Recap: Game 6 (at Indiana)

BOSTON CELTICS AT INDIANA PACERS

November 13, 2007
7:00 PM EST (Comcast SportsNet)
Conseco Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, IN)
Announcers: Mike AnGormanagement and Tommy "Want to Touch the" Heinsohn ; Gary PoonTanguay and Donny Darko (in-studio) ; Greg "Old Saint" Dickerson (sideline reporter)
Celtics Starting Lineup: Rayden, I've Got a Rajon Rondo, Perk'd Off, Kevvy G, Da Troof
Pacers Starting Lineup: Mike Dunleavy-Alone, Jamaalware Tinsley, Smellin' of Troy Murphy, The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly on Jermaine O'Neal, Danny "Away in a" Granger

How's it feel to be cheering for the NBA's only unbeaten team? Does it feel good? Does it make you feel strong? Like you're a big strong man now?

Well, the C's are feeling strong, as two of their main bench guys (Parker Posey and The Scals of Justice) are back from injury and ready to go for the 6-0 start (a feat they haven't pulled off since the '87-88 club) against former head coach Jim O'Brien On the Inside and his Indiana Pacers ... Indiana started the season 3-0, but have now lost three straight and are struggling to keep Jermaine O'Neal happy. Will Boston let its collective guard down against an inferior opponent? Let's find out!

FIRST QUARTER

Granger hits a three-pointer to open the game (what a surprise, a Jim O'Brien-coached team looking for the outside shot); at the other end, KG buries the turnaround jumper with O'Neal right in his face (2-3 11:16).

O'Neal then passes inside to Tinsley, and he tries to kick it back out to Dunleavy but it's tipped by Garnett as the ball rolls all way out to the other side of the court and out of bounds. It's still Indiana possession, but there's only nine seconds left on the shot clock, so Dunleavy is forced to heave up a three-point shot that misses badly ... so badly, in fact, that the buzzer goes off (it looks like it didn't even touch the rim); however, the refs talk it over and decide to give the ball back to the Pacers with a fresh 24 seconds (O'Neal had gotten the rebound after the shot clock went off).

So, it's Indiana possession once again, however Jermaine misses the fallaway jumper over Perkins; Murphy grabs the offensive rebound, but has his putback attempt blocked by KG (nice). Perk collects the loose ball and gets it to Ray, who pushes the ball upcourt before passing to Kevin for the 15-foot jumpshot; that too misses, as O'Neal collects the board and passes to Tinsley, and he takes it all the way in for the layup PLUS a foul is called on Rondo. He makes the free throw to complete the three-point play (2-6 10:09).

While Jamaal is at the line, Murphy heads to the locker room with a bloody nose (I think he took an inadvertant elbow from Perk) and Jeff Foster Parents comes in to replace him. Pierce then misses a jumper and Foster makes himself useful right away by securing the rebound; he gets the ball to Tinsley, who again takes it all the way in against Rondo and loses him off the dribble before scoring the layup (2-8 9:38).

Glenn Rivers M.D. must not be happy with Rajon's performance thus far, as Hugh Laurie is up off the bench and waiting at the scorers' table; Rondo tries to redeem himself somewhat by hitting the "jay", but Dunleavy answers with a basket of his own (4-10 9:03).

Rajon then takes the pass from Pierce and hits a little floater in the lane (maybe House should stay on the bench!), while at the other end Dunleavy tries the pullup jumper but is wide of the mark. Ray grabs the rebound and takes it upcourt himself, then passes to Paul who gives the upfake to get Dunleavy in the air; with the big guy out of the picture, Pierce takes it to the basket and barrels right into O'Neal, but the refs call Jermaine for the blocking foul (his second already).

That sends the Pacers' star player to the bench at 8:14 left in the quarter, and David Sexual-Harrison-Panda comes in to replace him ... Meanwhile, it's still Boston possession, but Pierce misses a three-point attempt badly and Foster gets another rebound. He finds Tinsley upcourt who pulls up for the shot but can't connect; KG tips the rebound to Ray, as we head back the other way and Allen makes the nice pass inside to Perk for the layup over Harrison (8-10 7:51).

David then scores (Indiana is 5-for-11 from the field thus far), and Ray tries to answer but misses the fallaway jumper over Dunleavy (Boston is 4-for-8 shooting). Harrison collects the rebound and passes to Tinsley, who dribbles up the floor before throwing an alleyoop pass to Foster who finishes with the layup (8-14 7:02).

Celts aren't in a rhythm yet, as Scotty 2 Hotty is in at the 4:27 mark to replace Perk (he has two fouls); meanwhile, Garnett misses the outside jumper, but Pierce snares the offensive board and kicks it out to House for the three-pointer (19-21 4:08).

Tinsley then tries to pass the ball to Foster, but the big man doesn't seem to notice as the ball sails right past him for the backcourt violation; Celts regain possession, but Ray misses the outside shot and Foster controls the loose board (Indiana is currently winning the battle of the 'bounds, 10 to 4). He gets it to Travis Diener-Wog, who finds Granger and he knocks down the pullup jumper over Pierce (19-23 3:32).

Now House misses, and Foster pulls down the carom (his fifth); at the other end, Granger swings the ball around to Diener wide open behind the three-point line, however the shot clanks off the rim and KG is fouled by Shaawanwaki Williams going for the rebound. Pacers are now over the limit, so Kevin heads to the line and makes both free throws (21-23 2:49).

A basket by Pollard (off the nice pass from Garnett) with 1:33 left in the quarter ties the score at 23 apiece. Shawne then misses the shot, and Posey (just into the game) get the rebound; he passes to House, who gets the ball upcourt to KG, and he finds Posey hustling over to the corner. James then tries to work the baseline to get at the basket, but knocks down Kareem Rush Hour 3 and is called for the offensive foul ...

Allan Tony and Rondo are into the game (Ray and House take a seat) as Indiana regains possession, and Diener makes the bounce pass to Foster driving down lane; he knocks down Posey (similar to the previous play) but this time James is called for the blocking foul!

That's now his second foul, so Foster heads to the line with 36.6 seconds left as Scalabrine comes in to replace him ... Jeff then makes his first free throw, but can't make the second and KG comes away with the rebound (his fourth); he quickly gets the ball upcourt to Rondo, who drives to the basket before kicking the ball out to Scals and he buries the three-pointer (26-24 :15.0)! No ill effects for Scalabrine, I guess ...

Indiana can't get a shot off in the closing moments, and the Celts end the first quarter ahead by two (26-24) ...

SECOND QUARTER

Scals misses a three-point attempt to open the quarter, as Dunleavy grabs the rebound and passes to Rush, who quickly pushes the ball upcourt before passing back inside to Mike, where he's fouled by Pollard and proceeds to make both of his free throws to tie the score (26-all 11:44).

Pierce then makes a nice pass inside to Pollard, but the big man can't handle it and the ball rolls out of bounds; the Pacers regain possession with a chance to retake the lead, but O'Neal misses the turnaround "jay" over Pollard and Tony comes away with the loose board (after losing the battle of the boards badly to start the game, Boston now has 11 rebounds to Indiana's 12). He proceeds to take the ball upcourt himself, and goes all the way in for a layup attempt that comes up short, however Pollard is fouled by Rush going for the offensive rebound.

That means that it's still Boston ball, and Pierce tries to take it right at Dunleavy ... however, Jermaine comes over to bother the shot, causing Paul to miss. Dunleavy grabs the rebound and gets the ball upcourt to Diener, who misses the three-point shot and Tony snares another rebound. He gets the ball to Rondo, who finds Scals spotting up behind the three-point line and he buries it (29-26 10:38); Gorman: "He's not dizzy, he's got no headaches right now!"

At the other end, O'Neal tries to take it in over Pollard for the layup, but little Rajon skies high for the block (!!!) and Scals secures the loose ball. He gives it to Rondo, who motors upcourt ... but he might be just a little too pumped up, as he travels with the ball. That gives Indiana back possession, and Shawne hits a trey of his own (29-all 9:59).

Perk comes back into the game with 9:42 left to replace Pollard, while O'Neal immediately takes it at Kendrick (trying to draw another foul) before passing to Dunleavy for the layup (29-31 9:28).

Perk is then called for an offensive foul setting the screen on Diener (there's that pesky third foul); it's Pacers ball once again, but Diener misses the three-pointer (Indiana's shooting just 2-for-6 from the field in the quarter) and Pierce grabs the rebound. He takes it upcourt himself, where O'Neal comes over to cover him, but Paul easily loses him off the dribble as he pulls up for the jumper and buries it (31-all 8:53); the Celts are now also shooting 2-for-6 from the field this quarter ... If you need me to do the math for you, that means that both teams are shooting the ball horribly.

At the other end, Pierce draws an offensive foul call as Dunleavy runs right into him; Boston regains possession (KG comes back into the game at this point to replace Perk) and Kevin passes inside to Pierce underneath the basket. He's double-teamed, so Paul kicks it out to Scals for another three-point attempt - actually his foot is on the line - but Shawne fouls him so that puts Brian at the line where he makes both free throws (33-31 8:33) ... that's eight points for Scals in his return (he's now Boston's leading scorer!).

Pierce hits a fallaway jumper over Granger with 6:30 remaining in the half to extend it to a four-point Celtics lead, then Tinsley misses a three-point shot (Indiana's now 2-for-11 shooting in the quarter) but O'Neal grabs the offensive board and kicks it out to Granger. Danny drives down the lane, but Scals has him covered, so he tries to get the ball back to O'Neal, and the pass is too high and goes out of bounds (the Pacers' ninth turnover). Boston regains possession, as Pierce is again double-teamed underneath the basket, so he finds his new favorite target Scalabrine spotting up behind the three-point line. Unfortunately, this time he can't hit the shot, and Granger secures the rebound; he passes to Tinsley upcourt, who holds the ball for a second before getting it back to Danny and he scores on the fallaway jumper over Garnett (37-35 4:29).

At the other end, Kevin takes it strong to the basket and draws the foul on O'Neal; that's his third, so Harrison comes back in to replace him as Kevin steps to the line and makes one-of-two foul shots (38-35 4:11).

Granger answers with a trey to again tie the score, then KG tries to pass inside to Ray but he loses it out of bounds. That means it's Pacers' ball with a chance to take the lead, but Granger misses the shot over Scals and Pierce comes away with the rebound. He passes to Rondo, who dribbles up the court, then gets the ball back in Paul's hands and he upfakes from the top of the key to get Granger off-balance; it works, so Pierce drives to the basket and Tinsley takes a swipe at him to draw the foul ... however, Jamaal also gives a little extra as he brings his right hand down on top of Paul's head (I'd pretty much call that a punch myself)!

Pierce is - justifiably - upset and Granger steps in front of him as he starts gesturing towards Tinsley. Order is quickly restored, as the replay shows that Jamaal did indeed wind up and bop Paul on top of the head as he was going past him (Gorman: "What was that about?"), so Paul takes a trip to the free throw line. He makes the first, then goes down and does a few push-ups (trying to work out some aggression?) before going back to the line and making his second (40-38 3:07).

Hey, I'd rather see Paul do push-ups than try to retaliate against a cheap-shot artist like Tinsley (no need to repeat the "I have a broken jaw" incident from the 2005 playoffs [the-w.com]) ... Anyway, at the other end Pierce fouls Harrison (no cheap shot given) where he can only make one-of-two foul shots, then Paul beats Granger off the dribble and goes in for the strong one-hand dunk (42-39 2:45); uh oh, he's mad now, boy!

It's down to a two-point lead with two minutes left in the half, when Pierce blows by Shawne and goes in for the layup PLUS a foul is called on Harrison! Paul makes the free throw to complete the three-point play (46-41 1:52), as he clearly is playing with a chip on his shoulder now. Harrison is then called for the offensive foul setting the screen on House; that's his third, so Foster comes back into the game as the Celtics regain possession. Pierce (let's call him "Man on a Mission" from here on out) then backs down Shawn before finishing with the layup (48-41 1:32)!

