It Took Way Too Long But The C's & Jaylen Brown Finally Agreed To A Supermax Deal (5 Yrs, $304M)

 

    After nearly a month of waiting, the Celtics and their star swingman Jaylen Brown mercifully agreed to a supermax contract extension (5 years, $304 million) through the 2028-2029 season that temporarily makes him the highest paid player in NBA history. Putting aside that absurd amount of money-and keep in mind it's not my money or your money-do not get too hung up on him being the richest guy since it will not last for long. When you are in a market like Boston, free agents in basketball are not exactly falling over themselves to come here anymore so when there is a very talented younger guy on your current roster (warts and all), you have to do your best to retain him. Granted, superstar swingman Jayson Tatum is better than Brown-any argument about that ended in the 2023 playoffs-but they are still one of the best duos in the league, last postseason not withstanding. 

    Brown is a two-time All-Star and he is coming off the best regular season in his career when he averaged 26.6 points per game which led to him being named to the All-NBA second team for the first time (which enabled him to be eligible for the supermax). Jaylen's awful performance in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals vs. Miami two months ago left a poor taste in all of our mouths but he is still only 26 years old even though he has played seven seasons with the C's (drafted No. 3 overall in 2016 after one season at Cal). Boston will never be Miami or Los Angeles which for many reasons are the preferred type of destinations for most NBA stars these days. It sucks but that is the reality that we are left to deal with. 

    Tatum and Brown have an interesting relationship since they are not best friends by any means but they do not seem to hate each other either. More importantly, they play pretty similar positions and styles of games so can Boston win a championship with them as their top two players? That is what we have to bank on since what is the better (and more realistic) option? The Celts have made the playoffs in every year of Brown's career including the NBA Finals in 2022 and three Eastern Conference Finals so an optimist would say that they are knocking on the door of a title while a pessimist worries that they could be basketball's version of the Buffalo Bills in the 90s. 

    I have always been a major Brown fan for what he stood for off the court and the important work that he does there (minus the wacko Covid beliefs and following Kyrie Irving's madness) so I am happy that at least he will be here for the next few seasons. It would be silly to trade him after one poor postseason since Boston would never get the proper return. If he can just improve his terrible handle a little bit, Brown can be an even better player. There is no doubt that Tatum's ceiling is higher but every great NBA player needs a sidekick (just ask Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray on the Nuggets) and in a perfect world, Brown will smartly accept that role and realize that he and Tatum need each other if a title(s) is what they care about most at the end of the day.

Celtics Close On A 40-8 Run To Shock The Nuggets In Denver To Start A Pivotal West Coast Road Trip

 

    How about those Celtics (28-26 overall, 11-16 away)? They started their difficult three-game West Coast road trip with a bang this afternoon as they won 105-87 against the Nuggets (34-19 overall, 18-10 home) at the Ball Arena (seriously, that's what their building is now called). It looked like it would be a routine loss for Boston as they trailed by double-digits in the third quarter but then they locked it down with a 40-8 run that included outscoring the home team 31-8 in the fourth quarter. Yes, Nuggets star point guard Jamal Murray was out with a knee injury but the C's-who are not a good defensive team by any measure-holding Denver to eight points in the fourth not to mention their lowest scoring output of the season and worst shooting percentage (36.4%) are all major reasons to celebrate for a few days. 

    With the victory, Boston has won three games in a row and five out of their last six. Coming off his career-high 53 point performance on Friday vs. Minnesota (14-40), swingman Jayson Tatum's (game-high 28 points, 10 rebounds) encore was pretty solid. He had plenty of help too as shooting guard Jaylen Brown (20 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks), point guard Kemba Walker (14 points, 6 assists), guard Marcus Smart (14 points, 5 assists) and center Robert Williams (10 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks) all scored in double-figures as well. Last seen bitching about his touches in the bubble playoffs, Denver was led by small forward Michael Porter Jr. (22 points, 11 rebounds) as center/MVP candidate Nikola Jokic (17 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds) was (sort of) held in check without his running mate Murray to work with. In his place, point guard Facundo Campazzo scored 14 points and Brewster Academy product Will Barton added 13 points and six rebounds.

