There is no better way to sum up the Celtics's game with the Mavericks tonight at the TD Garden than to list the last few plays in Dallas's 90-85 win.
With 25 seconds left, Paul Pierce shook off a brutal night (7 points) to hit a 3-pointer that tied it at 85. The problem was that there was way too much time left for the Mavs (6-5).
Everybody in the Garden except for apparently Celtics (4-5) head coach Doc Rivers and his team knew that Dirk Nowitzki (16 points, 7 rebounds) would get the last shot for Dallas. Kevin Garnett (16 points, 10 rebounds) was forced to guard him by himself and since this is 2012 and not say 2006, it didn't work. Dirk hit a crazy floater and got fouled with five seconds left. His free throw put Dallas up three points (88-85) with five seconds left.
No problem, the Celtics would get the last shot after all. Except not so much. Rajon Rondo (24 points, 7 assists) threw a crappy bounce pass at Ray Allen's (9 points) ankles and it bounced harmlessly out of bounds. It was over by then but just for good measure, Boston allowed a layup to Jason Terry (18 points) and Allen threw the inbounds pass away as time expired. Yuck.
In summation, this is who the Celtics are in 2011-12: frauds. They can beat up on the dredge of the NBA but when it comes time to play a decent opponent, they fold. This game was right there for them to snatch but all their minor mistakes added up to a particularly bitter loss. They have yet to beat a team that's over .500 this season or one that made the playoffs last season, something to chew on.
Everything that Boston does right now seems more difficult than it should be. Rondo is playing very well and Allen had been great before tonight but Pierce is lost and KG is a shell of his former self.
It's telling that the Celtics only got back into it this evening thanks to a second unit of Avery Bradley (4 points), Brandon Bass (8 points), Keyon Dooling (9 points) and Mickael Pietrus (5 points in his Celtic debut). Their younger legs allowed Rivers to put more ball pressure on the Mavs.
Shawn Marion had 15 points and seven rebounds for Dallas which has now won five of its last six games after starting 1-4. Without Tyson Chandler or J.J. Barea, I don't think they have a prayer of repeating but they'll be a factor in the Western Conference. Starting in place of Jason Kidd, old friend Delonte West had 12 points while Brendan Haywood had eight points and 11 rebounds.
After getting smoked by the Pacers on Friday and having four days off (probably as long as you can have this season in the NBA), the Celtics truly had no excuse for starting off so poorly once again. They got plenty of open looks but none of them were falling.
Dallas led 23-15 after the first quarter but Boston rallied to cut it to 42-41 at halftime. The Mavs pushed it further and were up 68-59 heading into the fourth before withstanding Boston's last spurt (26-22).
The Celts hit nine more free throws (23-14) but the Mavs grabbed eight more rebounds (43-35) including an embarrassing 12-2 edge in offensive boards. Dallas also played more big boy basketball with a 44-30 margin in points in the paint.
Things don't figure to get much better for the C's since this was the start of a three games in four days stretch. They face the Bulls (10-2) on Friday at the Garden before a rematch with the Pacers in Indiana on Saturday night. Chicago won three games in the past three nights showing that they are both legit and not prone to making excuses even though Derrick Rose (last season's MVP) sat out tonight. At this point, I'll be happy if Boston wins either of those games.
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