It's up to a nine-point Celtics advantage at halftime (52-43), thanks in no small part to Paul Pierce, who scored 17 of his 21 points (5-10 FG, 11-11 FT) in that second quarter ... Don't you feel like a dumb-ass now, Tinsley?

THIRD QUARTER

Murphy misses the opening shot of the second half, but O'Neal grabs the offensive rebound and scores over KG (52-45 11:30); those are his first points of the night (1-6 FG). At the other end, Murphy is called for the defensive 3-second violation; Ray makes the free throw (he also went scoreless in the first half, shooting just 0-for-4 from the field), as the C's still have possession and Garnett buries the outside shot (55-45 11:08); he now has nine points (3-6 FG).

Granger then loses the handle on the ball and Rondo picks it up (Boston has eight steals to Indiana's big fat zero), as we head back the other way and Rajon passes to Allen, who works the baseline around Dunleavy before finally scoring a basket (57-45 10:14).

At the other end, Mike has his layup attempt blocked by Perkins out of bounds; it's still Pacers' ball, as Dunleavy inbounds to Tinsley who gets it to O'Neal, and he tries to pass inside to Murphy ... However, the big man must have had other things on his mind, as he lets the ball goes right past him out of bounds (that's 15 Indiana turnovers to Boston's eight).

The crowd is starting to voice their displeasure with the home team, but the Celts can't capitalize as Ray misses the off-balance shot over Dunleavy, and Murphy grabs the rebound. He gets the ball upcourt to Tinsley, who pulls up for the three-point shot and nails it (57-48 9:13).

KG then miss, and Perk fouls Murphy going for the rebound ... that's Kendrick's fourth (!), but he stays in the game as O'Neal tries to take it right at him. Luckily, Rondo comes up with the steal from behind, and gets it up ahead to Garnett, who's fouled by Murphy and makes both free throws (59-48 8:40).

Heinsohn proclaims this a "more methodical game" then we've seen from the Celtics so far this season, as Ray knocks down a trey at the seven-minute mark to extend it to a 14-point Boston advantage. Shawne then scores, but Ray quickly answers with the pullup jumper (66-52 6:04); he now has 10 of Boston's 14 points in the quarter!

It's a 12-point lead with four minutes to go in the quarter, when O'Neal tries to shoot a pullup jumper over Perkins but gets it rejected right back in his face (he's now 2-for-9 from the floor)! Rondo picks up the loose ball and pushes it upcourt, before finding Ray behind the three-point line where he buries yet another one (69-54 3:54)! It might not be pretty, but the C's are firmly in control of this game right now ... We head into the final quarter with a 76-65 Celtics lead, as Ray Allen scored all 15 of his points (5-13 FG) in the third!

FOURTH QUARTER

Celts start the final quarter with a lineup of Pollard, Pierce, Posey, House, and Tony Allen ... On their first possession, Pierce makes the bullet pass inside to Pollard and he's fouled by O'Neal, so that sends Scotty to the line where he makes 1-of-2 free throws (77-65 11:01).

Tinlsey then misses the pullup jumper, as Foster controls the miss (the Pacers now have 13 offensive rebounds) but can't score on the putback; however, Pollard fouls Dunleavy in the ensuing scrum underneath the basket. Indiana retains possession, and Dunleavy hits the outside "jay" (77-67 10:41).

At the other end, House misses a shot, as the Pacers have a chance to get back within single digits ... but Rush misses the three-pointer (whew!) and Pierce nabs the rebound. He brings the ball upcourt himself, and takes it right at Dunleavy to draw the foul. Ray comes back into the game (while the other Allen takes a seat) as Paul steps to the line and knocks down both foul shots (79-67 10:03); for those keeping score at home, Pierce is a perfect 14-of-14 from the line tonight (26 PTS)!

Tinsley then misses a three-point shot and Pierce gets the loose board; he dribbles upcourt before passing to Ray, who takes it to the basket (to draw Foster's attention) and that leaves Pollard all alone for the layup (81-67 9:34).

Granger answers with a trey (why does Indiana's PA announcer call every three-pointer a "home run", that's so lame), then House tries to answer with a three-point shot of his own but comes up short. O'Neal collects the rebound and gives the ball to Tinsley, who gives it back to Granger and he blows by Pierce but runs right into Pollard for another offensive foul!

The bench appreciates Scotty's efforts, as Boston regains possession and Pierce hits the little hook shot over Granger (83-70 8:10). O'Neal then misses and Paul pulls down the board (his ninth); he gets the ball upcourt to Ray, who finds KG in the paint and he tries the fallaway jumper over O'Neal but misses (Kevin's just 4-for-11 from the field tonight). Tinsley gets the rebound as we head back the other way, and he gives it up to Granger who hits another trey (83-73 7:23)! Danny is 5-for-5 from three-point land, wow.

At the other end, KG again tries to score on O'Neal and misses ... however, a late whistle puts him at the line (surprising, as it's on Jermaine, his fifth!) and Garnett makes one-of-two free throws (84-73 7:02).

O'Neal stays in the game, as Granger comes up short with the jumpshot over Pierce and KG comes away with the carom. He gets the ball to Ray, and he swings it around to House who drives to the basket before kicking it back out to KG and he finds Pierce open for the three-pointer (87-73 6:27)! That's 31 points for the captain ...

Unfortunately, House injured himself during that sequence (he went up in the air before passing to KG and landed right on O'Neal's sneaker); he's limping his way upcourt and eventually grabs Tinsley just to stop the clock and hobbles his way to the bench (uh oh). Rondo is quickly into the game to replace him, while Jamaal heads to the line and makes both foul shots (87-75 6:09) ... A basket by Tinsley cuts the lead to single digits with 4:35 to go, then KG misses the turnaround jumper (just hasn't been his night) and O'Neal comes away with the rebound. He passes to Jamaal, who quickly takes it upcourt and goes all the way in for the layup (89-82 4:08).

Posey is also whistled for the foul as the shot goes in, to which Heinsohn remarks "The crowd would've run this official outta the building if he had called a charge there, and that [call] was strictly crowd-influenced" ... It all evens out in the end, however, as Tinsley misses the free throw.

KG then hits an outside jumper (16 PTS, 5-13 FG) to break Indiana's 9-0 scoring run, while at the other end Posey steals a pass from Rush and sends it back to Ray who tries the fallaway jumper over Granger. The shot misses, as Shawne grabs the rebound and passes upcourt to Tinsley, who gives the ball to Granger; the rookie tries to pass inside to Rush, but the ball goes over his head and out of bounds. That means that Boston gets another opportunity to put this game away, and Pierce makes the nice pass inside to Garnett who scores on the easy layup (93-82 2:37).

O'Neal answers with the dunk (time is running out for the home team though), then Ray misses the three-point shot but Posey comes away with the offensive board and kicks it out to Pierce, who passes inside to KG and he gives it up to Rondo. Rajon then goes up for the layup, but Tinsley just shoves him down to the floor (man, what a prick!) ... Rajon hits the deck hard, but appears to be okay as Jamaal is called for the flagrant foul (thank you!); he gets a trip to the line, but might still be a little shaken up as he misses both free throws.

It's still Celtics possession with 1:43 left in the game (Heinsohn: "The first time Tinsley goes through, Perkins should deck him!"), and Pierce makes another nice pass inside to Posey who scores the layup (95-84 1:39) ... That pretty much wraps things up, as the Celts win yet again, 101 to 86.

FINAL SCORE: Boston 101, Indiana 86

GAME RATING:

13
SLAM DUNK

BOSTON TOP PERFORMERS:

• Pierce: 41 MIN, 31 PTS (8-17 FG, 14-14 FT), 11 REB, 6 AST, 2 STL, 1 BLK
• Garnett: 39 MIN, 18 PTS (6-14 FG), 11 REB, 3 STL, 2 AST
• R. Allen: 40 MIN, 17 PTS (6-18 FG, 2-7 3PTers), 3 REB, 3 AST
• Scalabrine: 12 MIN, 9 PTS (2-5 FG, 2-5 3PTers), 1 REB, 1 BLK
  

INDIANA TOP PERFORMERS:

• Granger: 34 MIN, 24 PTS (8-10 FG, 5-5 3PTers), 7 REB
• Tinsley: 30 MIN, 14 PTS (5-12 FG), 8 AST
• O'Neal: 33 MIN, 10 PTS (4-13 FG), 9 REB
  

TONIGHT'S COG (CELT OF THE GAME): Paul Pierce

POST-GAME NOTES:

• Boston had just 13 turnovers tonight (five in the second half), compared to Indiana's 23 ... It's the first time this season that the Pacers have had more turnovers than their opponent.
• As of right now, the Celtics are first in the NBA in field-goal percentage (50.8 FG%), first in field-goal percentage allowed (39.7 FG%), and first in average margin of victory (16.3 PPG) ... What else can you say but "wow".
• Paul Pierce was tonight's Tommy Award winner.
• Yesterday Garnett was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week (22.7 PPG, 15.3 RPG, 6.3 APG); no surprise there ...
• Snifter of Brandon Wallace has been assigned to the NBA Developmental League. He will report to the Celtics' affiliate, the Utah Flash (nba.com) later this week.
• Remember when Vindiffence twisted his ankle during Saturday's game against the Nets? Well, the MRI results are in (sports.yahoo.com), and and Carter is out indefinitely with a Grade 1 sprain. Bad news for our Atlantic Division foes ...
  

Sorry for the delay ...

I've been swamped with graduate school stuff, so I had to kind of fall off the face of the internet for awhile there.

I should (hopefully) catch up on some stuff over the next couple days ...

Boston's unbeaten record has people starting to believe ...

People like NBA.Com analyst John Schuhmann:

With the Clippers losing their first game on Friday night in Detroit, the Celtics came into New Jersey Saturday as the only undefeated team left in the Association. They had won their first four games by an average of 18.0 points per game and had a top-five defense to go along with their top-five offense. Oh yeah, they were top three in rebounding differential too.

Despite all that, I arrived at the IZOD Center thinking that the Atlantic Division was still a three-team race (you could find reasons to say that the Raptors or Nets were the best team in the division) and that the Eastern Conference was wide open.

Well, after seeing the new Celtics in person for the first time, I've changed my mind. Boston is definitely the best team in the division and they're my new pick to win the East. (I'm taking a mulligan on my old pick. They stink right now.)

But it's not just because they're 5-0. Five games is five games. A lot of teams in this league will win five straight during the course of the season.

But the Celtics are good. Really good.

Recap: Game 5 (at New Jersey)

BOSTON CELTICS AT NEW JERSEY NETS

November 10, 2007
7:30 PM EST (Comcast SportsNet)
Izod Center (East Rutherford, NJ)
Announcers: Mike AnGormanagement and Tommy "Want to Touch the" Heinsohn ; Gary PoonTanguay and Donny Darko (in-studio) ; Greg "Old Saint" Dickerson (sideline reporter)
Celtics Starting Lineup: Rayden, I've Got a Rajon Rondo, Perk'd Off, Kevvy G, Da Troof
Nets Starting Lineup: Vindifference, Jason Has a Big-Headed Kidd, Jason Collins All Cars, Krstic the Clown, Richard Jefferson Airplane

It's the battle of the Atlantic Division powerhouses (an oxymoron just last season), as the 4-1 New Jersey Nets are hosting our very own unbeaten Boston Celtics ...

The bench is running a bit thin, however, as Parker Posey is still absent (back spasms) and The Scals of Justice did not make the trip into Joisey as he's recovering from the effects of a mild concussion from last night's inadvertant hit versus the Atlanta Hawks. This means that there will be even more pressure on our starting five (Perkins is the only one averaging less than 30 minutes a game so far) to carry the load and will this club to another victory.

FIRST QUARTER

Collins wins the opening tap against Perkins, as Kidd winds up with the ball; he tries to pass inside to Jason but it goes right off KG's chest and bounces over to Pierce. Paul then passes upcourt to Allen, and he takes it in right over Krstic for the layup (2-0 11:39).