    The Nuggets entered as the hottest team in the league since they had won their last eight games in a row to reach fourth-place in the Western Conference. For that reason, I feel like this was near the top of the (very short) best wins list in 2020-21 for the Celts. If you claim that you saw this coming, you are a liar my friend. Denver was up 27-16 after the first quarter and 51-45 at halftime. Boston cut it to 79-74 heading into the fourth quarter before they morphed into the '98 Bulls. The C's shot 44.8% from the field, made five more free throws (20-15), grabbed six more rebounds (52-46) including nine more defensive boards (42-33), blocked three more shots (7-4), scored 10 more points in the paint (56-46), had eight more second chance points (21-13), five more fast break points (13-8) and seven more points off turnovers (11-4) than the Nuggets. 

   That huge rally out of nowhere today makes Tuesday (10, NBC Sports Boston) at Portland (31-22) and Thursday (10, NBC Sports Boston) at the Lakers seem more winnable. The Celtics just swept the season series with Denver who is currently ahead of both the Blazers and Lakers. It won't be easy by any means but Boston is finally playing some good basketball when it really matters-down the stretch of the regular season with the playoffs just around the corner. Tatum has started to resemble a superstar again and everyone else is playing their role which is all that head coach Brad Stevens can ask for after the non-stop turbulence of this campaign. 

For One Night, Winning Cures Everything For The Celts As They Beat Undermanned Denver 112-99

 

    It has been a rough week for the Celtics (14-13 overall, 7-4 home) and it felt like for once, nobody associated with the franchise (head coach, players, GM, etc.) was immune to some legitimate criticism after a pair of soul-crushing defeats to the Pistons (8-19) and Wizards (8-17). It would be silly to overreact and say that things are different now but at least in Boston's first chance at redemption, they responded in a big way by taking down Denver (15-12 overall, 7-6 away) 112-99 tonight at TD Garden. The fact that the Nuggets were playing without four guys from their rotation certainly helped the Celtics but honestly, any club with center/MVP candidate Nikola Jokic (game-high 43 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals) and point guard Jamal Murray (25 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals) in the starting lineup still presents a formidable challenge. 

As always, the C's were led by shooting guard Jaylen Brown (team-high 27 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) and swingman Jayson Tatum (21 points, 8 assists) who were both instrumental in the victory. The plot twist for the home team was that they had many other guys pull their weight as well: with Daniel Theis out with a sprained finger, center Tristan Thompson had nine points and 12 rebounds; point guard Kemba Walker added 17 points while Boston's bench outscored Denver's 30-14. Rookie small forward Aaron Nesmith hit three 3-pointers, center Robert Williams notched eight points, eight rebounds and five steals (!) while rookie guard Payton Pritchard (8 points, 7 assists) continues to shine as veteran guard Jeff Teague racks up the DNP-CDs (did not play-coach's decision). 

    Jokic has become a freak of nature and I mean that in the highest form of praise that is possible. He is a matchup nightmare for anybody in the NBA because he has the size and post moves of an old school center yet he also can hit threes and pass like a point guard. The Joker basically single-handedly kept his team in it in the first half as he dropped 29 points while Boston led 30-26 after the first quarter and 59-54 at halftime. Murray's numbers look fine except I didn't mention his key stat: nine turnovers. Woof. The Celts outscored the Nuggets 27-21 in the third quarter and 26-24 in the fourth quarter to pick up their most important win of the season. Argentine point guard Facundo Campazzo (15 points, 8 assists, 2 steals) was the only other Nugget to score in double-figures which shows you just how much they missed their top role players.  

    The Celtics shot almost three percent better than Denver from the field (48.1%-45.2%), they hit six more 3-pointers (15-9), made five more free throws (19-14) and grabbed five more rebounds (43-38) including six more defensive boards (33-27). After such depressing back-to-back losses, this evening showed that when the C's are working together, they are capable of beating pretty much any other team in the NBA. Conversely, when things start to go off the rails, they proved that they can lose to the true dregs of the league just as easily. 

