If I'm The Celtics, I Keep Creating Trade Rumors & Doing Anything To Piss Rajon Rondo Off

I rarely say something like this but it's too bad that there was a Bruins-Rangers game at the same exact time not to mention a day full of great college basketball games because today's Celtics-Knicks game was a wildly entertaining experience.

Boston (19-17) won its fourth straight, 115-111 in overtime against New York (18-19) at TD Garden.

It was all thanks to Rajon Rondo's one of a kind ability (18 points, 17 rebounds, 20 assists; his 17th triple-double all-time and second in his last three games) as he turned in an all-time classic performance in his career. He's only the third player (Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain) to have 15+ points, 20+ assists and 15+ rebounds in a single game. He's also the third point guard in the last 25 years (Jason Kidd, Magic Johnson) to have 15+ points, 15+ assists and 15+ rebounds. It was also the fifth game in a row that he's had 10+ assists; the longest stretch since he had six in a row in 2010. In short, maybe the Celtics shouldn't trade this guy. He seems decent.

Paul Pierce notched a season-high 34 points and seven rebounds while Kevin Garnett (18 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals), Brandon Bass (18 points, 4 blocks) and Ray Allen (12 points, 4 steals) joined Rondo in double-figures.

Pierce was the goat then the hero late in the fourth as he missed a contested jumper when they were down one (101-100) but sent it to overtime with his tying 3-pointer. Carmelo Anthony (25 points, 7 rebounds) missed a chance to win it at the buzzer than he no-showed overtime which is the typical fraud contributions you can expect from him.

The ghost of Amare Stoudemire had 16 points and 13 rebounds, Jeremy Lin added 14 points, Tyson Chandler grabbed 13 rebounds while Iman Shumpert and Steve Novak scored 14 off the bench for the Knicks.

Turnovers were the difference as New York coughed it up 22 times which led to 23 points for Boston. The Celtics also had nine more points in the paint (21-12).

The Knicks have been a much better team since Lin was inserted into the starting lineup but the Celtics have won six out of the last seven against them dating back to last season's playoffs. Boston is 2-1 against New York this season and all three contests were thrillers. Therefore circle April 17 on your calender since the C's go to Madison Square Garden that night for the final regular season meeting.

Boston concludes this three-game homestand on Tuesday as the sneaky good Houston Rockets (21-17) visit for their only matchup this season. It's hard to explain how the Rockets are doing that well especially since I don't think I've seen one of their games but you know that Kevin Martin is a solid NBA scorer, Kyle Lowry is a good point guard and they have depth. Oh and by the way Kevin McHale is their head coach.

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Boston 1, New York 0 So Far This Weekend

The Boston Celtics held off the New York Knicks 91-89 tonight at TD Garden for three simple reasons: the C's play defense, they have a point guard and they use their bench (they outscored the Knicks 23-9).

It would be piling on to mention that Doc Rivers routinely coaches circles around Mike D'Antoni but I'll stick with the three main ingredients.

Boston (12-10) avenged its two-point loss on Christmas Day by winning for the seventh time in the last eight games.

Conversely, New York (8-15) continues to spiral downward. It seems inevitable that D'Antoni will be fired at some point this season, the Knicks can't go on playing this badly without a major change to shake up this poorly constructed team.

Paul Pierce was the best player on the parquet with a game-high 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Kevin Garnett had 15 points and eight rebounds while Ray Allen scored nine of his 14 points in the fourth quarter aka winning time. Rajon Rondo was rusty in his return after missing eight games, he had seven points, seven assists, five rebounds and five turnovers.

Carmelo Anthony (26 points, 6 assists), Tyson Chandler (20 points, 11 rebounds, 4 steals) and Amare Stoudemire (16 points, 11 rebounds) had nice numbers but it didn't help them get the most important thing-the win.

Only on a D'Antoni team would the last two shots in a one-possession game go to Landry Fields (11 points) and Steve Novak (0 points, that was his only playing time!), who both launched 3-pointers that didn't have a prayer of going in. It's baffling that somebody could be such a one-dimensional (offense!) coach and still be employed at the highest level.

New York led 72-62 in the third quarter but Boston slowly chipped away. The Celtics' defense won it for them since they held the Knicks to 34 second-half points. The teams play twice more in the regular season.

