For the second straight home game, the Boston Celtics failed to execute at the end against one of the Western Conference's elite teams and as a result they lost.
Yesterday afternoon it was the San Antonio Spurs (still as boring as you remember them), who claimed a 105-99 victory at the TD Banknorth Garden.
It all went to hell when Boston was down two (95-93) and had an inbounds pass on the sideline.
Ray Allen (18 points) tried to get the ball to Paul Pierce (19 points, 8 rebounds) but he lost the handle and it was intercepted by Manu Ginobli (19 points). Pierce fouled him, of the clear path variety, and after making four free throws, the outcome was sealed.
Tim Duncan led the Spurs (34-15) with 23 points, 15 rebounds and five assists but teammate Matt Bonner, a native of Portsmouth, NH was the star of the show as far as New England was concerned (it has to always be about us, damn it!). Bonner finished with 23 points, eight boards and two steals. He is only the second Granite State native to play in the NBA.
Roger Mason (11 points) was the other unlikely leading man as he hit a dagger 3-pointer out of nowhere to put the San Antonio up two.
For the Celtics (42-11), Kevin Garnett had his best game in a long time, checking in with 26 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals. Tony Allen scored 11 points off the bench, Kendrick Perkins added 10 points and seven boards while Rajon Rondo did his best Jason Kidd impression: six points, 16 assists, five rebounds.
An unsettling trend in recent weeks for the Celts has been their defense allowing 100+ points almost every time out. They'll need to tighten things up on the defensive end to knock off the top teams.
That was their last home game for over two weeks as they hit the road for an extended road trip (made longer by the All-Star break). The C's start in New Orleans on Wednesday night against the injury-depleted but talented Hornets.
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