    I'll keep saying this until they start consistently winning again but the good feelings from tonight will be quickly erased unless they carry it over to tomorrow night's (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) contest with the Hawks (11-16 overall, 5-7 road). Boston seems to be catching Atlanta at the right time for a two-game set at the Garden (they also play on Friday at 7:30 as well) since the Hawks are free-falling out of playoff contention by losing four straight games coming in and going 2-8 in their last 10. Also, their head coach Lloyd Pierce will miss both games to be at the birth of his second child. Assistant coach Nate McMillan (former Pacers head coach) will be in charge for these matchups. Regardless, if point guard Trae Young (who is on the cusp of making his second All-Star Game in a row) and power forward John Collins are playing along with center Clint Capela, Atlanta is very dangerous and the Celts simply cannot afford to relax for a second thinking that they'll just roll over.  

You Can't Stop The Celtics, You Can Only Hope to Contain Them

You know things are going well for the Celtics when Kris Humphries comes out of mothballs and off the bench to score a season-high 18 points with seven rebounds as Boston (9-12 overall, 5-5 home) beat Denver (11-8 overall, 5-6 away) 106-98 tonight at TD Garden. They maintained their spot atop the woeful Atlantic Division where nobody is even close to .500. Woo!

The Celtics have beaten up on some really bad teams so far this season but haven't notched many wins against playoff-caliber opponents. Tonight qualifies as a solid victory since even if the Nuggets don't make the postseason in the far superior Western Conference, they are a good team.

Of course, it helps when the C's are spotted a 14-0 lead right off the bat. Boston led from start to finish, by as much as 27 (42-15 early second quarter) and as little as three (76-73 late third quarter). Jordan Crawford (game-high 22 points, 8 assists) is playing the best basketball of his strange career. Avery Bradley had 18 points as well, Jeff Green scored 15 and Brandon Bass added 14 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

Ty Lawson paced Denver with 20 points. J.J. Hickson had 17 points and seven rebounds, Randy Foye scored 12 points while former Celtic Nate Robinson (11 points), 90-year-old Andre Miller (10 points) and Timofey (that's really how it's spelled) Mozgov (10 points, 6 rebounds) all had double-figures off the bench.

In their best quarter of the season, Boston outscored Denver 39-14 in the first which was enough to carry them to another improbable victory. The Nuggets outscored the Celts 83-67 in the final three quarters.

The C's shot 7.6% better from the field (51.8-44.2), they dished out 14 more assists (25-11) and had five less turnovers (14-9) than the Nuggets.

Boston gets its first up close look at the car crashes better known as the Knicks (5-13, 4th in Atlantic Division) and Nets (5-14, 5th in Atlantic Division) over the next few days. They are in New York on Sunday afternoon (12, CSN)-that should get monster ratings going up against the NFL-and then they are in Brooklyn on Tuesday (7:30, CSN).

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In 1st Game After All-Star Break, Celtics Fall To Nuggets 97-90 In Denver

After watching two Celtics-Nuggets games in the last 10 days, one thing is clear: they are very evenly matched and they play entertaining games. Last night, Boston (28-25, 8-16 away) began their five-game road trip after the All-Star Game with a 97-90 loss at the Pepsi Center. The Celts fell to 0-6 on the road this season against Western Conference teams, ouch. Denver (34-21, 23-3 home) avenged the epic 118-114 triple OT loss in Boston on February 10.

The two guys that did by far the most damage for the Nuggets were Ty Lawson (26 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists) and Danilo Gallinari (26 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists). Kenneth Faried grabbed 16 rebounds, Kosta Koufos added 11 points while Andre Miller (11 points) and Corey Brewer (10 points) had double figures off the bench.

Jeff Green led the Celts with a season-high 20 points off the bench. Avery Bradley had 17 points, Courtney Lee scored 15 points, Kevin Garnett put up 12 points and nine rebounds while Paul Pierce was held to 10 points, six rebounds and six assists.

It was a back and forth game, Boston led 22-21 after one quarter and 50-49 at halftime. Denver's strong third quarter (29-20) propelled them to the win as Boston outscored them 20-19 in the fourth quarter.

