Celtics Pick Up Nice Road Win In Indiana

After close losses to the Spurs and Bulls in consecutive games, it was nice to see the Boston Celtics put together a more complete effort tonight.

Boston (31-24, 12-15 away) picked up a quality road win against Indiana (34-22, 18-8 home) as they beat the Indiana Pacers 86-72 tonight at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

After losing the first two games to the Pacers this season, the Celts rallied to take the last two which has to give them some confidence.

With the victory, the C's simultaneously gained a game on the the team ahead of them-the Pacers who are No. 3 in the Eastern Conference, up 1.5 games-and a game on the Sixers, who lost to Orlando. Philly is now two games back of Boston for the Atlantic Division lead and those teams play tomorrow night at TD Garden.

Paul Pierce led Boston with a game-high 24 points, Kevin Garnett added 15 points and seven rebounds while Rajon Rondo had 12 assists (his 16th straight game with 10+ assists). The Celts have solved their bench scoring woes by starting Avery Bradley and bringing Ray Allen (19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals) in as a substitute. Greg Stiemsma also had a nice performance with 10 points, nine rebounds and five blocks.

Danny Granger had 20 points, David West scored 16 and Darren Collison notched 13 but they were the only Pacers in double-figures. Roy Hibbert had 17 rebounds in the loss.

Boston won because they had an insane 16 more assists (27-11), shot 7% better from the floor (42.1-35.1) and made four more steals (8-4).

I'm proud to report that for the first time in my life I have a ticket behind the Celtics' bench tomorrow night so I will do my best to make sure they won't lose to the Sixers. Philadelphia has beaten them both times they've played (each in Philly), including most recently 99-86 on March 23-the game that Mickael Pietrus got seriously hurt in. A win tomorrow would really put some distance between the Celtics and Sixers with only 10 games remaining after it is over.

It will be Boston's fourth game in five days so I am sure they will be completely gassed but at least the Sixers played at the same time tonight and had to fly to Boston as well.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Reports Of The Celtics Demise (From Myself & Many Others) Were Very Premature

I'm a big boy so I can admit when I'm wrong about something. After the last two nights, the Boston Celtics have proven to me, the Eastern Conference and the NBA that they're not hopeless.

You would think that their 27-point comeback in Orlando on Thursday would leave them dead for tonight's game at TD Garden against the Pacers, a team that had beaten them twice already, yet the Celts (9-9) won their fourth straight 94-87.

It was the second night of a back-to-back, vs. a playoff team but Boston didn't care as they recorded their fifth win in the last six tries.

Did I mention that Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Jermaine O'Neal and Keyon Dooling were all out? It makes no sense that this team would find its legs and defensive identity with such a shortage of bodies but welcome to the NBA in 2011-12.

Indiana (12-6) had no answer for Paul Pierce (28 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks), who is playing some inspired basketball. Building off his nice game against the Magic, Chris Wilcox added 14 points and six rebounds off the bench.

Kevin Garnett and Mickael Pietrus each had 13 points and eight rebounds while Brandon Bass scored 12.

The fantasy stud but real life enigma Danny Granger led the Pacers with 21 points. Paul George had 16 points, David West scored 14 and Roy Hibbert added 11 points.

I honestly can't explain how the Celts have morphed from a joke to a solid, competitive team in the span of a few weeks. Whatever the reason, I love it since I was pretty much dreading their games earlier in the season.

The C's led from start to finish: 23-17 after the first quarter, 42-34 at halftime and 71-61 after three quarters.

Boston shot 45.8% and held Indiana to 35.0%. The Celtics made five more 3s (6-1) which made up for the Pacers advantage at the free throw line (30-12). I don't think I've ever seen a team lose when they shot 30 of 31 from the line but the Pacers screwed themselves by going 1 of 19 from downtown. Boston grabbed three more rebounds (45-42) and dished out 10 more assists (21-11) without Rondo! The Pacers had three more steals (9-6) but the Celtics had four more blocks (7-3).

Indiana's age showed in the fast break points (23-6) but Boston beat them with the old man game down low (48-42) in the paint.

The Cleveland Cavaliers visit the Garden on Sunday in the first leg of a home-and-home series. The Cavs are still in full out rebuilding mode Post-LeBron but their No. 1 pick, point guard Kyrie Irving out of Duke, looks like a real good one.