The C's will try to keep it going on Sunday as they host Memphis in a rare 12 p.m. tip-off since it's Super Bowl Sunday. Did you hear the Patriots are in the Super Bowl?

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Knicks Snap 8-Game Losing Streak To The Celtics With 106-104 Win In 2011-12 Opener

The truncated 2011-12 NBA regular season began this afternoon, on Christmas, with a sloppy but very entertaining game between the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks (1-0) held on for a 106-104 win after the Celtics (0-1) missed not only a chance to win it but also a jumper that would have tied it at the end of regulation.

Last season, between the regular season and playoffs, Boston went 8-0 against New York. The Knicks hadn't beaten the Celtics since April 6, 2010. In total, Boston had won 20 of the last 22 meetings between the Atlantic Division rivals.

I'm not enough of a prisoner of the moment to declare that New York is the favorite to win the division or that they're a better team than Boston. That probably has to do with the fact that I never have faith in a team coached by Mike D'Antoni or led by Carmelo Anthony. Two guys that don't give a shit about defense, all that matters to them is scoring points and there's no doubt that they get it done in that regard.

I will give credit to Carmelo though, I think he's the best pure scorer in the NBA these days and his game-high 37 points (8 rebounds) were the difference in the win for the home team. He had 17 points in the fourth quarter, as many as the Celtics entire squad.

It's not me being a homer when I say that Rajon Rondo (team-high 31 points, 13 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 steals) was easily the best player on the floor. Ray Allen (20 points) and Kevin Garnett (15 points, 8 rebounds) had quiet games despite numbers that look alright.

The other lasting impression on the Celts was Brandon Bass. In his debut for the Green, he put up his first career 20-point, 10-rebound game. He had 20 points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench.

I think it's safe to say that Celtics fans will forget about Glen "Big Baby" Davis in about a week now that we have Bass. He's a pro; he knows his strengths, he's consistent and he doesn't try to be something he's not. In other words, he's everything that the up and down Davis was not and likely never will be.

This being the NBA, it only took about two quarters to remember everything I hate about the league: officials having way too much power, no ball movement, tons of commercials and too many fouls.

Paul Pierce was out with a heel injury so his most lasting contribution was sitting on the bench in a suit and sporting a pair of red earrings that I'm pretty sure my mother owns.

Boston was lifeless without its captain in the first half. They trailed by 10 at halftime and that seemed like a gift since they seemingly couldn't play much worse. At one point, the Knicks were up 17 (49-32) less than midway through the second quarter.

Predictably against a team that still doesn't have a clue how to play defense-despite now having Tyson Chandler (7 points, 6 blocks)-the Celtics hit the Knicks with a 25-7 run to take their largest lead of the contest at 77-69 with 3:55 left in the third quarter.

Credit to New York as they stepped up in the fourth quarter; they made shots while Boston's offense sadly dried up without a true go-to scorer.

Amare Stoudemire put up 21 points for New York while Toney Douglas added 19 points. Rookie Iman Shumpert had 11 points off the bench before leaving with a strained MCL.

Sasha Pavlovic started in Pierce's place and I'm not kidding when I say I hope that he's released when Mickael Pietrus is ready to play. In 15 minutes, Pavlovic didn't take a shot with one assist, one rebound and four fouls plus a technical foul (that was completely bogus). To call him completely worthless is being generous. Doc Rivers talked him up in the preseason which is a classic coach's tactic of building up a player that he knows sucks.

New York jumped out to a 34-23 lead after the first quarter thanks to typical run and gun D'Antoni ball. As fast as you could say "what's Spike Lee wearing?" Boston started to find itself in the second quarter (29-28) to close to within 10 (62-52) at halftime.

Rondo abused Douglas, he must have had six or seven layups. The Celtics played outstanding in the third quarter (35-17) to take a commanding 87-79 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately that's when Joey Crawford (the worst NBA ref, which is saying something) and his crew started to take over in crunch time. I'm not going to say that the Celtics lost because of them but it certainly didn't help that they were hit with two shady technicals in the fourth.

The Knicks found more offense in the fourth (27-17). Marquis Daniels had a wide open 3-pointer that rimmed out before the final buzzer, Rondo got the rebound and Boston took its final timeout. Once again, Rivers drew up a nice play as KG had a jumper that he can usually hit. The problem was that it didn't go in.