There are three statistics that show why the Nuggets won this game: they attempted 20 more free throws and hit 11 more than the Celtics, they had six more rebounds (45-39) and scored 10 more points in the paint (42-32). If you asked basketball coaches what are the three biggest indicators of hustle, those would be it.

Hopefully the C's got plenty of rest over the break because they are back in action tonight in Los Angeles (10:30 p.m., CSN) against the Lakers (25-29). Boston beat LA 116-95 at TD Garden on February 7 in a blowout that wasn't nearly that close. The additional storyline here is that this is the final game before tomorrow's NBA Trade Deadline when mercifully all the trade rumors will end. Like everyone else, I have absolutely no idea if Boston will stand pat or make some wild deals.

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This Is Getting Silly: Celtics Pick Up 7th Straight Win, In 3OT Vs. Denver (NBA's Hottest Team)

Two weeks ago when Rajon Rondo was declared out for the season, who could have predicted how these next seven games would turn out for the Celtics? Boston (27-23, 19-9 home) picked up their seventh straight win tonight, 118-114 in triple overtime against Denver (33-19, 11-16 away) at TD Garden in what was the best game of the regular season so far not only for the C's but the NBA as a whole.

Boston hadn't won a triple overtime game since 1999 and what made this extra sweet was that it was against the NBA's hottest team: the Nuggets entered with nine wins in a row. Paul Pierce (27 points, 14 rebounds, 14 assists) notched his eighth career triple-double (second in two weeks) while playing 54 minutes. Kevin Garnett was also excellent with 20 points, 18 rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals in 47 minutes. Avery Bradley added 13 points, five rebounds and three steals. The unexpected hero for the Celts was Jason Terry who had a season-high 26 points and three steals off the bench. Jeff Green continues to play well and shut up his early season critics (myself included) with 17 points, three blocks and two steals.

Ty Lawson paced Denver with 29 points, nine assists and six rebounds. Former Knick Danilo Gallinari had 18 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and two blocks, Kenneth Faried added 14 points, 12 rebounds and three steals while Andre Miller (15 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds) and Corey Brewer (13 points, 3 steals) were in double figures off the bench.

Other than Boston starting the game on a wacky 12-0 run, this game was back and forth the whole way as it should be. Lawson tied it at 92 with less than a second left in regulation after driving the lane and getting a floater off the glass. With 23 seconds left in the first overtime, Green tied it at 99 with a 3-ball then Lawson missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer. Down three with five seconds left, Pierce tied it at 107 with a 3-pointer in the second overtime. Gallinari missed a layup with one second left. Terry hit the go-ahead three in the second overtime then he laid it in at the buzzer so technically he scored Boston's last five points.

I can't even imagine how tired Pierce, Garnett and the rest of the team are after this marathon (game-time: 3 hours, 4 minutes). There are only two games left before the 2013 All-Star break: tomorrow (7 p.m., CSN) in Charlotte (11-39, 5th in Southeast Division) then against Chicago (30-20, 2nd in Central Division) on Wednesday (7:30 p.m., CSN) at the Garden. He's never done it before but I wouldn't be surprised to see Doc Rivers pull a Gregg Popovich and sit KG and Pierce against the Bobcats. There is no reason to push them hard after tonight's grueling task. Likewise, they should still be able to beat hopeless Charlotte even without them.

UPDATE 2/12: Guard Leandro Barbosa is out for the season after tearing his left ACL in last night's loss to the Bobcats. Ugh, he's the third Celtic to go down in the last three weeks with a season-ending injury. It's a shame too because he had been playing well with more minutes since Rajon Rondo tore his ACL. Boston will need to get another guard to take his spot.

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No St. Patrick's Day Magic For The Celts As Their Comeback Falls Short In Denver

These days it's hard to figure out the Boston Celtics let alone predict what they'll do from game to game. After starting out 2-1 on their eight-game road trip and playing some of their best basketball in weeks, they got blown out last night in Sacramento and then they lost tonight in Denver.

