5). Yao then makes a nice pass inside to Wells, but he has his shot blocked by Garnett ... Bonzi is able to recover the loose ball, but can't score on the putback attempt (Kevin bothered that shot as well).
KG controls the rebound, and gives the ball to Pierce with a chance to hold for the final shot ... He tries to work his way around Bonzi, but instead passes the ball inside to Garnett. The Rockets throw a double-team at him, so he finds Pollard under the basket and he scores on the layup (53-42 :06.8).
Garnett is able to steal the ball from Alston in the closing moments, preserving the 53-42 Celtics lead at halftime ... While the Celts are still shooting the ball well (22-37 FG), they allowed the Rockets to shoot nearly 50 percent in the second quarter (10-21 FG) and are currently being outrebounded 22 to 16; that includes eight offensive boards for Houston (not a good sign).
THIRD QUARTER
At the start of the third, KG is forced to take a fallaway jumper to beat the shot clock ... not only does he knock it down, but he also draws the foul on Hayes, so he steps to the line and makes the free throw to complete the three-point play (56-42 10:39).
Alston then misses the three-point attempt, and Rondo collects the rebound. He takes it upcourt, then passes inside to Pierce. He tries to back down Battier, but gets tripped up whilst going for the fallaway jumpshot. That gives Paul a chance to knock down some free throws at the 9:48 mark, but he proceeds to miss both of them!
That gives the Rockets a chance to cut the lead further, although Head misses the three-point attempt; Rondo beats Luther to the loose rebound, and - somehow - he winds up all alone at the other end of the floor and finishes with the one-handed dunk (58-42 9:31)! Boy, the Rockets really fell asleep on defense there!
A basket by Hayes gets Houston within fourteen with 8:47 remaining, then Alston strips Pierce of the ball and takes it back the other way ... However, Yao knocks Garnett to the floor trying to set up position in the paint; the refs whistle for the offensive foul, as Heinsohn remarks "Garnett got hit with a ... what's a truck over in China? I would say a Mack Truck, but I don't think they got Mack Trucks over there!"
Boston regains possession, but Pierce comes up short on the layup attempt over Battier, and Hayes collects the rebound ... Houston gets another crack at it, as Yao winds up being grabbed by Perkins while scoring the layup, and makes the free throw to complete the three-point play (60-49 7:39).
That's Perk's fourth foul, but he stays in the game as Rondo drives to the basket against Alston and finishes with the floater (62-49 7:25). Rafer answers with a basket of his own (Gorman: "That shot was Sherm Douglas-like!"), then Kendrick has his shot blocked by Yao, and Hayes collects the loose ball. He gives it to Alston, who takes it upcourt, then makes a bullet pass inside to Luther; he tries to score, but Perk is up in his face and rejects the shot! Now KG has the loose ball, and sends it back the other way to Rondo, where he finds Pierce open in the corner for the three-pointer (65-51 6:35)!
Hayes answers with the basket, then Garnett misses the outside shot and Alston grabs the rebound. He takes it upcourt himself, and passes inside to Yao for the strong one-handed dunk over KG (65-55 5:42); impressive ... At the other end, Rondo misses the 18-footer, and Hayes takes the carom. He gives it to Rafer, who takes it back the other way, then finds Battier behind the three-point line; his shot misses, however Yao grabs the offensive board and finishes with another one-hand slam (65-57 5:06)! The big man is heating up now (13 PTS, 5-15 FG, 9 REB).
After a Boston timeout, Pollard comes into the game to replace Perk ... and is promptly called for the three-second violation (d'oh!). Houston regains possession, but Alston misses the shot and Scotty takes down the rebound. He passes upcourt to Ray, and he finds KG in the paint for a hook shot over Hayes (67-57 4:23).
Battier answers with the trey (yikes), then Ray takes a pass from Rondo and knocks down the pullup jumper (69-60 3:50). Pollard then hacks Yao as he's going for the shot (his third foul), so he goes to the line at the 3:26 mark and makes one-of-two free throws to get his team within eight.
At the other end, Allen again tries the pullup jumpshot, but is wide of the mark. Yao collects the rebound and gets the ball to Alston, who makes his way up the floor before passing inside to Hayes; he gives it up to Yao, and he barrels his way to the hoop, knocking Pollard flat on his ass ... not that the refs seem to care, as they call Scotty for the blocking foul!
To add insult to injury, Yao's able to score the hoop as well, so he goes to the line and adds the free throw to complete the three-point play (69-64 2:59); Pollard, meanwhile, stays in the game with his four fouls ... It's a good thing, too, as Pierce tries to drive down the lane and that draws Yao over to try and stop him. Rather than deal with that roadblock, Paul passes to Scotty, and he scores the layup while being fouled from behind by Hayes!