Jefferson is then fouled by Perk whilst driving to the basket, so he steps to the line and makes both free throws for the early tie ... Richard is now 48-for-49 in foul shots for the season (wow).

Meanwhile, Garnett misses the turnaround jumper and the ball bounces up over the backboard and out of bounds; New Jersey regains possession, and Kidd quickly throws up the alleyoop pass to Carter for the reverse dunk (2-4 10:51).

At the other end, Ray misses the three-point attempt, and KG ties up Vince going for the loose rebound; a jump ball is called, as Kevin wins the tap and passes out to Rondo, who tries the pullup jumper over Kidd and buries it (4-all 10:15).

Two free throws by Allen puts the Celts ahead at the 9:14 mark, then Carter is double-teamed under the basket, so he tries to kick the ball out to Krstic. However, his plan backfires, as Pierce picks off the pass (that's the Nets' third turnover already) and motors up the floor; he tries to take it all the way in against Kidd for the layup, but can't score, as Krstic comes away with the miss. He gets the ball to Jefferson, who passes back to the trailer Kidd and he knocks down the long jumpshot (6-all 8:52).

Pierce landed hard on the floor after missing that layup, and is now holding his left hip (please not another injury), but still goes for the spin move around Jefferson on the next Celtics possession. Kidd comes over to help, so Paul has to pass out to Rondo, who swings it around to Ray with Carter right on him. Vince is able to knock the ball out of his hands out of bounds, so that means the C's have just five seconds left on the shot clock; Allen inbounds to KG, who (knowing that he has to launch one) tries the deep jumper that misses. Ray is almost able to tip it in (that would've been a nice play), but Krstic comes away with the rebound and gets the ball to Kidd, who dribbles upcourt for the Nets fast break. He tries to pull up over Rondo, and the shot is wide right, but the refs bail him out by calling a foul so Kidd gets to the line and makes both free throws (6-8 8:10).

At the other end, Rondo ends up holding the ball for a long time as the Celts try to set up their offense ... he finally passes inside to Perkins, but he's immediately double-teamed, so he has to kick it out to Pierce behind the three-point line. Paul tries to dribble in a little closer, but doesn't realize the time and can't get a shot off as the team is whistled for the 24-second violation (that was a sloppy sequence); New Jersey regains possession, and Vince buries the fallaway "jay" over Ray (6-10 7:32).

Allen answers with a three-pointer to get Boston back within one, then Krstic misses the shot and Perk grabs the rebound. He passes upcourt to Rondo, who finds KG under the basket where he's fouled by Nenad and makes both free throws to put the C's ahead once again (11-10 6:33).

Jefferson and KG trade baskets, then Vince loses Ray off the dribble (almost like Allen just stopped and gave up on the play) and nails the open jumper (13-14 5:49).

Pierce tries to answer but misses the three-point shot (Boston is shooting just 4-for-11 from the field), as Kidd gets the rebound and makes a fullcourt pass to Jefferson who is all alone for the layup (13-16 5:25); the Nets are currently 27th in the league in field-goal percentage, but are shooting almost 70 percent (6-9 FG) thus far.

As for the Celts, they're still having trouble finding their scoring touch, as KG misses the outside jumper ... but Krstic and Jefferson both go up for rebound and end up tipping it into the basket! Wow, that's pretty embarrassing, as Perkins is given credit for the hoop since he was closest to the rim (15-16 4:55).

Carter then drives to the basket and is bumped by Pierce (his second foul) with 4:35 left in the quarter, as Allan Tony comes in to replace him and immediately hacks Jefferson as he's driving along the baseline for a layup attempt. That puts Richard at the line, where he makes both foul shots (15-18 4:26).

Ray buries another trey to tie the score at 18 apiece (Boston's shooting a little better now at 6-for-13 from the field), but at the other end Kidd eludes Rondo - thanks to a mean pick set by Collins - and knocks down the pullup jumper (18-20 3:50).

Ray scores again (he's got 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting!), then Krstic sets the screen on Tony to free up Jefferson, and he takes it all the way in over KG for the layup (20-22 3:20); he now has 10 points (I still say he's the most overrated player in the NBA, I don't care).

Garnett answers with a baseline jumper, then Perk is whistled for a defensive three-second violation, and Jefferson makes the free throw to put New Jersey back up one with 2:45 to go; it's still Nets ball, but Rondo strips Jefferson and dives to the floor to prevent the ball from rolling out of bounds (you'd better believe that's a Tommy Point). He gets it to Garnett, who swings the ball around to Ray for the three-point shot; it misses (damn!) and Carter snags the rebound. He gets it to Kidd, who passes back to Vince and he pulls up - with KG right in his face - and buries the shot (22-25 2:10)! New Jersey is shooting 75 percent (9-12 FG) from the floor ...

At the other end, Tony Allen throws up an airball (!), as the C's just can't seem to get into a rhythm; Hugh Laurie takes the opportunity to come in and replace Rondo, while Kidd takes a breather and My Other Cousin Darrell Armstrong comes into the game. Meanwhile, Vince drives along the baseline adn the defense collapses on him, so he throws a pass out to Jefferson ... Now, Richard is standing behind the three-point line when he catches the pass, but is somehow able to take it all the way in from there uncontested and throws down the powerful one-handed slam (22-27 1:33)! I'm not used to seeing such lackadaisal defense from the Celtics now, I've become spoiled.

Celts again take a lot of time setting up their offense, but House knocks down a deep jumper to beat the shot clock (maybe his offensive performance will carry over and he can solve Boston's shooting woes). At the other end, Carter makes a nice pass inside to Antoine "Time To" Wright (just into the game) and he tries to score on the reverse layup, but misses the shot.

KG grabs the loose rebound (just his first) and gets the ball upcourt to Rondo, who slices down the lane before handing it off to Tony. He has his layup attempt blocked by Vince (looks like it's gonna be a long night for Tony) and Jefferson collects the loose ball. He gets it to Darrell, who takes it back the other way and passes to Bostjan Snackbar, but he knocks down Ray trying to make a move to the basket and earns an offensive foul call.

Boston regains possession, and KG backs down Jamaal MaglorieHole before being fouled and making both free throws (26-27 :17.9) to get the Celts within one ... Carter misses a jumper (with Garnett all over him) in the closing moments, as the score remains 26 to 27 at the end of one.

SECOND QUARTER

Rondo, House, KG, and the two Allens are in to start the second quarter (I guess we're playing some more small ball), as a layup by Rajon puts Boston back ahead. At the other end, Magliore misses the shot and Garnett grabs the rebound; he passes up ahead to Tony, who drives to the basket before being fouled by Vince. That gets him to the line, where he makes one-of-two free throws (29-27 10:26).

Wright answers with a three-pointer to put New Jersey back on top, then Ray tries the pullup jumper over Wright and misses. Carter gets the rebound and passes off to Armstrong, who brings it upcourt and passes to Nachbar standing in the paint, where he takes it in for the layup attempt that misses badly, but the refs bail him out by calling the foul on KG!

What a ridiculous call, as Kevin didn't even touch him (replays confirm this) and KG voices his displeasure which earns him a technical foul to boot; Gorman remarks "That's really weak when you make a bad call and then call a technical" (and remember, he's the non-homer of the two announcers!) as Darrell makes one free throw, then Nachbar gets his turn and makes one-of-two foul shots (29-32 9:42).

Pierce coms back into the game at this point for Rondo, then House makes a nice bounce pass inside to Tony who finishes with the dunk ... but hold on a second, the refs swoop in again and say that Tony stepped out of bounds before making the shot, so they waive off the basket (sheesh). New Jersey regains possession, and Vince hits the fallaway jumper over Tony (29-34 9:07).

Garnett banks in a shot over Jefferson (10 PTS, 2 REB) to get the C's back within three, while at the other end Carter tries another fallaway j (with Tony in his face) but this time he front-rims it and House takes the rebound. He gets the ball upcourt to Ray, who wants to drive to the hoop but Magliore fouls KG away from the ball and Glenn Rivers M.D. takes the opportunity to call a timeout with 8:25 remaining in the half.

When play resumes, Glen "Macrosomia" Davis sees some early action, coming in to replace Tony; meanwhile, KG drives down the lane before kicking out to an open House for the three-point basket (34-all 8:19).

Jefferson then misses an off-balance shot over Ray, and Garnett gets himself another rebound; he gets the ball to House, who dribbles upcourt before passing back to Kevin. He has Magliore on him, but instead of trying to force his way to the basket, he instead passes inside to Pierce for the short turnaround jumper over Wright (36-34 7:42); that was very generous of Kevin, as Paul needs to heat up (2 PTS, 1-3 FG).

Nachbar then misses a three-point shot and KG grabs the board; he finds Pierce again, who's tied up by Wright while going for the shot. That puts him at the line with 7:10 on the clock, where he makes the first free throw but misses the second. However, Davis comes away with the offensive rebound, and kicks it out Ray who swings the ball around to Pierce for an open three-point shot. Unfortunately, he misses the shot, but the loose rebound bounces right into Ray's hands and he immediately puts up the shot; that too misses (!) and Kidd comes down with the rebound.

He pushes it upcourt, and tires for the bounce pass inside to Jefferson, who proceeds to blow the layup - told you he was overrated - and Garnett gets the rebound (his fifth). He gets the ball to House, who tries to make a fullcourt pass up ahead to Pierce, but Wright gets a hand on it and Kidd comes away with the loose ball (dammit)! So, we go back the other way, as Jason passes to Wright who is all alone for the dunk (37-36 6:37); well, that was anticlimactic.

Garnett then tries for the hook shot over Collins but comes up short (he's 3-for-8 from the field); however, Davis grabs another offensive board and is fouled from behind by Jefferson going for the putback, so it's "Big Baby" to the line where he makes both free throws (39-36 6:13); Perk comes into the game now, while KG goes to the bench for his first rest of the night.

Kidd hits an outside jumpwe to get New Jersey within one, while at the other end Perkins tries to lob a pass inside to Pierce but it's too high (it actually hits the rim, so I guess that counts as a shot attempt!) and Wright comes away with the "rebound"; he gets it to Kidd, and he takes it all the way to the hoop but at the last second kicks the ball out to a wide-open Nachbar for the trey (39-41 5:31).

Ray is then triple-teamed under the basket (!) so he kicks it out to House, who swings the ball around to Pierce at the top of the key, and Paul drives down the lane where he's bumped by Wright but is still able to knock down the shot! He makes the free throw to complete the three-point play (42-41 5:10).

Nachbar then misses a three-point shot, and Pierce pulls down the rebound before taking it upcourt himself and finding Ray spotting up; his three-point attempt also fails to go in, but Davis is right there for the offensive board and immediately goes back up for the layup attempt ... that too misses (!) but he gets another rebound and (with the Nets players now surrounding him) he kicks it out to a wide-open House for a three-pointer that actually goes in (45-41 4:38)! Heinsohn: "Big Baby is making a statement, I'll let him outta the crib anytime!"

Jefferson quickly scores, then Pierce misses the turnaround jumper over Richard, but Davis comes up with yet another offensive board and this time he's able to score on the putback (47-43 3:56)! He's making the most of his newfound playing time, that's for sure!

At the other end, Nachbar has his shot blocked by Perkins, but Krstic recovers the loose ball and gets it to Jefferson, who just hurls himself at the basket and the refs call Perk for the foul (lame); Richard makes both free throws to get his team back within a basket (47-45 3:35) ... However, it's starting to look like the Celts are getting into a rhythm now, as Perk hits the fallaway jumper over Go Fix Malik-ey Faucet Allen to get the lead back up to four with three minutes to go in the half.

Malik then misses the shot, and Ray pulls down the rebound (Boston is now outrebounding New Jersey 25 to 12); he takes it back the other way, then passes to Perk, who sends it over to Paul and he buries the trey (52-45 2:33)!