The Nuggets (25-20, 15-11 home) held on for a 98-91 win at the Pepsi Center over the Celtics (23-21, 7-13 road). Let it be noted that on St. Patrick's Day, the crowd was filled with Green of the Boston variety.

You would think that the pressure would be off the C's since the trade deadline was hanging over their heads for months but Celtics GM Danny Ainge decided not to do anything.

Losing to a terrible Kings team, after they had a day of rest, made little sense but falling to the Nuggets-a fringe playoff contender in the Western Conference-on the second night of a back-to-back in high altitude and after a long plane ride were understandable.

Denver doesn't have a go-to guy per se but they get it done with a deep, mostly young roster that plays with energy and emotion. Danilo Gallinari led the Nuggets with 20 points while rookie Kenneth Faried put up a career-high 18 points and 16 rebounds. Arron Afflalo added 15 points and Ty Lawson had 10 assists. Fat Al Harrington scored 11 points off the bench.

Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett (9 rebounds) both had 22 points for the Celtics but Ray Allen (7 points) was invisible. Rajon Rondo (12 points, 16 assists) won the point guard battle against his fellow Oak Hill Academy alum Lawson. Marquis Daniels played 20 minutes (which has to be a season-high) and he looked good with eight points. Avery Bradley also scored eight off the bench.

I actually give Boston credit since they were down 16 points in the third quarter and trailed by 14 (82-68) heading into the fourth before they rallied. Believe me when I say that Denver tried really hard to gag it away. The Celtics cut it to two (87-85) and Allen had a chance to tie it (94-91 with 55 seconds left) with a three but he missed and that was it.

Looking at the numbers, I can't comprehend how this was that close. Denver hit four more 3-pointers (7-3), made seven more free throws (23-16), they grabbed 19 more rebounds (46-27), had three more steals (10-7), 15 more fast break points (21-6) and eight more points in the paint (48-40).

Boston mercifully has three more games (Hawks, Bucks and Sixers) on this neverending trip. Those are all Eastern Conference playoff teams or contenders so they will be tough for the C's. First up is in Atlanta on Monday. In a weird scheduling quirk (crazy I know in this great season), the Celtics haven't played the Hawks yet but then they see them three times in a month. Sweet.

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Bet the NBA wishes it had flex scheduling for TNT Thursdays

It's hard to remember a regular season marquee matchup on TNT that fell apart worse than last night's meeting between the Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics from the Pepsi Center.

Denver had just traded franchise player Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks while Boston shipped five players away, most notably Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson.

So yeah, the fact that the Celts (41-15) dressed only nine players (including D-League callup Chris Johnson) meant this one was over before it began.

Boston actually led 75-73 midway through the fourth quarter but from there, the Nuggets (34-25) went on a 16-0 run to take it 89-75.

To call this game ugly would be an understatement on par with saying Chris Anderson and J.R. Smith enjoy the occasional tattoo.

Denver was led by Kenyon Martin's game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. Haha K-Mart capped off the weird contest with a 3-pointer. New Nugget Wilson Chandler scored 16 points off the bench while Nene (12 points, 10 rebounds), Smith (12 points), Aaron Afflalo (13 points) and Ty Lawson (10 assists) all had decent showings.

For the Cs, Paul Pierce led the shorthanded squad with 17 points. Kevin Garnett had 14 points and 13 rebounds while Glen Davis (11 points) and Ray Allen (10 points) were also in double figures. The one positive to come out of this throwaway game was Delonte West (10 points) had a nice game off the bench.

The newest Celtics Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic will make their debuts tomorrow night in front of Bill Simmons as Boston visits the Los Angeles Clippers and Blake Griffin.

Good old Denver Nuggets, the best punk team in the NBA

You have to admire the stubbornness of the Denver Nuggets. They refuse to play defense or any semblance of team basketball and they won't change for their head coach George Karl or just about anybody.

Sure they got to the 2009 Western Conference Finals (where they got smoked by the Los Angeles Lakers) but does anyone not named Lala actually think they have a prayer to get anywhere close to there again? Superstar/dope Carmelo Anthony should be traded any day now (please so we can stop listening to all the rumors) and then they'll go back to the basement of the Western Conference.