If the C's can continue this defensive intensity and efficiency on the offensive end, they are going to be tough to beat when Rondo and Allen return. Moreover, I'm not going to underestimate them or doubt head coach Doc Rivers for the rest of the regular season.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Pacers Beat The Celtics For The Second Time In Eight Days, 97-83 In Indiana

Boy am I glad that I watched about three minutes total of tonight's Boston Celtics-Indiana Pacers game.

If I was a smarter man, I would have bet everything I have on the Pacers since there was no way the Celtics were going to beat them, particularly on the road after a back-to-back.

Sure enough, Boston (4-7) continues to be the easiest team to figure out in the NBA since they'll never beat good opponents. The Pacers (9-3) won 97-83 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (sweet name).

The Celtics dropped their fourth straight game, making them 1-4 on the road. It was also their second loss to the Pacers (5-0 at home) in the last eight days. Finally, Boston has failed to score over 100 points in its last nine games.

I'd love to come up with a creative new way to make fun of the C's but since I hardly paid attention to this game that was a foregone conclusion before it started and I've been saying the same stuff for weeks, I'll just leave you with the facts from this one.

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce actually both led Boston with 21 points. The problem was that Ray Allen (7 points) and Rajon Rondo (6 points, 9 assists) didn't have it going. It seems like they can't all put it together on the same night anymore. Zombie Jermaine O'Neal grabbed 12 rebounds so that's something to be excited about.

Brandon Bass (10 points, 8 rebounds) was the only other Celtic in double-figures, off the bench. I'm happy to see that rookie E'Twan Moore played 20 minutes and notched seven points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals. With Keyon Dooling out last night and tonight, what better time to find out what Moore has? After all, he has much more of a future ahead of him than Dooling.

Not that it matters one bit but Chris Willcox missed tonight's game and he's expected to be out the next two games as well after hurting his calf last night vs. Chicago. The plethora of injuries on every NBA team is predictable specifically because of the lockout. It's clear that many guys, especially veterans, weren't in the best shape coming into training camp and they're paying for it now.

Danny Granger led the Pacers with 21 points. Darren Collison and Paul George both put up 17 points while Roy Hibbert had 11 points and nine rebounds.

The outcome was never in doubt as the Pacers led wire to wire. They were up 29-24 after one quarter and 56-48 at halftime. Indiana pushed it to 82-67 after three.

In a common theme of almost every loss so far, the Celtics made less free throws (22-14), pulled down less rebounds (52-45), had less steals (12-4), less blocks (10-6), less fast break points (23-13) and less points in the paint (42-24). But other than that, they played great.

It will only get more depressing for the Green and White in their next game since the Oklahoma City Thunder-one of the top teams in the NBA-visit TD Garden on Monday night. It will be Kendrick Perkins's first game against the Celtics since he was traded last season.

Not only can we wallow in self-pity from that mind-numbingly bad deal but to top it off, the Thunder will kick Boston's ass. Oh joy.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

The Question Of 2011-12: Will The Boston Celtics Ever Beat A Good Team?

I want to have hope for the Boston Celtics in 2011-12, I really do. However, when they've lost to every half-decent team (plus New Orleans) that they've played so far, I can't help but feel that they are front-running frauds.

Tonight, the Indiana Pacers came to TD Garden and they snapped Boston's (4-4) misleading (since it was against Detroit, Washington-twice-and New Jersey) four-game winning streak with an 87-74 beating that truthfully was never really in doubt.

For whatever reason, the Celts had no rhythm offensively other than Ray Allen, who had a game-high 23 points after missing Wednesday against New Jersey with the flu.

They tied a franchise low with 25 points in the first half. Somehow they were only down eight at that point but the Pacers (5-2) were efficient, younger and had more energy.

Paul Pierce had one of the worst shooting performances (3 of 17) in his career as he was held to 10 points. Kevin Garnett put up his now customary quiet 12 points and six rebounds while Rajon Rondo was held in check (11 points, 9 assists, 3 steals).

Four of the five Pacers that started scored in double-figures. Only David West (2 points, 10 rebounds), who spurned the Celtics' offer to come to Boston, had a bad game. Danny Granger led Indiana with a modest 15 points while Darren Collison (14 points), Paul George (12 points) and Roy Hibbert (11 points, 12 rebounds) all played well.

The two main reasons that the Pacers won were because they owned the glass (47-36 including 14-7 offensive rebounds) and their bench absolutely crushed Boston's (33-14).

