Fourth Quarters Are Not The Celtics Friend But At Least They Won This Time Around

Well it's safe to say that the Boston Celtics are sick of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

After choking away an 11-point lead and losing on Sunday at TD Garden by one point thanks to Kyrie Irving's spinning layup, the Celts almost gagged away a 22-point lead tonight at Quicken Loans Arena but thank heavens that they pulled it out 93-90.

The only explanation for why the Celtics (10-10) coughed up a huge advantage Orlando Magic-style is that they started settling for jumpers and not driving to the basket. The Cavs (8-12) are not filled with talent but they're scrappy and as they showed in these last two games, they don't give up as easily as most NBA teams.

Anderson Varejao put up what has to be the first 20-20 game of his career with exactly 20 points and 20 rebounds. Sideshow Bob has added a decent shot to his hustle arsenal and it took Boston more than two quarters to figure that out and adjust accordingly. Irving (21 points, 6 assists) almost stole another one as Cleveland cut it to two points late in the fourth but it wasn't to be.

The ghost of Antawn Jamison had 12 points while Alonzo Gee scored 11 points with four steals off the bench and Ramon Sessions had notched 10 assists off the bench (when do you ever see that?).

Paul Pierce led Boston with 20 points, six assists and three steals. Kevin Garnett had 13 points while Jermaine O'Neal and Ray Allen (8 assists) each added 12 points. Brandon Bass had 13 points and six rebounds off the bench as the Celts improved to 5-2 in games without Rajon Rondo this season.

The C's were up 28-24 after the first quarter and 51-39 at halftime. They played well in the third too (25-19) so this was all a near meltdown in the fourth (32-17 Cavs).

Boston shot better (50.7-45.3%) but Cleveland hit two more 3-pointers (7-5), one more free throw (15-14), grabbed 11 more rebounds (39-28), handed out two more assists (27-25) and made one more block (3-2). The Celts had two more steals (9-7), two less turnovers (16-14), three more fast break points (7-4) and four more points off turnovers (21-17).

It's a quick turnaround, as always this season, with the Toronto Raptors coming to the Garden tomorrow night. No excuse though, the Raptors are awful and the Celtics should never lose to them under any circumstance.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Cavaliers Steal One From The Celtics 88-87 On Kyrie Irving's Basket With 2 Seconds Left

I wasn't alone in thinking that the Boston Celtics had a five-game win streak all but sealed tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden.

The C's (9-10) were up 87-76 on the Cavs (8-11) with 4:26 left. To say the rest of the game was a disaster for Boston would be too kind; they went scoreless which allowed Cleveland to end on a 12-0 run, capped off by Kyrie Irving's (23 points, 6 assists) layup with two seconds left, for a humbling 88-87 loss.

This was the first game in 2011-12 that Boston had totally let slip through its hands. It was a sobering reminder that at this stage, they can't assume anything even against rather mediocre opposition.

The loss snapped the Celtics' four-game winning streak and dropped them under .500 while putting them at 6-6 in Boston.

Ray Allen was back after missing three games with an ankle injury and it was like he never left. He scored a team-high 22 points. Paul Pierce had 18 points but he missed a potential game-winner at the buzzer, he didn't get it off in time. Kevin Garnett had 14 points and Brandon Bass scored 13 as the Green went for the fifth straight game without Rajon Rondo. Jermaine O'Neal and Keyon Dooling were also still out.

Anderson Varejao had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers while the ancient Antawn Jamison scored 10. Alonzo Gee posted 14 points off the bench for Cleveland who will probably struggle until they can find a suitable running mate for the impressive Irving (2011 No. 1 overall pick).

Boston led 24-23 after one quarter but Cleveland went ahead 44-43 at halftime. The Celts opened it up in the third (70-62) but their offense went missing in the fourth (26-17).

