Celtics Gut Out 85-75 Game 7 Win Vs. Sixers, Bring On Miami

In a series that was extremely ugly from start to finish, the Boston Celtics did just enough to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 85-75 tonight in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at TD Garden.

Boston is now 21-7 all-time in Game 7s (4-2 in the Big 4 era) and that victory sets up the juicy matchup in the Eastern Conference Finals that we all wanted: Celtics vs. Miami Heat. Now everyone else in the world will be jumping on the Celtics' bandwagon since the Heat are the most hated team in professional sports.

Rajon Rondo (18 points, 10 assists, 10 rebounds) had his 22nd career triple-double (9th in the playoffs) and take a guess what Boston's record is in those 22 games: 21-1. So yeah, Rondo is somewhat important to their basketball team. It was far from a one-man show since for the first time all postseason every starter scored in double figures. Kevin Garnett had 18 points and 13 rebounds, Brandon Bass scored 16, Paul Pierce filled the stat sheet with 15 points, nine rebounds, three blocks, two steals and Ray Allen (11 points) came back from the dead to hit a pair of dagger 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

The Sixers fought the Celtics tooth and nail and they have nothing to be ashamed of since they go home for the summer with the second-most wins (7) ever for a No. 8 seed in the NBA playoffs, trailing only the 1999 Knicks that made the NBA Finals. Doug Collins' team plays great defense and is unselfish but they are a consistent scorer away from being a true obstacle in the Eastern Conference in the near future.

Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 18 points, Elton Brand had 15 points and Jrue Holiday put up 15 points, nine assists and five steals. Thaddeus Young pulled down 10 rebounds off the Philly bench which outscored Boston's 17-7.

Rondo essentially saved the Big 4 era by taking over after Pierce fouled out with 4:16 left in regulation and Boston holding a slim 71-68 lead. Rondo scored the next nine points by himself which went layup, long 2-pointer (that was initially called a 3 but he had his foot on the line), rhythm 3-pointer and two free throws. To close out the game he went 4 for 4 from the free throw line and 3 for 3 from the floor. That is Rondo in a nutshell, just when you think you've figured him out (which is impossible), he does something absurd like that. He's the most frustrating yet unstoppable force in the NBA and that I can ever remember on the four Boston teams in my lifetime.

It was tied 20-20 after the first quarter and Boston led 41-33 at halftime. KG's jumper at the buzzer saved the C's from an awful third quarter (outscored 19-14) and gave them a 3-point lead (55-52) heading into the fourth quarter.

In a seven-game series where the Sixers never scored over 92 points, the Celtics saved their best defensive effort for last as they held Philly to a horrid 35.0% shooting from the field while Boston shot 42.5%. The other vital numbers were the Celtics free throw shooting (20 of 22) vs. the Sixers (14 of 20), blocks (6-1) and fastbreak points (14-5). That shows an older team buckling down and seizing the moment with what got them here.

Most will give the Celtics no shot against the Heat and that's the way I want it and they like it. Let Miami have all the pressure, we know how LeBron responds in those type of situations. Obviously with no break and heading to Miami for Game 1 on Monday night (8:30 p.m., ABC), the Heat will be rested and ready to go. All the C's have to do is win a road game (more likely Game 2) and flip the series. It sounds like Chris Bosh will miss the series so that's some good news for Boston.

This is the third time in five seasons (during the Big Four era) that they've made the Eastern Conference Finals. It's also the fourth time in the past five years that they've faced LeBron in the postseason. The Celtics are not scared of the Heat and they went 3-1 against them during the regular season, this is going to be a tougher series than most think.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Celtics Poop Their Basketball Shorts, Sixers Win Game 6 82-75 Going Away

Pathetic, embarrassing, putrid, depressing, these are just a few choice words to describe the Celtics' performance in tonight's Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at the Wells Fargo Center against the Sixers.