Almost all the final stats favored the Celtics. They shot 4% better (51.3%-47.3%), grabbed 10 more rebounds (41-31), handed out 11 more assists (28-17), had 18 more points in the paint (48-30) and eight more fast break points (16-8).

More than anything I can point to, the Knicks won simply because they made seven more 3-pointers (9-2). Without Pierce, Allen was the only Celtic looking to take threes. That'll change soon enough. Amare actually hit as many threes by himself as Boston did as a team.

This loss doesn't bother me at all; if the C's had won despite sleeping through the first half and the Knicks making tons of shots, I would have been surprised. Their rally was impressive but ultimately, they paid for their poor start and all the energy they put into the rally. The other three games against the Knicks this season should be like this, very close and fun to watch.

Boston travels to Miami on Tuesday for the Heat's home opener (and a rematch of the Eastern Conference semifinals last spring). I hardly watched any of it, gotta build up my NBA tolerance, but I saw that Miami rolled 105-94 in Dallas today.

The Celts go to New Orleans the next night before finally coming back to TD Garden on Friday for their home opener against Detroit. I won't complain about the schedule-since the Lakers played today then tomorrow and Tuesday-but three games in four days to start it off is tough for this older group (3rd oldest in the NBA).

The key for Boston will be to not get off to a poor start. I expect them to lose to the Heat on Tuesday but then bounce back against the Hornets and Pistons. With any luck, Pierce and Pietrus will be active on Tuesday. That would make for a closer and more interesting contest as far as I'm concerned.

UPDATE 12/26: No official word yet but apparently Pietrus won't play tomorrow in Miami or Wednesday in New Orleans. Expect him to be active on Friday for the home opener against the Pistons.

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Celtics sweep the Knicks

Thanks to injuries (to Chauncey Billups and Amare Stoudemire) and their usual lack of defense, the New York Knicks quickly morphed from first-round playoff threat to pushover in the span of a week.

That's what makes yesterday's 101-89 win by the Boston Celtics so meaningful. By sweeping the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, the Celts were able to become the only NBA team to sweep a first-round series in 2011.

While the Heat, Bulls, Lakers and Spurs are all still battling, the Cs will have their feet up at home, getting plenty of rest ahead of what should be a war of a series against Miami in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Believe it or not, Boston hadn't swept a first-round series since a crippled Larry Bird was still balling (in 1992 vs. Indiana) so it had been a while.

The Celts were focused yesterday to get the series over with and not have to exert anymore energy. They built a 23-point lead and started to coast before New York made one last desperate run that cut it to four points in the fourth quarter.

From there, Boston settled down by hitting shots and making some stops. Goodnight New York, your fraudulent magical season is over. Have a great summer.

Kevin Garnett led the Celtics with a team-high 26 points and 12 rebounds. Rajon Rondo added 21 points, 12 assists and five rebounds. Ray Allen scored 14 points and Paul Pierce notched 13 points.

The key to the Game 4 win though and moving forward will be the bench trio of Glen Davis (14 points, 5 rebounds), Jeff Green (5 points, 7 rebounds) and Delonte West (2 points, 5 rebounds).

Other than Rondo, Boston's main advantage over Miami lies in their bench. Those three guys need to take their games to another level. Yesterday was as a start in the right direction as Davis started hitting shots again while Green and West were out there for important minutes.

Carmelo Anthony led New York with a game-high 32 points and nine rebounds. Stoudemire added 19 points and 12 rebounds (props to him for playing with a hurt back). Anthony Carter was a spark off the bench with 11 points. Thankfully Knicks head coach Mike Dantoni is a clown and playing Carter over the underwhelming and out of position Toney Douglas didn't click in his mind until crunch time of the elimination game. Good job Mike.

Boston led 29-23 after the first quarter and 55-38 at halftime. Like in Game 3, the Celtics really didn't give MSG much to cheer about, effectively taking out the crowd that was desperate for something to cheer about. The Knicks started their comeback with a big third quarter (34-27) before they fell short in the fourth (19-17 Boston).

For the game, the Celtics shot 49.4% to 34.1% for the Knicks. New York made five more 3-pointers (8-3) and three more free throws (21-18). Boston grabbed 11 more rebounds (53-42), five more assists (24-19) and two more steals (6-4).

Now let's all sit back and root for the Philadelphia 76ers to keep winning. The Eastern Conference semifinals won't begin until probably next Sunday at the earliest.