The Nets call a timeout, as KG comes back into the game to replace Davis; a good night thus far for "Big Baby", with just four points but seven rebounds (five of them offensive!) ... Kidd misses a shot, but the loose rebound goes of Garnett out of bounds; New Jersey retains possession, as Jefferson misses the outside jumper, but Malik grabs the offensive board and kicks it out to Kidd. He gets it back to Jefferson, who is fouled by Perkins taking the ball to the hoop, earning himself a trip to the line where he makes both free throws (52-47 2:09).

At the other end, Pierce is fouled by Nachbar, so he gets a chance at the charity strip with 2:03 remaining in the half; he makes the first free throw, but misses the second ... Nothing to fear, however, as KG gets the offensive rebound (Boston is just dominating the boards right now) and kicks it out to Pierce; he's double-teamed, so he passes to Rondo (just into the game for House) and the point guard finds Perk underneath the basket for the dunk (55-47 1:42)!

Nets are able to cut the lead down to five in the closing moments, but KG hits a turnaround "jay" over Nachbar at the buzzer to close out the half (nice) and give Boston a 59-52 advantage ... Speaking of advantages, the Celts took advantage of the Nets tonight on the glass, with 28 rebounds (nine offensive) to New Jersey's measly fifteen. Let's hope that trend continues in the second half!

THIRD QUARTER

KG makes a nice pass inside to Pierce for the layup (who loudly proclaims to the referees that Jefferson also got a piece of his arm) to open the quarter, then Krstic misses a shot, but Collins takes down the offensive rebound and kicks it out to Kidd. He finds Carter, who (in turn) swings the ball around to Jefferson for the open jumpshot; however, that also misses, and Garnett collects the rebound.

Celts take control, as Pierce makes the nice pass inside to Garnett, but he backrims the shot; Kidd takes down the carom, and quickly gets the ball up ahead to Jefferson, who tries to take it in over Pierce but misses the layup. Perkins comes away with the rebound and passes to Ray, as he takes it back the other way; Vince has him covered, so he gives the ball back to Perkins, who muscles his way into the paint and finishes with the hook shot over Krstic (63-52 10:28).

Jefferson then clanks a three-point attempt, which finds its way into Allen's hands to start the Celetics fast break ... He takes it coast-to-coast for the layup attempt, but is fouled by Krstic before he can convert the basket, so he must settle for two free throws instead (65-52 10:01).

At the other end, Carter is fouled by Perkins (his fourth) so now he gets a chance at the line, but can only come up with one-of-two free throws (65-53 9:47); that signals Kendrick's return to the bench, as "Big Baby" is back on the floor.

Meanwhile, a layup by Pierce gets the lead up to fourteen with 7:40 on the clock. Jefferson is then called for a travelling violation (New Jersey's ninth turnover) as Boston regains possession ... However Pierce misses the fallaway jumper over Wright, and Kidd comes away with the loose board. He takes it upcourt himself, then pulls up for the short jumper; that misses the mark, and Ray grabs the rebound.

We head back the other way now, as Allen passes inside to KG underneath the basket, but he has his layup attempt blocked from behind by Magliore as the ball sails out of bounds; it's still Boston possession with 8 seconds left on the shot clock, and Ray inbounds to Rondo who swings it around to Paul, and he tries for the pullup jumper at the free throw line.

That also misses (the Celts are shooting just 3-for-10 in the quarter thus far) and Jefferson grabs the rebound; he gets the ball upcourt to Kidd, and Jason makes the bounce pass inside to Magliore who appears to have an easy layup ... but not so fast, as Davis comes in and blocks his shot (the Nets are now 0-for-7 shooting in the quarter!).

Ray recovers the loose ball and tries to make the pass to a hustling Davis, but the ball is behind him and goes out of bounds (Boston's eighth turnover ... Man, this is just some ugly ball thus far, as Kidd is fouled by "Big Baby" and makes both free throws with 6:07 remaining to get New Jersey within twelve (Nets have only scored three points in the quarter thus far, as they haven't made a shot yet). At the other end, Pierce is able to elude Wright off the dribble and takes it in over Jefferson for reverse layup, PLUS he is fouled and makes the free throw to complete the three-point play (70-55 5:39); Heinsohn: "Boy, that kid Wright is wrong tonight!"

Kidd then backrims a three-point attempt, and Garnett scores the rebound. He passes to Rondo, who takes it upcourt and finds Ray at the top of the key; he tries to make a move to the basket, but three Nets come at him so he has to pull it back out. Of the three, Kidd elects to stay on him, but KG sets a pick that takes him out of the picture, so Ray pulls up and hits the jumper (72-55 4:56).

Wright then misses an open 15-footer (Nets are now 0-for-9!) and Ray takes care of the rebound; he dribbles his way up the floor and again drives to the rim, but this time passes off to Davis. "Big Baby" can't bank in the shot, however, and Kidd grabs the loose board; he quickly takes it back the other way and tries to make the bounce pass to Jefferson, but it goes right off KG's leg to disrupt the play. Wright goes for the loose ball, but Davis dives right on top of him (I bet Wright immediately regretted that decision) to force a jump ball!

Nice hustle by the rookie, as he wins the tap ... Celts regain possession, and Rondo ends up passing out of the double-team to Pierce for the three-point basket (75-55 3:54)!

Now that's more like it, as the Nets call for time ... When play resumes, Vince takes it in against two defenders for the layup and New Jersey's first field goal of the quarter (1-10 FG). However, the Celts don't just stand around and congratulate them, as Ray quickly gets the ball up ahead to Pierce who buries another trey (78-57 3:19)! That's 23 points on the night for Paul, as the Celts (in comparison) are shooting 7-for-15 in the quarter!

Wright then tries to make a pass to Carter, but Vince wasn't paying attention and can only watch as the ball sails out of bounds; Celts regain possession, and Pierce (feeling hot) goes for the pullup jumper with Wright all over him. The shot misses, but KG controls the offensive board and kicks it out to Ray; he quickly gives it up to Rondo, and in turn he swings the ball around to Paul who has now migrated beyond the three-point line. He goes for the shot as Wright has a hand in his face, which causes the shot to miss badly (calm down Paul, don't got nuts with the shooting now).

Kidd grabs the rebound and quickly gets it upcourt to Wright, who makes the pass to Carter and he drives down the lane to draw in the defense before making the bounce pass to Josh Boone and Crockett Club underneath the basket ... Now, it looks like Davis gets another nice block, but the refs call for the foul (boo) and Boone steps to the line with 2:18 left in the quarter but misses both free throws! Man, these guys are falling apart right now!

It's still a 21-point game with 1:30 on the clock, when Boone sets a pick on Ray, and that leaves Carter free to take it down the lane where he finishes with the strong one-hand dunk over Pierce. However, as soon as he lands on the floor, he comes up holding his right ankle (oh man). Wright immediately fouls Ray as Vince is writhing on the floor clutching his ankle in pain; trainers come to attend, as replays show that Vince just rolled it on the landing (didn't step on anyone's sneaker or anything).

Vince is eventually helped off the court (gingerly trying to put some weight on his ankle), as New Jersey is over the limit, so Ray gets to the line and makes both foul shots (82-61 1:19).

Kidd and Allen trade three-point baskets (Ray now has 23 points on 6-for-13 shooting), then Nachbar throws up an absolute brick (barely grazed the rim) and KG pulls down the rebound (12 PTS, 12 REB). He proceeds to get the ball upcourt to Ray, who finds Rondo in the corner; Rajon responds by swinging it around to Pierce at the top of the key, where he makes the pass back to Garnett who concludes this brilliant bit of ball movement iwth a bullet pass inside to Davis. "Big Baby" is immediately double-teamed by the Nets, but still manages to score on the layup (87-64 :11.4).

Wright hits a jumper with Ray all over him at the buzzer (not sure how he got that off), but it hardly seems to matter as the Celts are dominating in rebounds (39 to 23) and assists (22 to 13) en route to an 87-66 advantage.

FOURTH QUARTER

Pierce, Ray, Tony, Davis, and House are in to open the final quarter ... To start things off, Davis looks to have earned himself another charge call as Nachbar comes barrelling into him going for the layup attempt. However, the refs side with the home team (lame) and put Nachbar at the line, where he can only make one-of-two free throws. Meanwhile, on the Celts' first possession of the fourth quarter, House misses a three-point shot, but "Big Baby" comes away with the offensive board over two Nets players and finishes with the no-look pass (!!) inside to a cutting House who scores the layup while being fouled by Wright! The Boston bench is going apoplectic, as Eddie makes free throw to complete the three-point play (90-67 11:18).

At the other end, Sean "Stifler" Williams is fouled by House and makes both of his free throws, then Ray misses a pullup jumper over Wright and Sean clears the rebound. He passes to Armstrong, who gets the ball upcourt to Jefferson and he passes inside to Nachbar; the big man makes a spin move to elude Tony, and Davis reaches in for the steal but is instead called for the foul as Bostjan scores on the layup ... That's Glen's sixth foul, so KG comes back into the game to replace him (great night for the rookie) while Nachbar makes the free throw to complete the three-point play (90-72 10:32).

I guess the Nets are not ready to call it quits just yet ... Kidd makes the alleyoop pass to Sean for the dunk, as New Jersey has run off six straight points to get within fourteen with 7:30 remaining in the game. Armstrong then plays some tough defense on Rondo in the backcourt, forcing him to lose control of the ball; KG must go pick it up, as no one has crossed the halfcourt line and it looks like Boston is going to be called for the rare 8-second violation, however the refs grant Doc a timeout at the last moment (whew!).

When play resumes, Ray is able to inbound the ball to Rondo, and he's immediately double-teamed; Rajon's having a hard time getting himself free, but manages to escape and finds Ray all alone for another three-pointer (95-78 7:10) ... A big hoop to break up New Jersey's momentum, as Kidd airballs his own three-point shot (!) and Pierce collects the loose ball; he tries to make the fullcourt pass to Rondo up ahead, but he can't control it as Armstrong basically pulls a pass interference from the NFL and shoulders Rajon right out of the play (where's the call on that?!?). That gives the Nets back possession, and Darrell passes to a wide-open Nachbar who instead gets it right back to Armstrong behind the three-point line. House is sagging off him, so Darrell goes for the three-point shot; it misses, but the refs call Eddie for the foul (!) which gives Armstrong three free-throw attempts and he makes all of 'em (95-81 6:34).

Now the Nets are coming on strong again, as Jefferson hits the pullup jumper over Pierce to get his team within 12 with 5:30 to go. Rondo then blows past Armstrong and tries to go in for the layup, but Nachbar rejects the shot (Boston is shooting 3-for-10 from the field in the quarter) and Kidd comes away with the loose ball. He takes it upcourt and (with no Celtic covering him) goes for the 15-foot "jay", but it's wide left and KG swallows up another rebound. He gets the ball to Rondo, who crosses halfcourt before calling timeout with 5:09 to go (I was afraid the refs might whistle him for an offensive foul as Darrell does a big flop job right before Rondo signals for the timeout).

That gets Heinsohn fired up ("Boy, if these officials let them do what they're doing right now, flopping on everything and then call them on the Celtics, there oughta be an investigation!") ... when play resumes, KG tries to back down Sean and Jefferson comes over to help, so he kicks it out to an open Pierce and he buries the three-pointer (98-83 4:53)! The captain to the rescue! O captain, my captain!!!

Jefferson hits the difficult shot over Pierce (still over-rated) to cut the lead down to 13, then KG tries the turnaround jumper over Sean and misses. Wright grabs the rebound and gets the ball to Kidd, who quickly gets it upcourt and executes a perfect bounce pass inside to Williams who finishes with the layup over Garnett (98-87 3:43) ... Two free throws by Kevin with 3:30 left on the clock gives Boston a little more breathing room; Rondo then knocks the ball away from Kidd and Pierce comes up with it (hooray defense!). Paul quickly gets the ball back in Rondo's hands, who looks to have an open path to the basket; however, Darrell comes in at the last moment and blocks his layup attempt from behind!