The Celtics shot much better (52.2-43.0%) and hit two more 3-pointers (5-3) but the Cavs hit seven more free throws (17-10) and grabbed four more rebounds (37-33). Boston had nine more assists (21-12) which was a product of Cleveland going 1-on-1 almost exclusively but the Cavs made five more steals (11-6), scored 13 more fast break points (15-2) and dominated inside (54-32 points in the paint).

The best news for Boston is that they play Cleveland on two more occasions, including the next time that they suit up (on Tuesday in Cleveland). That's the beginning of a busy week for the C's since they host the Raptors on Wednesday, the Knicks come on Friday and they face the Grizzlies in a Super Bowl matinee on Sunday in Boston.

After Tuesday's game in Cleveland, Boston is home for five consecutive contests. It is a favorable schedule against mostly teams that they should beat so they need to take advantage.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Our economy is based on LeBron James

You can't blame the poor, miserable souls of Cleveland and their NBA team from overlooking last night's game against the Boston Celtics.

Naturally, with LeBron James' first return to town scheduled for Thursday night, you can understand why the locals are gathering the pitch forks and flaming torches.

Sure the Celtics (13-4) waxed the Cavaliers (7-10) 106-87 last night at Quicken Loans Arena but nobody cares about that. How will they react to LeBron, that's all anybody is talking about.

So it goes with a franchise that was kicked to the curb by its homegrown superstar. Even in the Eastern Conference, Cleveland will struggle to make the playoffs, they just don't have that much above average (if any) talent.

Rajon Rondo led the Celts with 23 points and 12 assists. Two other Cs had double-doubles: Glen Davis 17 points, 11 rebounds off the bench and Kevin Garnett 11 points, 10 rebounds, who shook off a major scare when he stepped on Paul Pierce's foot and twisted his right ankle.

Marquis Daniels had his best game of the season with 16 points, Ray Allen added 12 points and Pierce had 11 points.

Anderson Varejao, Sideshow Bob's bastard son, led the Cavs with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Daniel Gibson (16 points) and Ramon Sessions (14 points) had big games off the bench for Cleveland which is now strictly a jump shooting team, always a recipe for mediocrity. Mo Williams and Anthony Parker both notched 13 points.

Things started out well for the Cavs as they jumped out to a 12-4 lead but Boston immediately responded and only trailed 23-21 after one quarter. At halftime, the Green were up 56-45 so you knew which way this one was going.

Cleveland is so bad that they couldn't even take advantage of the Celtics in the second half like most other teams. Boston won the third quarter (24-20) and fourth quarter (26-22), drive home safely Cavs fans.

Boston shot 50.6% to Cleveland's 39.0%. The Cavs made five more free throws (18-13) but the Celts had four more rebounds (49-45) and most importantly 10 more assists (29-19). Would you believe me if I told you that Boston outscored Cleveland 60-26 in the paint? True story.

The Celts return to Boston tonight to host the Portland Trailblazers at the TD Garden, who lost last night in Philly so they'll be smarting from losing to such a terrible team.

Enough already

Based on a busy past few weeks (going to a bachelor party in DC, heading to the Cape for a few days), I haven't been blogging lately about the Bruins and Celtics. The real underlying reason however for my lack of posts has been the fact that these teams are too depressing and flawed to mention.

I realize that's no excuse but there hasn't been anything in the last few weeks (months really) to get excited about from either of these painfully flawed squads. The Bruins can't score goals and didn't stand up for themselves when their best offensive player-Marc Savard-was knocked out with a cheap shot last weekend in Pittsburgh. The Celtics just can't beat good teams and sometimes they don't bother showing up against garbage like the Nets or Pistons.

The C's took on the Cavs in Cleveland yesterday and it played out exactly like you'd expect: Boston (41-24) hung around for a while before LeBron James (30 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals) and Cleveland (52-15) decided to start playing. End result: a 104-93 Cavs win.