George Hill (13 points) and Tyler Hansbrough (12 points) were both big sparks off the bench for Indiana that Boston had no answer for. The normally reliable Brandon Bass had his worst game in a Celtics uniform with five points (2 of 7 shooting) and four rebounds in 25 minutes.

I wouldn't normally say that four games is a reasonable sample size in an NBA season but since this particular one is only 66, I'd say the next nine days are vital for the C's. They have two more huge games at home: Wednesday vs. the defending champion Dallas Mavericks then Friday vs. Chicago. After that, they go to Indiana on Saturday and come home to face Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, January 16.

They need to beat either the Mavs or Bulls and then the Pacers the second time around to show that they are still elite in the Eastern Conference and by extension, the NBA. Otherwise, it's going to be a long and mediocre season.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Get used to the No. 2 or 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, the top spot isn't happening this season

Each game gets stranger for the Boston Celtics as they find new and different ways to lose (to bad and average teams) and piss down their legs at the same time.

Rajon Rondo was going to sit for a second straight game last night as they visited the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse. However, at the last second Rondo decided to play and wouldn't you know he put up 22 points and eight assists.

For the first time in weeks, Boston's defense stayed on their team bus while their offense actually carried their weight. It wasn't enough as the Pacers (33-42) beat the Celts (51-22) 107-100.

Nenad Krstic's foul trouble (5) enabled Indiana's center Roy Hibbert (26 points) to go off for a season-high point total. Danny Granger added 18 points, Darren Collison had 17 points and A.J. Price scored 15 points off the bench.

It was great to see Rondo look like himself again, with a quick first step but nice performances from Paul Pierce (23 points) and Glen Davis (20 points off the bench) were overshadowed by a lack of touches for Ray Allen (11 points, 4 for 8) and Kevin Garnett (6 points, 2 for 4 shooting).

The loss was even rougher since Chicago lost to Philadelphia last night, meaning a Boston win would have pulled them to within one game of the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Celtics led 33-27 after the first quarter but a horrid second quarter (30-16 for the Pacers) gave Indiana a 57-49 lead. The up and down Cs were great in the third (36-24) but as usual, the wheels came off in the fourth (26-15 Pacers).

Boston shot 54.8% to Indiana's 54.5%. The Pacers made two more 3-pointers (6-4) but the Celtics were rewarded for going to the basket aggressively with 11 more made free throws (28-17). Indiana had seven more rebounds (36-29).

The road trip continues for Boston as they visit the San Antonio Spurs Thursday night. Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobli all sat out last night so it's doubtful that they'll all return for Thursday night's game. The two teams had a regular season classic the only other time they met, a Celtics win at home in January but it's looking unrealistic that these two older teams have another one of those in the bag during the regular season.

Pierce messes around, gets a triple-double in Boston's 13th straight victory

The steamroller known as the Boston Celtics continues to find ways to win (even without Rajon Rondo).

Yesterday afternoon, Paul Pierce notched a triple-double (18 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds) as the Celtics (22-4) won their 13th straight game, 99-88 over the Indiana Pacers (12-14) at TD Garden.

Nate Robinson and Glen Davis (off the bench) also added 18 points apiece for Boston. Ray Allen notched 17 points, six rebounds and six assists while Shaquille O'Neal had 11 points (all in the first quarter) and Kevin Garnett put up nine points and nine rebounds. Marquis Daniels had eight points off the bench for the Celtics, who are pretty much rotating eight healthy players (Semih Erden has a hurt groin and Von Wafer's back is acting up).

You have to give former Celtics head coach Jim O'Brien credit, the Pacers are no longer a pushover. They have some legitimate young talent and I wouldn't be surprised if they snuck into the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Danny Granger led Indiana with 19 points, Roy Hibbert added 17 points and 14 rebounds, Darren Collison had 15 points while T.J. Ford (13 points) and Mike Dunleavy (10 points) had nice games off the bench.

Boston led 30-23 after one quarter and 51-48 at halftime. Neither team could make shots in the third quarter (18-17 Celtics) which can be attributed to the early start and the Cs got it done in the fourth quarter (30-23).

The Celtics shot 53.9% to Indiana's 35.4%. Boston had six more assists (23-17) but five more turnovers kept the Pacers in it (18-13). The Cs had nine more fastbreak points (23-14) and 10 more points in the paint (40-30).

They are currently riding the seventh-longest win streak in franchise history and they'll look to extend it on Wednesday when they host the Philadelphia 76ers, who have been playing well since they took Boston to the limit a few weeks back in Philly.