That's not a bad move from a 60-year-old point guard ... Anyway, Jefferson gets the loose ball as we head back the other way. He passes to Kidd for the give-and-go back to Richard, but he fumbles the ball trying to make a spin move on Pierce (ha HA!) and Williams ends up fouling House going for the loose ball.

Big turnover there, as House heads to the line and makes both foul shots (102-87 2:58); the Celts are now 24-of-27 in free throws tonight. Not too shabby ... However, Armstrong answers with the three-pointer (this guy is starting to annoy me) to get the lead back down to twelve. Darrell then fouls Rondo going for the steal, but his strategy pays off as Rajon can only manage to make one-of-two free throws (103-90 2:41).

Kidd hits the outside jumper, then Pierce finds himself being covered by the much-smaller Armstrong. He tries to take advantage, but misses the shot; luckily, Jefferson jumps too soon for the rebound, so that leaves Rajon a chance to snare the offensive board and lay it in (105-92 2:08).

Nice play by Rondo, as it looks like we're finally in the clear ... Uh oh, Darrell hits another trey, then Jefferson blocks a layup attempt by Rondo (guess that last play had him miffed) and Sean collects the loose ball. He gives it to Kidd to start the fast break, and Jason finds a hustling Williams with the alleyoop pass for the strong two-hand slam (105-97 1:42).

The crowd is definitely awake now, but Boston is not calling a timeout as Pierce dribbles some time off the clock before making his move on Jefferson; that draws in the defense, so he kicks it out to Rondo, who swings the ball around to Ray open behind the three-point line and he gets the shot off with one second left ... which turns out to be an airball (d'oh!).

That's a 24-second violation, as the Nets still have time to make things unpleasant ... After a New Jersey timeout, Kidd tries to take it inside over Garnett but comes up empty and Williams can't score on the putback attempt. Rondo comes away with the rebound and finds Pierce up the floor, who then passes to KG and he quickly gives the ball to Ray (Nets don't wanna foul him). Allen gives it back to Pierce and Jefferson is finally forced to commit the foul, so Paul heads to the line and calmly sinks both free throws (107-97 :53.1).

That pretty much seals the deal, as the Celts "edge out" a win, 112 to 101.

FINAL SCORE: Boston 112, New Jersey 101

GAME RATING:

12
PULLING A WIGGUM

BOSTON TOP PERFORMERS:

• Pierce: 40 MIN, 28 PTS (9-19 FG, 4-7 3PTers), 4 AST, 2 STL
• R. Allen: 48 MIN, 27 PTS (7-17 FG, 4-8 3PTers, 9-10 FT), 10 REB, 5 AST
• Garnett: 42 MIN, 18 PTS (5-14 FG, 8-8 FT), 14 REB, 6 AST, 3 STL
• House: 23 MIN, 13 PTS (4-7 FG)
• Rondo: 37 MIN, 11 PTS (5-11 FG), 5 REB, 5 AST, 1 TO
  

NEW JERSEY TOP PERFORMERS:

• Jefferson: 42 MIN, 28 PTS (7-18 FG, 14-15 FT), 4 REB
• Carter: 30 MIN, 17 PTS (8-13 FG), 4 REB, 3 AST
• Kidd: 38 MIN, 17 PTS (5-14 FG, 6-6 FT), 12 AST, 6 REB, 2 BLK
  

TONIGHT'S COG (CELT OF THE GAME): Paul Pierce

POST-GAME NOTES:

• Rivers was actually able to coach in this game after all, flying in from Illinois to be with the team mere hours after attending his father's funeral ... say what you will about the guy, but Doc certainly is dedicated to his craft.
• The Celtics were shooting nearly 50 percent (30-62 FG) through three quarters, but that dipped down to about 30 percent (6-17 FG) in the fourth. As for the Nets, they were hovering around the 50-percent mark in the final quarter(11-23 FG) to make a game of it.
  
• Tonight's Tommy Award winner was "Big Baby" (17 MIN, 6 PTS, 2-5 FG, 8 REB, 6 OFF REB, 2 STL, 1 BLK).
• Tonight is Kendrick Perkins' 23rd birthday ... Happy birthday Perk!
  

Recap: Game 4 (vs Atlanta)

BOSTON CELTICS VS ATLANTA HAWKS

November 10, 2007
7:30 PM EST (Comcast SportsNet)
TD Banknorth Garden (Boston, MA)
Announcers: Mike AnGormanagement, Tommy "Want to Touch the" Heinsohn and Bob "Cheap" Cousy ; Gary PoonTanguay and Donny Darko (in-studio) ; Greg "Old Saint" Dickerson (sideline reporter)
Celtics Starting Lineup: Rayden, I've Got a Rajon Rondo, Perk'd Off, Kevvy G, Da Troof
Hawks Starting Lineup: Joe "Mama" Johnson, Turn Up The Acie Law IV, Al "Dirty" Horford, Drake and Josh Smith, Starvin' Marvin Williams

Celtics fans are on top of the world right now (and why shouldn't they join Pats fans and Sox fans up there?), as our favorite club is a perfect 3-0 while all of our wildest expectations appear to be coming true ...

Meanwhile, this young Hawks team in town tonight has been playing the role of "giant killers" early in the season, knocking off (supposed) powerhouse clubs like Dallas and Phoenix ... Will Boston be the next target on their hit list?

FIRST QUARTER

It's Perkins versus Smith for the opening tip-off, as Josh slaps the ball so hard that he sends it all the way to the opposite end of the court out of bounds; that makes it Boston possession, and Pierce loses Marvin off the dribble before knocking down the pullup jumper to open the night's scoring (2-0 11:45).

Horford then misses a fallaway jumper over Perk, but Law comes away with the offensive board and gets the ball to Johnson, who passes back inside to Horford for the layup attempt; however, Perkins blocks the shot from behind and KG comes away with the loose ball. He gets it to Rondo, who dribbles upcourt before passing back to Kendrick, and the big man tries to lob a pass inside to Garnett. Unfortunately, the pass is a bit low and Horford comes away with a steal. He sends it back the other way to Smith, who drives down the lane as Perk comes over to cover him, but that leaves Johnson wide open in the corner for the 15-footer (2-all 10:50).

At the other end, KG is double-teamed and tries to make a crosscourt pass to Pierce, but it goes off his fingertips and out of bounds; Atlanta regains possession, and Johnson works the baseline before kicking it out to Smith for the jumper (2-4 10:07).

KG answers with a layup over Horford off the nice pass from Rajon, then Smith tries for the pullup "jay" over Perkins and misses. Kevin grabs the rebound and gets the ball to Rondo for the fastbreak, who then passes back to KG and he pulls up from just inside the three-point line and buries the jumper (6-4 9:25).

Smith then misses another shot, and Garnett corrals another rebound; again he gives it to Rajon, as our young point guard dribbles coast to coast and tries to take it in over Law for the layup, but Smith comes in for the monster rejection (ball went all the way back to halfcourt); KG recovers and finds Pierce, but he's immediately double-teamed and is forced to try and get the ball back to Garnett. However, Law picks off the pass to start the Hawk's fast break, and he finishes with a nice bounce pass to Marvin for the one-hand slam (6-all 8:40); impressive.

Ray hits a three-pointer to put Boston back ahead, then Smith tries to make the spin move around Perkins but loses control as the ball rolls out of bounds; the Celts regain possession, but Rondo misses a layup attempt and Horford comes away with the loose rebound. He gets the ball up ahead to Smith, who passes inside to Marvin for the layup plus he's fouled by Allen (9-8 7:39); that gives Williams a chance to tie the score from the free throw line, but he misses the foul shot and KG snares the rebound (his fifth already!).

He passes up ahead to Rondo, who loses Law off the pick from Pierce; trying to find a way to the basket now that he's covered by the slower Horford, Rajon inside passes back to KG (now covered by the point guard Law off the switch!). Sensing an easy basket, Kevin tries to score over the little guy but misses the shot and Smith pulls down the rebound; he quickly gets the ball upcourt to Marvin, but he misses a pullup jumper and Perkins comes away with the carom.

Now we're headed back the other way, as Rondo gets the ball to Pierce, who executes a behind-the-back dribble to elude Marvin and goes all the way in for a layup (11-8 6:52).

Johnson then misses the outside shot and KG controls another rebound, while at the other end Ray is double-teamed so he makes the nice pass inside to Garnett for the two-hand jam (13-8 6:21).

Marvin scores on the layup (he has six of Atlanta's 10 points), then Johnson strips Perk and Smith recovers the loose ball; he passes up ahead to a hustling Johnson, as he fakes taking it at KG for the layup attempt, but instead lays it down to Horford who finishes with a strong dunk (13-12 5:33).

Gorman notes that the crowd has been quieted by the Hawks' quick start (it's so quiet you can easily hear Glenn Rivers M.D. yelling at Perk to "run the floor"), as KG throws the upfake to get Horford in the air and then absorbs the contact to draw a foul call; that puts Garnett at the line, where he makes one-of-two free throws (14-12 5:10).

Josh Childress of the Corn comes in at this point to replace Marvin, while Law makes a nice pass inside to Horford for the layup over KG to tie the score at 14 apiece with five minutes left in the quarter. However, the C's answer quickly, as Pierce lobs a pass inside to Kevin, then (losing Johnson and cutting down the lane) he gets the ball back and finishes with a layup (16-14 4:42).

Rondo then gets a hand on a pass by Law (intended for Childress) and KG comes away with the loose ball; he gets it up ahead to Pierce, who tries to pass inside to Perkins, but Johnson picks it off for the steal (Boston's fifth turnover). Joe brings it upcourt himself before getting the ball to Smith, and he finds Horford under the basket for the layup (16-all 4:01); the Celts are shooting an impressive 70 percent from the field (7-10 FG) but those turnovers are keeping the Hawks in this game.

A basket by Garnett (9 PTS, 6 REB) puts Boston back ahead, but then Horford is left all alone and he willingly obliges with a jumpshot (18-all 2:49). Pierce tries to answer with a fallaway jumper over Johnson but comes up short; however, Perk grabs the offensive board and passes out to Garnett, who almost loses the ball (C's are pretty sloppy thus far) but is able to recover and hits the 12-foot shot with Horford all over him (20-18 2:07).

At the other end, Horford is fouled by Ray (his second) with 1:46 on the clock, so Allan Tony comes into the game to replace him ... Doc takes the opportunity for a couple other substitutions, as Hugh Laurie and The Scals of Justice replace Rondo and Perk respectively, while Al heads to the line and makes one-of-two foul shots to get Atlanta within one. Garnett is then double-teamed underneath the basket, but doesn't sweat it as Number Five throws in the one-handed hook over Horford (22-19 1:28); Kevin now has 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting!

Tyronn Lue-Saurus Rex then misses a pullup jumper, but Horford grabs the offensive rebound and passes out to Smith. Josh proceeds to blow by Scals and tries to finish with the two-hand slam, but he flubs it (!) and KG winds up with another board (his seventh). He passes upcourt to House, who gets the ball inside to Scalabrine and he tries to return the favor against Smith (snicker) but instead is called for the offensive foul for pushing off Josh.

The Hawks regain possession, however Childress throws up a wild shot that careens off the backboard and Garnett collects yet another rebound (Gorman: "He's gonna have a double-double in the first quarter if he doesn't watch it!"). He gets the ball to Pierce, who swings it around to Tony and he (in turn) gives it right back to Paul, as he drives past Marvin and scores on the layup (24-19 :18.6).

Smith misses a three-point attempt in the closing moments, as the Celts remain ahead by five (24-19) at the end of one.

SECOND QUARTER

Tony fouls Smith to open the second quarter, but he misses both free throws and KG grabs yet another board (he has nine of Boston's 13 rebounds); he gives the ball to House who brings it upcourt, then passes it back to Garnett as he's covered by SheldonBenjamin Williams.

Not fazed in the slightest, Kevin just blows right past him and finishes with the amazing one-hand dunk (that sent Lue scurrying for cover), but the refs waive off the basket as they say Garnett hooked Shelden with the arm so it's an offensive foul (ludicrous).