Denver (13-8) came to Boston (17-4) last night but were not at full strength as Carmelo sat out with a knee injury (wink wink, sure big guy). Not surprisingly, the Celts rolled to their eighth straight win (the eighth such streak of the Big 3s illustrious tenure in Boston) 105-89.

I'm just glad I didn't shell out money to see Anthony and be left with former UMass star Gary Forbes starting in his place, what a letdown.

Ray Allen led the Celtics with a game-high 28 points while Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett (9 rebounds) both notched 17 points. Rajon Rondo was clearly not himself (limited to four points) but he still had 13 assists against Denver's variation of the Swiss cheese defense.

Boston head coach Doc Rivers had to protect his starters too since they were in the first leg of a back to back. Glen Davis, who should be considered a front-runner for sixth man of the year if he keeps this up, added 16 points, six rebounds and three steals off the bench.

It was good to see college stars can still do things in the NBA as Ty Lawson paced the Nuggets with 24 points and seven assists. J.R. Smith also had 16 points off the bench. The only Denver starters that did anything (and that's being kind) were Arron Afflalo (16 points) and Nene (12 points), who has to be Giselle's favorite NBA player.

The Cs jumped ahead right away, 35-21 after one quarter. Even without Melo, the Nuggets can put up points with the best of them so they closed it to 59-52 at the half.

It wasn't a pretty second half but Boston did enough in the third (21-17) and fourth (25-20) quarters to hop on their charter flight with few worries.

For the game, the Cs shot 55.9% to 42.3% for the Nuggets. Boston made eight more free throws (25-17), rebounds (42-34) and assists (26-18). Denver had five more steals (13-8) but the Celts had a whopping edge in blocks (10-1).

I have no idea why TNT agreed to this game in prime time (favor to their boy Doug Collins?) but the Celtics go to Philadelphia tonight to take on the still terrible 76ers.

Good to have you back on the Celtics bandwagon

With a healthier Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, the Boston Celtics look like a new team. As long as they can get the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, thus skipping the Cavs until the Eastern Conference Finals, I'm drinking the green and white Kool-Aid straight with no chaser.

Last night's 113-99 domination over the Denver Nuggets (47-25) at the TD Garden was evidence that you need to start paying attention to the C's (46-25) again.

Pierce (27 points, 7 rebounds) was named Eastern Conference player of the week for last week and it appears like after a poor season, by his standards, the Truth is coming back to his old self at just the right time.

Garnett (20 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists) will never be the guy of two years ago, let alone five or ten years ago, since he's logged so many NBA minutes but I'll never count out KG in my life.

Ray Allen added 16 points and Rajon Rondo had his second triple double of the season with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 15 assists.

The C's bench continues to do some nice things with Nate Robinson (8 points) and Michael Finley (7 points) already proving their worth. Tony Allen hadn't done anything in months but he looked great last night with 13 points as Pierce and Marquis Daniels got into early foul trouble.

As it stands right now, Denver is the number two seed in the Western Conference. However, with head coach George Karl receiving cancer treatments and the underlying fact that this team is full of Grade A clowns, who knows what to expect.

Carmelo Anthony (32 points) has had another monster season but does he make his teammates better? J.R. Smith had 21 points off the bench while Arron Afflalo (13 points) and Chauncey Billups (12 points) were the only other Nuggets in double figures.

Boston owned the boards (45-36) and led by Rondo they passed it beautifully (30-21 assists). They also limited themselves to 11 turnovers to Denver's 17.

That was the first of a season-high six-game homestand and the Sacramento Kings come to the Garden tomorrow night for a game that should get pathetic ratings going up against the Sweet 16.

And John Denver is smiling somewhere

Talent-wise, you'd be hard pressed to find more than two or three teams in the NBA (Lakers, maybe Magic) more talented than the Denver Nuggets.

They can score with anybody, they're great at home and they've been on a roll lately. All this meant that yesterday's game at the Pepsi Center, wrapping up the four-game West Coast trip, was nearly impossible to win for the Celtics.