For once, the Celtics' starting five wasn't too blame. Ray Allen had 20 points, six rebounds and five assists while Kevin Garnett (7 rebounds) and Paul Pierce each scored 18 points. Rajon Rondo added 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Boston's bench was weak sauce to the max with 15 total points. When you play the Cavs, particularly at home, you know LeBron will do his thing. The key is limiting the clowns surrounding him; yesterday Anderson Varejao had 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Antawn Jamison added 15 points and 12 rebounds while Mo Williams (14 points, 6 assists) and J.J. Hickson (12 points) played their roles to perfection.

The Cavs jumped out to a 24-18 lead after the first quarter and held serve at 54-48 for the first half. Boston made a run in the third quarter to tie it up but a long drought buried them. They can hardly comeback against the Wizards so doing that in Cleveland is impossible.

The Cavs took the third (26-24) and the fourth (24-21) as LeBron and his cronies danced non-stop.

Detroit comes to the Garden tonight. If we've learned anything this season, it's that the Pistons will hang around for way too long before the Celts will barely squeak it out. Who knows, maybe they'll lose?

Celtics prove once again that no lead is too big for them to blow

Last night was an all-too familiar script for the Celtics against a good or in this case, a great team.

They started out hot, up ten after the first quarter (31-21) and built the lead up to thirteen before eventually, the Cavs (45-14) decided to start playing and what do you know, they ended up winning a laugher 108-88 at a stunned TD Garden.

Ray Allen scored a team-high 21 points for the Celts (36-20) and Rajon Rondo had 19 points and 11 assists but he was shutdown after the first quarter when he put up 12 points and seven assists.

LeBron James had his usual game of 36 points, nine assists and seven rebounds but it was his supporting cast that swung the momentum to his team's side. Mo Williams added 19 points, including four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter (35-14) and Sideshow Bob aka Anderson Varejao notched 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Boston was still up 56-48 at half and 74-73 after three quarters but they couldn't hang on since nobody wanted to step up in Paul Pierce's (thumb, flu) absence.

The Celtics had 32 points in the second half which is pathetic. They allowed the Cavs to shoot 52.6% while Boston was 40.7%. Cleveland had four more threes (10-6) and five more assists (24-19).

The running joke that is the New Jersey Nets comes to the Garden tomorrow afternoon for what should be a ritual sacrifice, no doubt instilling false confidence in what is not a very good Celtics team.

Celtics' free-fall continues, did the Lakers steal their souls?

If last night had happened during the Celtics' 19-game win streak it still would have been a tall task to come away with a win at Quicken Loans Arena.

Under the current circumstances, it was nearly impossible and it should be no surprise that the Cavs dominated, 98-83 as the Celtics still can't get out of their own way.

Cleveland (29-6) improved its home record to a modest 19-0 start which is been orchestrated by the best player in the NBA, LeBron James.

He had 38 points, seven rebounds, six assists, four steals and three blocks in one of those performances that only James, Dwyane Wade and Kobe can pull off.

Boston (29-9) got a double-double, 18 points and 15 rebounds from Kevin Garnett but like most of the games during this seven losses in nine game slide, nobody else stepped up as the second banana.

Kendrick Perkins had 13 points, Ray Allen had 12 and Paul Pierce had 11.

Sideshow Bob had 14 points and nine boards for the Cavs, Mo Williams (the key to their championship?) scored 13 and Daniel Gibson added 10.

The loss pushes Boston to third in the Eastern Conference as the Magic destroyed the Hawks in a similar early-season conference showdown.

For the game, Cleveland shot 50.8% to Boston's 41.3%. The Cavaliers made half of its 3-pointers (8-of-16) while the C's were 5-of-19. The Cavs led by LeBron's perfect 9-for-9, doubled up the Celtics in made free-throws (24-12).

The good signs in the loss were that Boston outrebounded Cleveland (one of the top rebounding team in the league) by 12 (42-30) and had ten more assists (25-15).

That might be grasping for straws a little bit and it's understandable since Boston's recent play has been downright depressing. Since that Christmas day loss to the Lakers, the Celts have lost their collective mojo.

They have home-and-home sets with the Raptors starting tomorrow in Toronto and then later in the week with the Nets. Both teams are not very good so the C's have to get back on track with at least a split.