Neither Kevin nor Doc are happy with the call, as Atlanta regains possession, but Marvin can't control the pass from Childress; Tony picks up the loose ball and takes it coast to coast for the layup attempt, but Smith appears for another monster rejection (this guy can jump). Luckily, KG is able to recover and passes back to House to reset the offense. Eddie then passes back to Garnett and GOOD LORD the refs call him for another offensive foul!

I have no idea where that call came from, as Sheldon was reaching over KG's back trying to steal the ball, and somehow Garnett did something wrong ... Seriously, WTF? Anyway, that's Garnett's second foul, so Perk is back in the game while our announcers have the following exchange:

Cousy: I don't think I've ever seen that happen, officials calling two cheap offensive fouls [on a superstar] back to back ...
Heinsohn: Nothing ... surprises me. NOW.
Cousy: [laughs] And that doesn't surprise me!

When play resumes, Perk blocks a layup attempt by Smith, but the refs then call House for the foul trying to take the loose ball away from Childress (oh come ON). Tommy proclaims that call "weak", as Marvin is able to elude House (Eddie's probably afraid of being called for another phantom foul) and goes all the way in for a layup (24-21 10:37).

At the other end, Marvin is whistled for a foul trying to defend Pierce, which draws a sarcastic round of applause from the crowd (Heinsohn: "Now it's gonna become a travesty, they're gonna be calling anything now, and this is ridiculous!"). Pierce then misses a fallaway "jay" over Johnson, and Lue comes away with the loose rebound; he brings it upcourt, then finds Joe spotting up in the corner and he buries the trey to again tie the score (24-all 10:12).

I'm getting a little nervous now, as Pierce miss a layup attempt (!) and Sheldon grabs the rebound; he finds Lue who taks it back the other way, then passes to Johnson who tries for the pullup jumper with Tony in his face. The ball bounces around the rim a couple times before rolling out (whew!) and Perk pulls down the board; he throws it up ahead to Tony, who wants to get the ball to House, but throws a lazy pass that Johnson easily picks off and Joe ends up getting tripped up by T-Allen trying to dribble back the other way (ugly stuff here).

During the stoppage of play, Ray comes back into the game to replace Paul with 9:31 on the clock. Meanwhile, it's still Atlanta ball, but Johnson misses the shot and Scals comes away with the rebound. He gives it to House, who pushes it up the floor before finding Ray in the corner; he immediately makes himself useful by slicing between two defenders and finishing with the easy layup (26-24 9:11); Boston is now shooting 12-for-20 from the field, and Gorman notes that the "Not Big Three" have combined to take 17 of those 20 field-goal attempts tonight. Hmmm ...

A basket by Childress (the Hawks are shooting 5-for-8 from the floor in the quarter) puts the dirty birds ahead by one with 7:25 remaining in the half. At the other end, Ray avoids Johnson and knocks down a pullup jumper (32-31 7:07); the Celts are shooting just 33 percent (2-6 FG) in the quarter, with Allen scoring both of those baskets.

Shelden is then called for the offensive foul as he knocks down Ray (he's doing it for us on the defensive end as well!); Boston regains possession, as Pierce comes back into the game to replace Tony, and Ray passes to Paul who quickly swings the ball around to an open House for the three-pointer (35-31 6:31).

At the other end, House fouls Lue at the 6:16 mark and KG is back in to replace Scals during the stoppage of play; meanwhile, Lue heads to the line and makes both free throws to get the Hawks back within two. Ray then drives past Childress and takes it in for the layup but misses the shot; however, he gets his own rebound (Boston is outrebounding Atlanta 17 to 8) and goes right back up for the layup (37-33 5:57).

Lue then misses an outside shot, and Perk gets himself a rebound. He gets the ball upcourt to House, who passes inside to KG and he gives Horford a couple of upfakes before knocking down the jumper (39-33 5:25).

Smith then has his layup attempt blocked by Garnett (you can tell he was itching to get back into the game), and House picks up the loose ball; he takes it the other way and finds Pierce, who tries to make the spin move around Johnson, but Joe strips him from behind and now we're headed back to Atlanta's end of the floor. Johnson takes it all the way in for the layup attempt, which misses, but Smith grabs the offensive board; Josh tries to go back up, but Perk just stuffs him big time (yeah!) and House recovers the loose ball. Eddie takes it coast to coast before passing to Pierce all alone in the paint for the basket (41-33 4:51).

Now the team looks energized, as the Hawks call a 20-second timeout; when play resumes, Johnson throws a pass to absolutely no one for the 10th Atlanta turnover (I think he saw Snap Into a Salim-Jim Stoudamire coming off the bench and threw it to him standing on the sidelines!).

Boston regains possession as the crowd is absolutely deafening now, but House tries to lob the pass inside to KG and it's too high (even for Garnett to reach); the ball goes out of bounds for the Celtics' sixth turnover, and Smith tries to quickly take it to the basket with both Garnett and Perkins blocking his path (not a wise move). His shot misses, and Horford grabs the offensive board, but Kevin swallows up his putback attempt and tries to throw the outlet pass to House. Unfortunately, it's behind him and goes out of bounds for yet another turnover.

The noise level in this building must have the Celts rattled or something, as Atlanta has been handed another chance to get closer; Salim throws up a three-point attempt that misses badly, but the refs say that Ray got him with the body after he released the shot. Bleh, that's Ray's third foul and it puts Stoudamire at the line for three free throw attempts; Rondo comes in to replace Allen as Salim hits all three of them (41-36 3:43).

However, Rondo makes a nice pass to House for the three-pointer to negate those free throws, then Johnson tries to drive past Pierce but he absorbs the contact and draws the offensive foul call! That gives the Celts back possession, as Garnett misses the turnaround "jay" over Horford, but Perk comes away with the offensive board and kicks it out to a wide-open Pierce for another trey (47-36 2:54) to give Boston their first double-digit lead!

Johnson hits a three-pointer of his own to quiet the crowd somewhat, but at the other end Smith is called for a foul against Pierce which he doesn't appreciate ... In fact, Josh is so upset that he draws a technical to boot (this young bunch is starting to unravel); House can't hit the free throw, but Paul still gets a turn at the line and makes both of his attempts (49-39 2:23); Paul now has 15 points (6-10 FG).

Celtics look to be back in control, as Pierce scores two more baskets (one a goaltending call on Horford) to up his game-leading point total to 19, and the C's enter halftime with a 14-point advantage (55-41) ... However, it it worth noting that our offensive output has been basically limited to just four guys:

Pierce: 19 PTS
Garnett: 15 PTS, 12 REB
Ray: 9 PTS (4-6 FG)
House: 8 PTS, 4 AST

I know the players are getting sick of the "not enough depth" argument, but come on ... that has to be at least a little disconcerting, right?

THIRD QUARTER

To start off the second half, KG gets a hand on the bad pass by Johnson, and Rondo comes away with the loose ball; he takes it upcourt and tries to pass to Pierce, but the ball goes right off Paul's head (ouch) and Law recovers. We head back the other way, as Acie passes to Smith and he goes for the spin move with Rondo covering him, but Rajon pokes the ball out of his hands and it ends up bouncing off of Perk's head (!) and right to Rondo as the Celts regain possession.

Rajon then passes to Pierce (carefully this time), who gets it inside to KG with a chance to take it in over Horford, but instead tries to force a pass to Perkins and Law comes up with the steal. He brings it upcourt, then finds Horford who misses the outside shot and Garnett comes away with another rebound. He gives the ball to Rondo, who takes it back the other way and tries to set up the offense, but it's all for naught as Perk is called for the offensive foul trying to set up position against Smith in the paint.

Some sloppy play to start the quarter, as Smith commits an offensive foul of his own setting the pick on Pierce (both teams have combined for six turnovers in less than two minutes). Boston regains possession, as Pierce misses the layup attempt but Perk comes away with the offensive board and is fouled by Smith at the 10:02 mark; he ends up missing both free throws (!) and Horford grabs the rebound. However, Garnett is able to reach in and just rips the ball out of his hands and scores on the layup (57-41 10:00); that was impressive.

A three-pointer by Johnson with nine minutes on the clock gets Atlanta within thirteen, but Rondo answers with the outside jumper (see, he CAN hit those shots) to show who's in control (62-47 8:49).

Horford then misses the little hook shot over Perk, and KG snags the rebound. He gets the ball to Rondo, who dribbles upcourt before passing back to Kevin in the paint covered by Horford; Rajon then cuts to the basket, so Garnett gives it right back to him for the layup (64-47 8:21).

Smith scores with the floater in the lane (he's now 2-for-10 from the field), while at the other end Ray misses the three-point attempt and Josh grabs the rebound; he gets it upcourt to Law, who finds Horford for the little stepback jumper over Perk (64-51 7:13).

It's a twelve-point Celtics lead when Scals comes in to replace Perkins with 3:45 remaining in the quarter; meanwhile, KG makes a strong move on Horford and goes for the fallaway jumper but the refs call him for the travelling violation (Gorman: "This game would dismiss the rumor that superstars get all the calls"). Atlanta regains possession, as Garnett almost picks off the pass by Childress but Johnson recovers and gets the ball to Horford in the paint. Rondo then slaps his arm going for the steal, so Al gets a trip to the line and makes both of his free throws (67-57 3:09).

More substituions coming, as Tony comes into the game for Pierce, while Ray tries to pass inside to Garnett but Johnson winds up with the steal (that's Boston's fifth turnover of the quarter, 17th for the game) and quickly takes it upcourt for the fast break before finishing with the alleyoop pass to Marvin for the slam (67-59 2:44).

Boston calls a timeout as things are getting a little tight; when play resumes, House is in the game for Rondo while KG knocks down the turnaround jumper over Sheldon (69-59 2:29).

Lue then misses a shot and Garnett scores the loose board (his 18th rebound, and for the record he's outrebounding the entire Hawks team who have 17 'bounds combined); he gets it upcourt to House, who passes to Tony and he tries the little floater over Johnson but comes up with the airball!

Sheldon grabs the rebound (so they're tied again) and gets the ball to Lue, who takes it back the other way and finds Childress; he tries to drive on Ray, but gets the ball knocked out of his hands and Tony saves it from going out of bounds to KG. He then passes upcourt to House, who tries to work his way around Lue but instead gets the ball inside to KG as the defense collapses on him, so he kicks it back out to House for the open three-pointer (72-59 1:01)!

Johnson tries to answer with a three-pointer of his own, but misses and Scals grabs the loose rebound; he then passes upcourt to House, who (in turn) gets it to Garnett underneath the basket with the point guard Lue covering him (heh). Tyronn knows he's in a losing battle, so he wraps up KG and sends him to the line for two foul shots (74-59 :38.4)

Johnson misses a jumper in the closing moments, and Marvin clearly tips it in while the ball's in the cylinder, but the refs swallow their whistles and don't make the call (which flabbergasts the announcers). Therefore, we enter the final stanza with Boston leading 74 to 61.

FOURTH QUARTER

The lead is back up to fifteen with a basket by Garnett at the 9:35 mark of fourth quarter, then Childress throws up a shot that barely hits rim, and Pierce comes away with rebound; we head back the other way, and Ray knocks down the pullup jumper over Marvin (83-66 8:58).

Smith then scores, while at the other end House passes inside to KG who tries to fight his way through a double-team; finding no luck there, he kicks it back out to Eddie, who swings the ball around to Scals, and he finds Ray in the corner. Williams has him covered, so he passes to Pierce, who drives to the basket before throwing it out to House behind the three-point line and he buries it (86-68 8:09); great ball movement, as every member of the Celts got their hands on the rock during that sequence. That's also 17 points for House (4-5 3PTers).

Johnson and KG trade baskets, then Smith misses the three-point attempt (he's had a rough night) and Scals tips the loose rebound over to House; he brings the ball upcourt, then passes to Garnett who lobs the pass inside to Pierce who can't score on the layup attempt over Johnson. Childress grabs the rebound and tries to take it all the way in himself for a layup attempt of his own, but Garnett is right there for the block! Horford collects the loose ball and tries to score, but fails; KG battles two Hawks for the loose rebound and falls out of bounds with the ball. Sorry Kevin, I see you're trying the old trick of calling timeout while in midair, but the refs don't allow that anymore (appreciate the effort, though).