The Nuggets (37-19) proved in the first quarter of their 114-105 win why they're so good and later in the game why they'll probably never win a title, since they rely way too much on clowns like Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin.

Chauncey Billups, who's having a career year, led the Nuggets with a game-high 26 points and seven assists, Melo added 23 points and eight assists while both Nene (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Martin (12 points, 10 rebounds) had double-doubles. Smith scored 19, including 16 in the fourth quarter.

Even though it was a loss, there were plenty of good signs for Boston. Ray Allen continues to play as if he just jumped out of a time machine, he had a team-high 25 points. Kevin Garnett (15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks) looked as explosive as I can remember him all season.

Rajon Rondo (15 points, 11 assists) and Kendrick Perkins (14 points) had another good game and Marquis Daniels was a revelation off the bench with 15 points in 18 minutes.

If Paul Pierce (2 of 10 shooting, 5 points) had been anything like himself and not the currently crippled Truth, the C's might have pulled this one out.

Denver was up twenty points in the first quarter and almost ran the Celtics (35-19) out of the building, up 37-19 after the first twelve minutes.

Thanks to great play from its second unit, the Celts clawed back into it and were down only 54-47 at the half.

Boston tied it in the third quarter but they were gassed by that point and the Nuggets had way too much firepower to be held down for too long.

Nate Robinson and Marcus Landry should be in uniform tomorrow night as the Knicks, their former team, come to town in Eddie House's first return to the TD Garden since he was traded last week.

Denver will never win with Carmelo

NBA players are just like everyone else in one sense: they're prone to taking a day off from work here or there.

Far be it from me to criticize David Stern's league but do we really need 82-game regular seasons? If the answer is still yes, then you get what you wish for with steaming turds like last night's Boston Celtics-Denver Nuggets game.

They had both played the day before but you wouldn't know it by the way the Celts (46-12) completely worked over the host Nuggets (37-20), 114-76.

It's just one game and as professional sports show time and again, you can't base much off of one regular season contest. Still, that's the third best team in the West? Really?

For all his success in one year at Syracuse, the NBA version of Carmelo Anthony is basically a representation of everything that's wrong with today's NBA (shakes fist and spits while talking on soapbox): He's selfish, dirty, a me-first player. I'm just glad he's not on a team I care about.

Ray Allen led the C's with 26 points and six rebounds. Paul Pierce added 22 points and six boards. Rajon Rondo filled it up with 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Finally, a recharged Leon Powe had 16 points and five boards off the bench.

Denver has never played defense for as long as George Karl has been there but they have been playing very well since they hoodwinked the Pistons into taking Allen Iverson for Chauncey Billups earlier this season.

J.R. Smith paced the Nuggets with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists. Carmelo managed 18 points and six boards while Linas Kleiza (10 points) was the only other Denver player in double-figures. Billups had maybe his worst game as a pro: 3 points on 1-of-8 shooting, five assists, four turnovers, four fouls in 34 minutes. His plus/minus was -38.

The only moment of intrigue in the second half was that Boston rookie J.R. Giddens scored his first NBA point. He had four to be exact. Fellow rookie Bill Walker also had four points, including a sick alley-oop on a fastbreak from Eddie House.

This was never competitive as Boston led 29-20 after one and 60-37 at the half.

One can only imagine how badly the Celts could beat the Clippers if they bring that same intensity to tomorrow night's game in LA. It's the last game of the six-game road trip so the C's might be looking ahead to getting home.

Rocky Mountain High

The Celtics returned from the All-Star break last night in Denver and began their toughest road trip of the season-five games in seven nights against five Western Conference teams. Despite the return of Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis, the Nuggets (33-20) had too much firepower for the Celtics (41-10), winning 124-118. It was Boston's first loss of the season (16-1) against the West.

Let me preface this by saying that I love Allen Iverson, or maybe loved is the proper tense these days. Watching last night's game was a quick refresher course on many of the problems that plague the NBA product (too many fouls called, especially for stars, choppy play and no team basketball). I have noted these elements the last few years but since the Celts are finally good again, they've been put on the backburner for now.