One free throw later, and Pollard has a three-point play of his very own (72-64 2:49). At the other end, the Rockets again try to get the ball inside to Yao, but Scotty holds his ground and the refs actually call Yao for the three-second violation! That's surprising, as the Celts regain possession, and House drives to the basket against Alston; he misses the layup, but Pollard is in perfect position for the offensive rebound ... and misses the layup (d'oh!).
Oh well, Scotty's hot streak couldn't last forever, I suppose ... Bonzi gets the rebound, and pushes it back up the floor; however, Yao tries to set up under the basket, and winds up knocking down House for the offensive foul! Now the Celts regain possession, and Pierce knocks down the pullup jumper over Wells to put Boston's lead back into double digits (74-64 1:58).
Bonzi then makes a strong move to the basket, and runs right into Pollard who is whistled for the foul (his fifth); that puts Wells at the line with 1:44 to go, but he misses both free throws ... Doc decides to leave Scotty in the game, as Alston misses the layup attempt, and Yao goes up over the back of Pollard going for the rebound.
Scotty does a bit of an acting job to draw the foul call (Yao's third), as Boston regains possession ... Tony then gives up the wide-open three-point attempt and passes inside to Posey, but Wells slaps the ball away. Pollard is able to pick it up, however, and gives it back to Posey, who has to force one up to beat the shot clock; unfortunately, Bonzi comes up with the block as the buzzer sounds!
Sloppy stuff, as Leon Powe Powe Power Wheels actually gets some rare playing time, as he comes in with 21.6 seconds remaining to replace Pollard ... Meanwhile, Yao misses the outside shot, but Wells grabs the offensive board and scores on the putback (76-68 :06.0).
House airballs a three-point attempt in the closing moments, as the score remains 76 to 68 (Celtics) heading into the final stanza.
FOURTH QUARTER
Pollard is back on the floor to start the fourth (along with House, Posey, and the two Allens) ... However, it doesn't take long for Alston to simply blow by Eddie and score the layup to get the Rockets within six (76-70 11:08).
Posey then misses a three-point attempt, but Scotty grabs the offensive board, and kicks it back out to Tony. With Rafer covering him, Allen feeds the ball back inside to Pollard, and he knocks down the little 12-footer (78-70 10:29); Heinsohn: "Bang! Bang! Scott Pollard! Give him a bang!"
Not so fast, Tommy, as at the other end Pollard picks up the foul trying to guard Yao; that's his sixth, so he's back to the bench with a nice round of applause from the crowd ... When play resumes, Perkins is in to replace him, while Alston makes another strong move to the basket for two more points (78-72 10:09).
It gets worse, as Posey is called for the offensive foul knocking Head to the floor; the Rockets regain possession, as Wells tries to work the baseline around James and is able to draw the foul. That puts him at the line with 9:39 remaining in the game, where he's able to make the first free throw but misses the second ... Hold it, the refs give him another chance, as Tony is called for the lane violation (damn!). Bonzi makes good on the redo, as he makes the free throw to cut the lead down to just four (78-74 9:39).
Brooks then strips Tony of the ball (gasp!) and sends it up ahead to Wells, who is all alone for the one-hand slam (78-76 9:26) ... The crowd is incredulous right now, as Tony misses a wild shot (he's not helping matters) and Scola comes away with the rebound. He gives the ball to Alston, who takes it back the other way, then slices down the lane against Perkins for the layup PLUS the foul! Oh man, he makes the free throw to complete the three-point play and give Houston the lead (78-79 8:56).
Doc has seen enough, as he gets some more starters (Rondo, Pierce, and Garnett) back into the game ... However, Rajon just loses control of the ball (!) and Brooks is able to pick it up; he passes up ahead to Scola, and he's fouled by KG for two more free throws (78-81 8:43).
Rondo redeems himself with the nice pass inside to Perkins for a two-handed slam, then Wells misses the three-point attempt, but Scola grabs the rebound (he's been a major force on the offensive glass tonight) and is fouled by Perk ... That's six for Kendrick, so he's out (Posey comes in to replace him), as Scola steps to the line but can only make one-of-two free throws (80-82 8:10).
It's up to a three-point deficit with seven minutes to go, but Pierce quickly fixes that as he finds Garnett inside for the turnaround jumper over Scola (83-84 6:40). Rondo then slaps the ball out of Brooks' hands, and Pierce picks it up for the steal; he makes a fullcourt pass to Ray, and he finishes with the layup (85-84 6:20).
The Rockets call for time to try and stop the C's momentum, and when play resumes Yao is back in the game ... He tries to score over KG, but comes up short and Kevin grabs the rebound (yes!). He passes to Rondo, who makes his way up the floor, then gives it back to Garnett and he buries the 18-footer (87-84 5:34).
A loud "Defense!" chant is now welling up from the crowd, but the Celts - apparently - don't hear them, as Battier is left wide open and buries the trey (87-all 5:08)! Rondo then comes up short on the jumpshot, and Wells takes the rebound. He gives the ball to Alston, who slowly walks it up the floor; he passes to Battier, and he goes for another three-point attempt, but that's wide of the mark (whew!) and Posey collects the loose board.