Atlanta retains possession, as Johnson clanks the outside shot, but Childress is able to tip in the miss (88-72 6:25).

At the other end, Ray is fouled by Marvin making a move to the basket, so he heads to the line with 6:06 left to play; he makes the first free throw, but misses the second (his first miss of the season) and Childress grabs the rebound. He takes it upcourt himself, then passes inside to Horford who tries to back down KG but Kevin fouls him while going up for the shot, causing Al to (inadvertently) throw back his right hand which catches Scalabrine right in the face.

Ouch, that was ugly, as Scals is having trouble getting up off the floor. The trainers come out to look him over, and the crowd starts another "Scal-a-BREE-nee!" chant (that's nice of them) ... He's finally able to sit up - although blood starts pouring out of his nose as soon as he's upright - and can stand under his own power, slowly making his way to the locker room.

When play resumes with 5:51 left in the game, Rondo comes back in to replace Scalabrine (Doc is going small) as Horford steps to the line and makes one-of-two foul shots to get Atlanta within sixteen. KG then misses the turnaround "jay" over Al and Salim grabs the rebound; he makes the bounce pass to Horford who pulls up at the free throw line for the jumper, but comes up empty. Garnett has himself another rebound, and gets the ball to Rondo, who passes to Pierce open behind the three-point line ... but he shuffles his feet and is called for travelling (Boston's 18th turnover). Atlanta regains possession, and Law knocks down the pullup jumper over House (89-75 4:54).

Undaunted, Rondo makes a nice bounce pass around Horford that finds KG, and he finishes with the two-hand slam (91-75 4:34).

Marvin then tries to barrel his way down the lane and knocks down Pierce for the offensive foul; Boston regains possession, as Ray just loses Childress off the dribble and takes it in for the easy layup (93-75 4:10).

I think we're out of panic mode now, as Glen "Macrosomia" Davis comes into the game with 3:53 left to replace KG (who gets a well-deserved standing ovation); meanwhile, House hits a deep jumper (thought it was another three-pointer for a second) to get the crowd pumped up further. Law then throws a pass over the head of Marvin and out of bounds; Doc takes the opportunity to sub in Tony for Pierce with 3:33 to go. It's Celtics ball, and House lobs a pass inside to Davis, whereby Law is forced to foul him and "Big Baby" goes to the line where he makes one-of-two free throws (96-75 3:21).

Ray is the last of the "Not Big Three" to take a seat during those free throws, as Just Pruitt gets some playing time ... That's pretty much my cue to exit as well, as the Celts win another laugher, 106 to 83.

FINAL SCORE: Boston 106, Atlanta 83

GAME RATING:

16
SLAM DUNK

BOSTON TOP PERFORMERS:

• Garnett: 38 MIN, 27 PTS (12-16 FG), 19 REB, 6 AST, 6 TO, 3 BLK
• Pierce: 37 MIN, 23 PTS (8-15 FG), 4 AST
• House: 26 MIN, 19 PTS (7-10 FG, 4-5 3PTers), 5 AST
• R. Allen: 35 MIN, 14 PTS (6-9 FG), 3 AST
  

ATLANTA TOP PERFORMERS:

• J. Johnson: 37 MIN, 16 PTS (6-14 FG), 5 AST, 5 STL
• Horford: 33 MIN, 16 PTS (5-12 FG), 7 REB
• M. Williams: 27 MIN, 14 PTS (6-9 FG)
  

TONIGHT'S COG (CELT OF THE GAME): Kevin Garnett

POST-GAME NOTES:

• Boston finished the night shooting 61 percent from the field (41-67 FG), while limiting Atlanta to just 43 percent (30-70 FG).
• It's still early, but the Celts lead the league in shooting (52.1 percent prior to tonight) and also hold opponents to 39.9 percent shooting (best in the NBA)!
• This is the first time the Celtics have started a season at 4-0 since the 1987-88 iteration (who finished the year with a record of 57-25, which I would be quite comfortable with) ...
• Eddie House was tonight's Tommy Award winner.
• Dating back to last season, the Hawks have now lost 17 straight road games.
• Red Sox manager Terry Francona was in attendance tonight.
• Even though Scalabrine went to the locker room under his own power, he left the arena on a stretcher, as he suffered a mild concussion and was taken into New England Baptist Hospital for observation. Obviously, he won't be making the trip tomorrow to New Jersey ...
  
• Speaking of injuries, Parker Posey did not play tonight (back spasms) and almost certainly will not be in the lineup tomorrow against the Nets.
• And speaking of the next game, Doc Rivers will not be available to coach against the Nets, as he heads back home for Chicago to be with his family to attend the memorial service for his late father.
  

Recap: Game 3 (vs Denver)

BOSTON CELTICS VS DENVER NUGGETS

November 7, 2007
7:30 PM EST (Comcast SportsNet)
TD Banknorth Garden (Boston, MA)
Announcers: Mike AnGormanagement, Tommy "Want to Touch the" Heinsohn and Bob "Cheap" Cousy ; Gary PoonTanguay and Donny Darko (in-studio) ; Greg "Old Saint" Dickerson (sideline reporter)
Celtics Starting Lineup: Rayden, I've Got a Rajon Rondo, Perk'd Off, Kevvy G, Da Troof
Nuggets Starting Lineup: Apple iVerson, Linas "And the Great Pumpkin" Kleiza, Marcus WebCamby, Grand Kenyon Martin, CarmeloNougat Anthony

The Nuggets are coming off a loss to the lowly New York Knicks last night (their first appearance in Madison Square Garden since the infamous brawl), and Iverson's mates (including a returning Kenyon Martin) will not be in a good mood heading into Boston.

As for the Celtics, Glenn Rivers M.D. is making his return to the bench after the sudden passing of his father ... Donny Marshall is convinced that the players will band together and play their hearts out for their coach during this difficult time; we shall see.

FIRST QUARTER

Camby and Perk are set to jump it up for the opening tap, but Marcus doesn't even leave his feet as Perk easily controls the ball; he gets it to Rondo, who passes back to Kendrick at the top of the key and he lobs it inside to Pierce (he easily eludes Melo) for the uncontested layup (2-0 11:56).

Martin then misses the jumper and KG pulls down the rebound; he gets it to Ray, who brings the ball upcourt and passes back to Garnett. He misses the outside "jay", and Melo grabs the loose board; he takes it back the other way and ends up getting double-teamed, so he kicks it out to Camby on the baseline for the wide-open jumper (2-all 11:30).

KG answers with a jumper of his own, then Kleiza tries to get ball to Iverson, but Rondo steps in for the steal and goes coast to coast for an easy layup (6-2 10:55).

Unfazed, Melo hits a three-pointer with Pierce right on his shooting hand, then KG tries the turnaround jumper over Martin and comes up short; luckily, Perk is in position for the offensive rebound over Camby, and Iverson is called for the reach-in foul. It's still Celtics possession, as Garnett knocks down the pullup jumper from the free throw line (8-5 10:11).

At the other end, Melo tries to pass inside to Camby, but the ball ends up going off of Marcus' back; Kenyon is able to recover the loose ball, and tries to take it in for a layup, however Perk just envelops him for the beautiful rejection! Ray picks up the ball and takes it the other way, then makes the sweet no-look pass inside to a hustling KG for the two-hand slam (10-5 9:48)!

Camby banks in a shot off glass over Perkins (he was afraid of another block, I'll wager), then KG is double-teamed so he just throws a pass over his shoulder that goes right to Pierce for another easy layup (12-7 9:20); this is some fun stuff right here ... A basket by Iverson gets Denver back within three, then Pierce misses the shot and Martin pulls down the rebound; he tries to take it upcourt himself (hmm) and passes inside to Melo, but Paul picks it off and gets the ball up to Ray with Kleiza all over him.

Perk sets the pick to free him up, so Ray lets fly from behind the three-point line and the ball rattles in and out (ooh, close one); Kenyon collects another rebound and gives the ball to Iverson, who takes it back the other way and drives right down the lane before being fouled by Perk. That puts him at the line, and "AI" makes both free throws to get the Nuggets back within one (12-11 8:21).

Ray then tries to take it to the basket himself and runs right into Martin, who ties him up for the jump ball; Kenyon wins the tap (no surprise) and gets the ball to Iverson, who passes upcourt to Melo, but Rondo gets another steal and takes it all the way in for the layup (14-11 7:50); so far so good, as Boston is 7-for-11 from the field.

Martin then scores, while at the other end Pierce is left wide open behind the three-point line, but instead goes for the unselfish play and sends a bullet pass inside to Perkins underneath the basket for a wide-open one-hand slam (16-13 7:03).

Iverson then tries to make a crosscourt pass to Kleiza, but it's too high and the ball sails out of bounds; Celts regain possession, and Perk sets the pick on AI to leave Rajon a wide-open path down the lane for yet another layup (18-13 6:44)!

The crowd is happy right now (and so am I), as Camby misses the outside jumper (Denver is 5-for-8 from the field) and Pierce takes down the rebound; he gets the ball upcourt to KG, who tries the fallaway jumper but it's wide right. However, Kevin is able to get his own rebound, and kicks it out to Ray who drives down the lane and is fouled by Martin; not only that, but Camby also goaltends the layup attempt, so Allen heads to the line and makes the free throw to complete the (unconventional) three-point play (21-13 6:00).

Kenyon takes a seat at this point (with two personal fouls) and She-Nene Jenkins comes in to replace him; Melo then hits the pullup "jay" over Pierce, but at the other end KG winds up being covered by Kleiza (heh) when he sees Paul cutting down the lane (Melo has no idea where he is); Garnett passes it to him as Camby switches over to prevent the layup. With the big man blocking his path, Pierce - in one motion, mind you - throws it behind his back (!) to a suddenly wide-open Perkins underneath the basket, who finishes with the strong two-hand slam (23-15 5:31)! Oh, that was a thing of beauty!

The Nuggets call a timeout, and when play resumes Melo tries to pass inside to Nene, but Ray gets a hand on it and Perk comes away with the loose ball; he gets it to Hugh Laurie (just into the game) and he quickly finds Pierce up the floor, who (with Nene covering him) gives the little crossover to leave the big guy glued to the floor as he takes it down the lane for another layup (25-15 4:52); twenty of Boston's 25 points have been from inside the paint (can anyone in Denver say "porous defense"?)

It's a nine-point Celtics advantage with three minutes to go in the quarter, when Nene tries a little spin move to avoid Perk and ends up throwing the ball right to House (six turnovers for the Nuggz); it's back the other way for the Celtics fast break, and Eddie makes a nice bounce pass to Ray who has his layup attempt goaltended by Iverson (29-18 2:54).

Iverson then tries to pull up over House for the quick three-point attempt, but misses; KG tips the loose rebound out to Eddie, who takes it the other way before passing back to Garnett, and he gives a couple of fakes with Nene on his back before sticking the fadeaway jumper (31-18 2:25)! The Celts are now officially on fire, shooting 15-for-21 from the field!

Camby and Pierce trade baskets, then Perk blocks a shot by Melo (someone let out a very audible "Get that shit outta here!") and Anthony goes to the floor to try and get to the loose ball before Ray; however, he only succeeds in knocking the ball out of bounds. That gives Boston back possession, as Denver calls another timeout; when play resumes, The Scals of Justice and Parker Posey are in (Pierce and Perk sit down) while Ray is left wide open for the three-pointer (36-20 1:28)!

Great offensive/defensive performance by the C's thus far, as the quarter ends with the good guys ahead 38 to 22.

SECOND QUARTER

Scals, Allan Tony, House, KG, and Posey start the second quarter, as Yakuza Diawara misses a three-point shot and Tony pulls down the rebound. He gets it to House, who pushes the ball upcourt and finds KG in the corner; he swings it around to Allen, who tries to make a move to the basket, but the defense collapses on him, so he kicks it back out to Garnett who finds House wide open for the trey (41-22 11:22)!