Celtics outlast Knicks B-squad, take 2-0 series lead

With Chauncey Billups ruled out with an ankle injury before Game 2 started, the Boston Celtics already had a distinct advantage.

When Amare Stoudemire left late in the first half with back spasms and didn't return, you had to think what else could go wrong for the New York Knicks.

Still, despite a severely limited roster of healthy bodies, Carmelo Anthony almost single-handily willed New York to victory with a playoff career-high 42 points, 17 rebounds and six assists.

Boston was able to hang on for a 96-93 win at TD Garden, giving them a 2-0 series lead. Just like in Game 1, the Knicks went up late but couldn't stop a later Celtics hoop (this time a KG hook shot) and then bungled their last possession (Jared Jeffries getting stripped by KG on the baseline).

After a terrible Game 1 performance, Carmelo was truly special last night. However, a mental error (letting almost four seconds lapse before fouling Ray Allen at the end) nearly overshadowed his dominant display.

There's not many other ways to say it then the Celtics know how to win and the Knicks are still learning how to do it when it really matters.

Rajon Rondo had a playoff career-high 30 points and seven assists. Paul Pierce had 20 points, Ray Allen scored 18 and KG put up 12 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

Starting for Billups, Toney Douglas had 14 points and Jeffries was the only other Knick in double figures with 10 points (including the go-ahead hoop before KG's shot).

In an ideal world, Boston will sweep New York and the Celtics bench will get some more playing time in the next two games since they clearly need to get the work. Four players (Delonte West, Nenad Krstic, Jeff Green and Glen Davis) combined for 14 points last night and that's simply not good enough to win consistently in the playoffs.

The Cs got out to a 23-21 lead after the first quarter but the Knicks took a 45-44 halftime lead. Boston responded with a strong third quarter (30-22) and as I said, made enough plays to survive a shaky fourth (26-22 New York).

Boston shot 47.0% to New York's 35.6%. The Knicks hit two more 3-pointers (8-6) and nine more free throws (21-12). The most shocking stat was that New York had 16 more rebounds (53-37). The Celtics had seven more assists (21-14) and 12 more fast break points thanks to Rondo (16-4) along with six more points in the paint (40-34).

Billups supposedly will play in Game 3 and Stoudemire is getting an MRI today but you have to bet he'll suit up since New York's season will basically be on the line. It's in Boston's best interest to make this series as short as possible. If they get to the next round, it'll be much harder (yes, I realize these games have been really tight) against likely Miami.

Winners (Celtics) win and losers (Bruins) lose

All it took was one playoff game or more specifically one fourth quarter to show why we have all the preconceived notions about the Boston Celtics and the Boston Bruins.

The Celtics played a terrible first half in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals last night at TD Garden against the New York Knicks. The Cs trailed by 12 (51-39) at the half and appeared old and lifeless.

However, unlike the Bruins who can't get out of their own way in any pressure-packed situation, the Celts calmly cut it to five (64-59) after three quarters and proceeded to reel off a pulsating 87-85 win as Ray Allen drained the game-winning 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining.

Allen was the hero with a team-high 24 points and six rebounds. Paul Pierce had 18 points, Kevin Garnett added 15 points and 13 rebounds and Rajon Rondo notched 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

Jermaine O'Neal was the pleasant surprise with 12 points and four blocks. There was a key stretch in the game where he actually energized the crowd and his teammates with a couple great blocks. He also hit some timely shots which made sure the deficit didn't get too big.

Amare Stoudemire put up a game-high 28 points and 11 rebounds, he was great. Carmelo Anthony had 15 points (on 5 for 18 shooting) but he dragged his team down since he was in foul trouble (five fouls) and took all the late shots despite having no rhythm. Chauncey Billups was the only other Knick in double figures with 10 points but he also struggled shooting (3 for 11). He rolled his ankle with less than a minute left in the game and departed to the locker room. His status is uncertain for Game 2.

Ronny Turiaf had nine points and four blocks for New York while Landry Fields was held scoreless.

Boston can't afford to dig themselves a large hole again like they did in Game 1. New York used a zone defense effectively in the first half but when Rondo and the Celtics' offense started to run in the second half, the Knicks showed why they gave up the third most points in the NBA during the regular season.