We head back the other way, as Pierce backrims the 18-footer, but KG hauls in the offensive board and gives the ball to Rondo. He steps back to reset the offense, then decides to just take matters into his own hands and drives down the lane; Yao is standing in his way, but Rajon uses that little fake behind-the-back pass that we've all come to know and out, throwing off the big man and finishing with the layup (89-87 3:55)!
Yao (perhaps a little flustered) tries to get those two points back by taking it to the basket against KG, but Kevin is able to bother the shot and Posey winds up with the rebound. He passes up the floor to Rondo, and he finds Garnett at the top of the key; he's covered by the smaller Wells, so he just launches another outside shot and drains it (91-87 2:41)! That's 21 points now (9-13 FG) for Number Five!
At the other end, Bonzi gets tripped up by Posey, so he steps to the line with 2:21 on the clock with a chance to get his team back within two ... As he prepares himself, Garnett is gesturing for the crowd to make some noise (Gorman remarks "He looks like Hulk Hogan!" to which Heinsohn replies "Where's his cape?"); unfortunately, the added volume from the crowd isn't enough of a distraction, as Wells makes both free throws.
However, they do muster up a pretty impressive "Let's Go Celtics!" chant (the banners are shaking up in the rafters), as Garnett tries to work the baseline against Yao; Wells reaches in to attempt a steal, but instead draws the foul call. So, Kevin steps to the line and misses the first free throw (dangit!) but makes the second (92-89 2:04).
KG makes up for it at the other end, though, as he knocks the ball away from Yao and Ray picks up the loose ball for the Rockets turnover! He passes to Garnett, who gets the ball right back to Allen as he drives down the lane against three defenders (!); he misses the shot, but gets his own rebound and passes out to Rondo for another crack at it. He finds Pierce behind the three-point line, and he fakes the shot to get Battier up in the air, then makes a move to the basket (drawing in the defense) but instead kicks it out to KG standing at the free-throw line and he buries the jumper (94-89 1:16).
The place is going bananas now, as Houston calls for a timeout, while Kevin is yelling and screaming and pulling at his jersey heading back to the bench (Heinsohn: "Here's the intensity ... Now, when he starts eating his jersey, we'll tell him that's enough!"). When play resumes, Head tries the three-point attempt and misses, but Battier grabs the offensive board. He passes out to Alston, who fakes the shot (losing House in the process) and he steps in for the higher-percentage shot (94-91 1:02).
Posey then misses the three-pointer, but Ray grabs himself another offensive rebound (!) and passes the ball to Pierce; he eats some more time off the clock - smart move - before making his move to the basket. The defense once again swarms in around him, so he kicks it out to Garnett for another 18-foot jumper (96-91 :22.2) ... amazing, simply amazing (KG now has 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting in the second half).
The Rockets are forced to call another timeout, as Pierce jumps on Kevin's back in celebration (Heinsohn: "Hi ho Silver!") ... When play resumes, Head tries to take it to the basket for a quick shot, but KG blocks that stuff the hell out of bounds! That leaves just 14.9 ticks left in the game, and Alston airballs the three-point attempt while Yao fouls Posey going for the rebound.
Houston's not over the limit yet, so Rondo inbounds the ball to Posey with 10.1 seconds left, and he's immediately fouled by Wells; that puts James at the line where he makes one-of-two free throws (97-91 :09.2) ... Yao grabs an errant three-pointer by Head and lays it in with 2.4 seconds remaining, but that merely makes the final margin of victory four instead of six (97-93).
FINAL SCORE: Boston 97, Houston 93
GAME RATING:
13
SLAM DUNK
BOSTON TOP PERFORMERS:
- Garnett: 35 MIN, 26 PTS (11-15 FG), 9 REB, 3 AST, 3 BLK, 2 STL
- Pierce: 40 MIN, 19 PTS (7-12 FG), 7 AST, 6 REB
- Rondo: 33 MIN, 13 PTS (6-11 FG), 9 AST, 5 REB
- Wells: 29 MIN, 25 PTS (8-14 FG, 9-12 FT), 9 REB
- Yao: 42 MIN, 19 PTS (7-20 FG), 13 REB
- Alston: 44 MIN, 18 PTS (8-16 FG), 2 AST
POST-GAME NOTES:
- Boston shot over 50 percent from the floor (41-77 FG), and limited Houston to 42 percent shooting (35-83 FG).
- The Celts have now gotten off to the best start in franchise history (the 1972-73 team was 26-4 to open their season).
- You better believe that KG was tonight's Tommy Award winner!
- Paul Pierce was once again named Eastern Conference Player of the Week (nba.com); it's nice to see The Truth getting his props for remaining one of the league's elite players when the "experts" were predicting that he would have trouble fitting in with two superstars on either side of him.
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