Cousy calls this a "flawless display on offense", while (in contrast) Melo blows the layup attempt and KG snares the rebound; he gets it upcourt to House, who passes to Tony and he waits for Kevin to set up in the paint. Getting the ball to him, Garnett misses the turnaround jumper with Nene on him, but Scals reaches up over Eduardo Najera-cane and tips in the miss (43-22 10:51)!

They're not done yet, as KG steals the ball from Najera (Boston's seventh steal) and gives the ball to Tony, who goes coast to coast before taking it in over Nene for another layup (45-22 10:20)! It's like the Nuggets don't even know what the word "defense" means ...

Another basket by House extends it to a 25-point lead with 9:30 remaining, but at the other end Scals loses sight of Najera and Eduardo makes him pay with the three-point basket (47-25 9:08).

Tony answers with a 15-footer (Who Shot JR Smith just ran away from him on defense), then JR tries to make up for it by driving to the basket but slams hard into Posey, earning the offensive foul call as James hits the floor (and has KG fall on top of him in the ensuing confusion).

Denver calls a timeout with 8:34 remaining, and when play resumes Perk comes back into the game as KG takes his first rest of the night (12 PTS, 7 REB); it's still Boston ball, but Scals tries to pass inside to Posey and it's too high (James actually takes another spill as he dives to try and save the ball from going out of bounds). The Nuggest regain possession off of the turnover, however Kleiza misses the shot and Najera fouls House going for the rebound. He slams the ball down in frustration, which earns a technical foul; Eddie makes the free throw to double up Denver's scoring output (50-25 8:05).

Pierce and Rondo come back into game at this point (Scals and House take a seat) as a layup by Kenyon gets the Nuggets within 23 with 6:30 left in the half. Iverson then steals the ball from Rondo and hustles upcourt before giving it to JR Smith, who barrels his way to the basket (knocking Posey again to the floor). However, he misses the layup attempt, and the loose rebound is knocked out to Perkins, who passes back to Rajon at the other end of the floor. He tries to make a move to the basket, but is covered by Kleiza; instead, he goes for the shovel pass back to Perk (who is wide open for the slam) but the refs whistle Rondo for shuffling his feet and call the travelling violation.

Perk argues the call, but it's Kenyon who winds up receiving a technical (guess something rubbed him the wrong way), so Pierce heads to the foul line with 6:09 remaining but misses the free throw. At this point, KG comes into the game to replace Posey, who's limping off the court and actually goes straight to the locker room (all those falls must have taken their toll) ... Hope he's alright, as it's Denver ball and Iverson makes a nice bounce pass to Kenyon for the layup (53-32 5:51).

Pierce answers with a layup of his own, then Rondo steals the inbounds pass from Camby and throws it up for a waiting KG who finishes with the two-hand slam (57-32 5:02)! That gets the arena pumped up, as at the other end KG winds up for the big-time goaltend of Smith's layup attempt (Cooz: "That's fine, go after it"). Crowd still enjoys the athletic display, while Pierce backs down Kleiza and finishes with the easy layup (59-34 4:32).

Ray then strips Kenyon from behind (sounds dirty) and KG picks up the loose ball; he gets it back to Allen, who passes upcourt to Pierce and he (in turn) lobs it inside to Garnett. He tries to work the baseline to avoid Camby, but instead passes to an open Rondo for the 20-foot jumpshot (61-34 3:59).

Kenyon tries to answer quickly, but misses the layup and then fouls Pierce going for the offensive rebound; that's Martin's fourth foul already (!) so Najera comes back in to replace him as Boston regains possession, and Perk makes the nice lob pass inside to Pierce and Melo is forced to foul him. Paul responds by hitting both free throws (63-34 3:35).

Ray adds two foul shots of his own with two minutes left in the half to get Boston's lead over thirty (!), as the Celts look unbeatable. Meanwhile, Diawara loses control of the ball at the other end, and Rondo picks it up for another steal; he dribbles coast to coast and takes it in over Iverson, but misses the layup. Diawara collects the rebound and gives it to AI, who takes it back the other way but is tripped up by Rondo (that's a foul on Rajon, as House comes back into the game to replace him). When play resumes, Melo shoots up an airball (!) which Perk is able to scoop up and passes to House; he gets the ball to Ray, as Pierce sets the little screen on Diawara which frees up Ray for the three-pointer (68-34 1:20)!

At the other end, Iverson lowers his head and drives right into Perk's chest; refs give the call to AI (as Heinsohn bemoans the little-man bias), so Allen steps to the line where he makes his first free throw but misses the second. Garnett grabs the rebound (14 PTS, 10 REB) and gets the ball upcourt to Ray, who passes to Pierce and he gives the fake to avoid Melo and knocks down the pullup jumper (70-35 :57.8); Paul is now 7-for-8 from the field!

Iverson scores on the layup, but at the other end Melo bumps Pierce away from the ball; Denver's over the limit, so Paul goes to the line and makes the first foul shot but misses his second. However, Camby tips the rebound right back to Pierce, who steps behind the three-point line and buries it (74-37 :40.1); they can do no wrong ... We enter halftime with the Celtics dominating, 77 to 38!

Yes, you read that right, 77 points in the first half (31-43 FG). Throw in 19 assists and 11 steals for the team as a whole, and you can make the argument that the Celts are playing damn-near perfect basketball thus far ...

THIRD QUARTER

Martin hits a turnaround jumper over Perk to open the second half, while at the other end Pierce misses a wide-open shot and Camby corrals the loose board. He gets the ball upcourt to Iverson, who finds Melo in the corner and he hits the pullup "jay" over Pierce (77-42 11:13) ... Okay, time to nip this thing in the bud, as Ray makes a nice bullet pass inside to Perk and (with nobody on him) he finishes with the strong two-handed dunk (79-42 10:48).

Ray then knocks the ball out of Kleiza's hands (good, let's not lose that defensive intensity guys); Perk picks it up and gives it to Rondo, who goes back the other way and passes inside to KG. Kevin then sees Rajon cutting to the basket, so he tries to make the bounce pass, but Rondo can't catch it cleanly; he's able to recover the ball, however, and kicks it out to Pierce. Paul then drives to basket and fakes a pass out to Perk (which gets Melo looking in the wrong direction) before finishing with the reverse layup (81-42 10:16); man, Melo is looking pretty foolish on the defensive end tonight.

Nuggest are able to cut the lead to 35 with 7:20 remaining (I'm shaking in my boots) when Camby just elbows Rondo to the floor; man, that wasn't even a pick, he just swung the elbow and leveled him (not sure why that wasn't a flagrant). KG comes over to give Marcus a few choice words, as AI gives Rajon a little pat on the head (hmm); it's still Boston ball, as Rondo steps up and sets a pick on Camby get KG open (no fear in this kid) and Kevin buries the jumper (85-48 7:07).

At the other end, Rondo strips Iverson of the ball (14th steal for Boston) and AI bumps him out of bounds; the refs whistle him for the foul (his fourth) so Boston retains possession. Pierce drives the baseline to draw in the defense (if you can call it a "defense" at this point), then kicks it out to Ray for another three-pointer (88-48 6:27)!

I think we can pretty much call the game at this point, as Pierce misses a pullup jumper over Camby with 4:40 left in the quarter; Kenyon grabs the rebound and tries to pass to Iverson, but Paul picks it off and then throws up the alleyoop pass to KG for the one-hand slam (91-51 4:32) that sends the crowd into a frenzy! Seriously, I thought that pass was too high for Kevin to be able to catch, but he just elevated and went after that sucker ... Celts are just rolling, as we enter the final stanza with a 37-point lead (103-66).

FOURTH QUARTER

KG, Ray, House, Scals, and Tony are on the floor to start the final quarter (I'm surprised we're not emptying the bench at this point, unless Rivers wants to emulate the New England Patriots and run up the lead to 50) ... Meanwhile, Ray works the baseline and goes in between two defenders for the layup (105-66 11:42); Tommy: "That's like watching a wave come in from the ocean and just slowly hit the beach".

When Mister Heinsohn is waxing poetic about the ocean, you know the game is pretty much over ... However, Najera is left wide open for a layup of his own, as the Nuggets have run off seven straight points (105-73 9:43) to try and bring some respectability to the final score.

Of course, Doc isn't fazed, as Ray and KG finally head to the bench with 9:11 on the clock, while Rondo and Glen "Macrosomia" Davis are subbed in. When play resumes, House airballs a three-pointer (whoopsie), then Scals is knocked to the floor by Najera (no call) which leaves Martin open for the dunk (105-75 8:41).

Rondo makes a basket to break the C's scoring drought, while at the other end Kenyon spins around "Big Baby" but misses the hook shot; Tony grabs the rebound and gives it to Rondo, who takes it upcourt and tries to drive down the lane against Smith but is stripped of the ball. We head back the other way, but JR mishandles the ball and Davis winds up with the steal; he takes it upcourt himself (which is an amusing sight) and finds Tony who (in turn) passes to Scalabrine for the three-pointer (110-75 6:58).

Von-illa Wafer then scores as the crowd is working on a "Scal-a-BREE-nee!" chant; what a difference a year makes, huh? Anyway, that seems to pump Brian up as he goes for another three-point shot (about two feet behind the line) and completely misses the rim. Tee-hee ...

At the other end, Wafer misses the shot and House comes away with rebound; he passes upcourt to Rondo, and he gets the ball inside to Davis, who tries to score over Kenyon but comes up with another airball (yikes). Smith comes away with the ball as we go back the other way, and he finds Bobby "For Apples" Jones for the three-pointer (110-80 5:40).

A basket by Steven Hunter and Gatherer gets Denver within the twenties (GASP!), while at the other end the Celts can't get a shot off so it's a 24-second violation; the Nuggets regain possession, but Smith blows the layup attempt and Leon Powe Powe Power Wheels (just into the game for Scals) grabs the rebound and passes to Rondo. He gets the ball inside to Davis, who drives down the lane for the layup, PLUS he's fouled by Hunter and makes the free throw for the three-point play as Cooz dubs him a "budding Charles Barkley" (113-82 3:32).

And that's about all I gotta say about that ... Celts win big, 119 to 92.

FINAL SCORE: Boston 119, Denver 92

GAME RATING:

20
KILLER

BOSTON TOP PERFORMERS:

• Pierce: 29 MIN, 26 PTS (10-15 FG), 5 REB, 5 AST, 5 STL
  
• Garnett: 36 MIN, 23 PTS (10-14 FG), 13 REB, 7 AST, 4 STL
  
• R. Allen :32 MIN, 22 PTS (8-12 FG, 3-7 3PTers), 6 AST, 2 STL
• Rondo: 33 MIN, 14 PTS (7-11 FG), 4 AST, 3 TO, 4 STL
• House: 24 MIN, 11 PTS (4-9 FG), 6 REB, 3 AST
  

DENVER TOP PERFORMERS:

• Iverson: 32 MIN, 22 PTS (6-11 FG, 8-11 FT), 4 AST, 4 TO, 3 STL
• Camby: 29 MIN, 17 PTS (7-11 FG), 8 REB
• Martin: 26 MIN, 12 PTS (6-13 FG), 5 REB
  

TONIGHT'S COG (CELT OF THE GAME): Paul Pierce

POST-GAME NOTES:

• The Nuggets used garbage time to get their overall shooting percentage up to 46 percent (34-74 FG) ... However, the Celtics still lead the league in opponents' field-goal percentage (39.5 percent)!
• The diagnosis for James Posey is that he's suffering from back spasms; he did not return to this game and his status for the near-future is unknown.
• Speaking of injuries, Nene sprained his left thumb in the second quarter, and also did not return ...
  
• Melo is the third leading scorer in the NBA thus far (27.3 PPG) but only managed 11 tonight (3-13 FG).
• Garnett was tonight's Tommy Award winner.