Sound the alarms, the Boston Celtics are falling apart. OK I kid, but the C's have quite obviously hit a speed bump as they've now lost two in a row and three of their last four after a 88-83 choke job to the Washington Wizards at the Garden last night.
The C's (30-6) were up by as much as 14 points in the fourth quarter before their offense completely disappeared and the plucky Wizards (20-16) put together a 25-6 run to close out the game and come away with the improbable win.
Washington's Caron Butler has become a star before our eyes. He took over down the stretch last night, making a 3-point play and a driving layup to clinch it. He finished with a team-high 21 points, six rebounds and two steals. Antawn Jamison had another double-double with 20 points and 10 boards. DeShawn Stevenson added 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals while Brendan Haywood notched 14 points and seven rebounds.
For Boston, Kevin Garnett led the way with 23 points, nine boards and six assists. KG had a key offensive rebound and putback late that put the C's up by one but he also later missed a turnaround jumper that sealed their doom. Paul Pierce had 18 points and five rebounds while the shaky Ray Allen had 16 points, six boards and three assists. I say shaky because he was just 2 of 7 on 3-pointers, including one that would have tied it on their last possession.
Kendrick Perkins had nine points. Rajon Rondo started the game but played just 21 minutes (4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists) before sitting out the fourth quarter. His back and hamstring continue to slow him down and the Celts are a noticeably worse team without him. Who thought that'd be true going into this season?
It was a dull first half as the teams had 18 points apiece in the first quarter and Boston held a slim 37-35 lead at the break. Boston was up four going into the fourth quarter but just like on Saturday at Washington, the fourth was when the Wizards put it all together and conversely the C's couldn't do anything right.
Boston outshot Washington, 41.9% to 38.6% but compounded that by making only 5 of 20 3-pointers. Once again, the Wizards were amazing on the free throw line (27 of 30) while Boston struggled (16 of 22).
The Celtics will have their hands full tomorrow when the Portland Trailblazers come to town. Winners in 18 of their last 20 games, the Blazers are the NBA's hottest team behind Brandon Roy and a solid supporting cast. It should be a great game as Boston tries to work out the kinks in their game.
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