Iverson (28 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds) played well but he also was 14 of 20 from the free throw line. If that wasn't bad enough, Carmelo Anthony (game-high 29 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists) was 12 of 13 from the line. Those two guys shot more free throws than the whole Celtics team (19 of 28). Denver was 34 of 49. It was an absolute joke. I'll admit that Paul Pierce gets a ton of calls in his favor but AI and Melo are unbelievable actors. Any time they drive to the basket, they yell, scream and whine about getting fouled and usually reap the rewards.

Garnett (4 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 4 turnovers) started but only played 21 minutes. He was 2 of 7 from the floor and it was clear that his stamina is not there yet after missing the past nine games. Pierce (team-high 24 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds), Ray Allen (20 points, 5 assists) and Rajon Rondo (22 points, 4 rebounds, 6 turnovers) provided enough offense, the C's defense just couldn't get anything done. And the few times they would seemingly get a stop, a late whistle would bail the home team out.

Leon Powe had a double-double off the bench with 13 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks, James Posey was great (13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals) while Tony Allen and Eddie House each had nine points.

Denver outscored Boston, 36-31 in the first as Iverson and Anthony were unstoppable but Ray Allen kept Boston close with 14 first quarter points. The C's evened it at 62 going into the half by taking the second quarter (31-26). Rondo hit a ridiculous floater from the free throw line, over Marcus Camby (11 points, 13 rebounds, 9 blocks, 3 assists, 3 steals) right before the buzzer. He got fouled too but missed the And-1.

The Nuggets won the third, 26-22 as their role players like Kenyon Martin (19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals), Anthony Carter (14 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds) and Linas Kleiza (11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) all made key plays.

The fourth quarter had the intensity of a playoff game as the sold-out Pepsi Center crowd finally woke up and was rewarded with some amazing basketball. Kleiza hit back-to-back threes to put Denver up 10 before Boston clawed its way back. Both Rondo and KG had putback dunks for the Celtics. Camby hit a shot-clock beating step back three, Iverson hit a jumper and K-Mart got a basket. Boston had a chance to get it down to three with under a minute but Ray Allen missed a 3-pointer. Denver missed a few foul shots while Boston kept making baskets but it was too late. Denver edged Boston in the fourth, 36-34 to take the game.

All the numbers not surprisingly were absurd from such a high-scoring game. Denver shot 51.3% to Boston's 44.4%. The Celts had three more 3's (11-8) but Denver had 10 more assists (29-19) and six more blocks (12-6). How the Celtics kept it close despite all the free-throws is a mystery. The Nuggets had the early-season blowout to the Celtics in mind as they wanted to pay them back and knock off the top team in the NBA in the process.

No rest for Boston as they flew to Golden State last night and will take on the Warriors tonight. The defensive numbers of the C's (the top defensive team in the league) should continue to get worse as they play three run and gun teams in a row (Denver, Golden State, Phoenix). Boston dominated Golden State earlier in the season and the Warriors also lost last night (to the Jazz) so it should be a good game.

Pretty, Pretty Good

The Boston Celtics absolutely smoked the Denver Nuggets last night at the TD Banknorth Garden, final score was 119-93 but it wasn't even that close. Boston was up 77-38 at halftime. The Green and White scored 38 in the first quarter and 39 in the second quarter to ice this one. Kevin Garnett (23 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals), Paul Pierce (26 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals) and Ray Allen (22 points, 6 assists) completely dominated the Nuggets trio of Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson and Marcus Camby.

Weren't the Nuggets suppose to be good or something? While their chemistry looks shot, the C's are making people look stupid who thought this wouldn't work. Sure this will not be easy and yes they'll lose some games but when you have three guys on the top of their games like this, what can go wrong? They're looking unselfish and the role players are even stepping up. Rondo had 14 points, 4 assists and 4 steals while Eddie House had 11 points and Kendrick Perkins had 7. Boston played some great defense last night, forcing 24 Denver turnovers. That's a great sign of things to come since total lack of defense has been the Celtic's biggest problem over the last few seasons. The scoring will be there but if this team can consistently get stops, look out NBA. The Celtics are for real. Boston next hosts Atlanta on Friday night.