For the game, Boston shot 43.8% to 42.3% for New York. The Knicks hit three more 3-pointers (8-5) but the Celts made one more free throw (12-11). Boston grabbed 10 more rebounds (44-34) and had four more assists (20-16). New York registered four more blocks (9-5) but Boston had eight more fast break points (10-2) and nine more points off turnovers (26-17).

The Celtics want to keep this series as short as possible so they can converse their energy for the next round. That's why winning all home games is so paramount. Game 2 is tomorrow night at TD Garden.

An overrated team from New York? Now I've heard everything

Now that I'm slightly grown up, I don't want to hate New York. Some of my best friends hail from the metropolitan area along with dear family members. Still, New York's pro franchises and fans often make it too easy to make fun of them.

Since the Knicks acquired Carmelo Anthony, we were told how New York was now on the fast track to the title. Much like the championship-on-paper Miami Heat. How's that going?

In a possible playoff preview before a sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden, the Boston Celtics (50-19, 4th straight 50+ win season) erased a 15-point deficit (for the second straight game) and beat the Knicks 96-86.

More blood was shed in this game alone than a pay per view at the old ECW arena. Ray Allen, Carmelo and Troy Murphy were all left bloodied on the court and nary a blade was in sight.

Behind Mike Dantoni, the Knicks (35-35) play absolutely positively no defense and they have no depth, so tell me again why they're dangerous?

Under Melo, they're off to a great 7-9 start. Well at least LaLa gets to sit courtside with Whoopi Goldberg, that's what this is all about.

Kevin Garnett was the best player on the star-studded court with a game-high 24 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Paul Pierce added 21 points, Allen scored 15 and Rajon Rondo had his first solid game in weeks with 13 points and 12 assists. Glen Davis was nice off the bench with eight points and nine rebounds.

Carmelo had 22 points but only five in the second half, indicative of the front-running joker that he is. When the going gets tough, you can always count on him to whine to the refs and turtle. I could say most of the same charges against Amare Stoudemire (16 points, 11 rebounds) as well. Chauncey Billups (21 points) is the only clutch player wearing a Knicks uniform but he can't carry a team at this stage in his long NBA journey. Ronny Turiaf was the only other New York player in double figures with 11 points and four blocks.

If one half of a regular season NBA game could better encapsulate a fraud team and fan base, these eyes haven't seen it. New York led 25-22 after the first quarter and 51-37 at the half. It was a perfect time for Spike Lee and the assorted celebrities to pretend this team is going somewhere this season.

Unfortunately for them, the Celts tightened up things defensively and outscored the Knicks 26-18 in the third and 33-17 in the fourth. Seeing the crowd running out like a fire alarm went off late in the fourth was a beautiful sight.

I'm conflicted about if I want to see the Knicks in the playoffs. Odds are it would happen in the first round. I know the Celtics would beat them (just like they have all three times this season) but it would likely take more of an emotional and physical toll than the no questions asked sweep of the Pacers.

Boston shot 46.3% to New York's 40.5%. The Knicks made six more 3-pointers (7-1) but the Cs pulled down 10 more rebounds (48-38). New York had three more assists (20-17) but Boston had five more steals (11-5) which made up for six more blocks (6-0) for the Knicks. In the most telltale stats, New York committed five more turnovers (13-8), the Celtics had 11 more fast break points (18-7) and 16 more points in the paint (44-28).

The Celtics come home to face the Memphis Grizzlies tomorrow night. It will be Tony Allen's first return to the TD Garden in another uniform so it's sure to be sold out and the lead on Sportscenter.

Celtics smoke Suns with spectacular second half

The Boston Celtics proved once again that they're the best team in the NBA, defeating the Phoenix Suns, 117-97 last night at the TD Banknorth Garden.

A game that was tied at 57 at the half was blown open as the Celts (56-15) locked down the Suns (47-24) in the second half, outscoring them 60-40.

All five Boston starters scored at least 13 points, led by Kevin Garnett's 30 points, six assists, two steals and two blocks and Paul Pierce's 27 points, six rebounds and four assists. KG was the constant force all night while Pierce heated up in the fourth to put it away.

Ray Allen added 14 points and eight assists while Rajon Rondo notched 14 points, six rebounds and six assists. Kendrick Perkins did a good job guarding Shaq and posted 13 points and 10 boards.

For Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire led the way with 32 points (22 in the first half) and six rebounds while Boris Diaw had 15 points, five rebounds and five assists. Shaq was actually pretty decent with 16 points and seven boards while Steve Nash was held to 12 points and nine assists. Raja Bell (5), Grant Hill (4) and Leandro Barbosa (2) were all MIA as they combined for 11 points.

Even with the addition of Shaq, the Suns still don't stand much of a chance of winning that elusive title. They have too many terrible defenders (Nash and Amare) that they need out there for their scoring.

The difference between the teams was pretty clear as the Celtics can play some defense while the Suns can't. That's one of the C's greatest strengths, they can adapt to whatever style they face this season and still win.

Phoenix shot 55.9% and still lost by 20 which is hard to do. Boston was 52.3% but they made five more free throws and outrebounded Phoenix by 14 (41-27), including 13 more offensive boards (17-4). The Suns also turned it over 21 times leading to 30 Celtics points. You're never going to beat Boston when you turn it over that much.

It was a nice win for Boston after two consecutive losses. Next, New Orleans comes into the Garden Friday. The Hornets are the only team the Celtics haven't beaten this season (although they've only played that one game). New Orleans won another close one last night in Cleveland as David West hit a jumper with less than a second left. Tomorrow night should be great.

House of the Rising Sun

The Celtics lost their season-high third in a row last night to the Phoenix Suns, 85-77. After giving up a ton of points in their last two games, Boston's defense stepped up against the highest scoring team in the NBA. The problem was that the C's offense was nowhere to be found, making it their ugliest performance of the season.

You knew something was up when the Suns (38-17) took a 15-point lead just five minutes into the game. The first quarter finished with Phoenix up 24-13 and honestly, they could have been up by 25 if they didn't keep turning the ball over. Kevin Garnett (19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block) is starting to look like himself but Ray Allen (11 points on 3 of 12 shooting) and Paul Pierce (8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 of 13 shooting) picked a bad time to both have their worst games of the season.

Amare Stoudemire (game-high 28 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks) put up some nice numbers but he shot only 10 of 23. Stoudemire and KG evidently are not the best of friends and it showed as they repeatedly pushed, jawed at and fouled each other. It was fun to watch but ultimately hurt the C's as KG picked up a couple stupid fouls that way. The Celtics (41-12) also did a decent job defensively on Steve Nash (18 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists) but Grant Hill put up a double-double with 14 points, 13 rebounds and three steals. Boris Diaw was the only other Sun in double figures with 10 points and five boards.

It has been harder than usual the last few nights rooting against the Warriors and Suns because outside of Boston, these are by far my favorite teams to watch in the NBA. Who wouldn't want to watch run and gun, up and down basketball every night? It is truly the way the game is meant to be played, not the San Antonio Spurs inspired half-court snoozefest.

With that said, if you heard the Suns scored 85 points then there's no way they could have won, right? As good as Phoenix is on offense, they're just as bad on defense. Thus the decision to acquire Shaq last week for Shawn Marion. Who knows if the Big Cactus (his new nickname) will bring a much deserved championship to the desert but at least the Suns are going for it.

Shaq wasn't anything special last night, turning in a Ben Wallace type, 14 rebounds, 4 points, 2 blocks kind of night.

The C's played a little better in the second quarter but still found themselves down 43-30 going into the half. The third quarter was more of the same as the Suns were just a little bit better (20-19). Boston made a last gasp run in the fourth (28-22) but it was too late. Rajon Rondo (12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals), Tony Allen (9 points) and Kendrick Perkins (6 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks) were all OK but the rest of the bench was non-existent.

Phoenix outshot Boston for the game (42.3%-38.5%). Neither team could hit threes, Boston was 4 of 17 to Phoenix's 5 of 11. The Suns got to the free-throw line more, 18 of 28 to the C's 13 of 16. The biggest number that jumps out from the loss is that Phoenix destroyed Boston on the glass, 50-32. Boston had so many shots that you knew weren't going in and then they couldn't gather the rebounds either, making for lots of one and out possessions.

With only two games (Portland, Clippers) left on this trip, the Celts need to get back to the win column tomorrow night against the Blazers. It won't be easy since Boston beat Portland earlier in the season and the Blazers are battling for a playoff spot in the West (who isn't)? So far in the three games this week, Boston hasn't put together a complete game. In Denver and Golden State the offense was great and in Phoenix the defense was great. If the C's can put both sides together, they will start winning again.