Philadelphia won 82-75 in one of the ugliest basketball games I've ever seen and this is coming from someone that used to cover Division 4 (the smallest) high school girls basketball in Massachusetts for a living. The Sixers forced a winner-take-all Game 7 on Saturday (time TBA) at TD Garden against the banged up Celtics, who are suddenly reeling and looking quite vulnerable.

The C's fell to a dismal 2-11 in close out games on the road in the Big 3 era, they are also 2-4 on the road this postseason. Looking for some positive numbers? Boston is 17-4 all-time in Game 7's at home and 20-7 overall in Game 7's. Neither team has won consecutive games so far in this series.

Avery Bradley missed Game 6 and he's reportedly done for the playoffs with his dislocated shoulder. This meant that Ray Allen had to play a big role but he was held to nine points in 26 minutes since he was saddled with four fouls. It's probably a combination of his ankle woes and age but Allen looks over the hill in this series.

It's not like the Sixers played great, they missed 11 free throws and gave up 11 more rebounds (48-37) including seven more offensive boards (14-7) but their youthful athleticism and variety of scoring options is what helped them succeed. Eight more assists (22-14) and Boston's 17 turnovers leading to 19 points helped their cause as well. Finally, who could forget Philly's 42-16 edge in points in the paint?

Philly had five players in double figures led by Jrue Holiday (20 points, 6 assists), who is not scared of the moment. Elton Brand put up 13 points and 10 rebounds while Evan Turner (9 rebounds) and Andre Iguodala (6 rebounds) each scored 12 points. Lou Williams notched 11 points and six assists off the bench and Spencer Hawes tossed in nine points.

The Celtics shot a horrid 33.3% for the game and had a season-low 14 assists. Paul Pierce (24 points, 10 rebounds) and Kevin Garnett (20 points, 11 rebounds) might as well have been the only Boston players that showed up. Rajon Rondo (9 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists) was held to his lowest assist total in 36 games. Brandon Bass (2 for 12) came back down to Earth with a thud after a career-high 27 points in Game 5, he was limited to just eight points.

The most frustrating part (besides Rondo) was KG's unwillingness to attack the paint/basket. All 20 of his shots were from outside the paint, showing that his bully reputation might be warranted. Moreover, this loss is further evidence that the Celtics are front-runners, particularly if they take care of business on Saturday like we think they will.

With the way this one unfolded, it's hard to believe that one of these teams will be in the Eastern Conference Finals and only eight wins away from an NBA title. This game was more suited for November or better yet, the preseason.

Philly led 22-19 after the first quarter but Boston went ahead with a 17-11 second quarter, haha really. Mickael Pietrus made a 3-pointer right before the halftime buzzer for a 36-33 Celtics advantage. As Sixers head coach Doug Collins has stressed, the third quarter has been the key frame in this series. The team that has controlled that has generally won the games. No surprise then that Philadelphia surged in front with a 27-20 third. KG made some shots in the fourth but he couldn't save Boston by himself as the Sixers put it out of reach 22-19.

The best thing for all of us is two days off between Game 6 and 7. This series has been nothing close to well played despite the fact that they have alternated wins from Games 1-6. Eastern Conference basketball is worlds away from what we expect during the Western Conference Finals (Spurs vs. Thunder) in terms of level of play, style and offense.

This being the NBA, you know that the Celtics will get more foul shots (the Sixers had 5 more tonight) in Game 7 which is good news for them. The question is if they can squeeze anything out of Allen, Rondo and anybody else not named Kevin or Paul. The C's looked like a poor imitation of the Heat in Game 6 with two players basically doing everything. Holiday is better than I expected but there's no way that Rondo should lose that battle, especially to that degree.

To tide us over, we will be forced to watch Heat-Pacers Game 6 tomorrow night and hope that Indiana can stave off elimination. The Big 3 is 3-2 all-time in Game 7's although they lost the last two (Game 7 vs. Lakers in the 2010 NBA Finals and Game 7 vs. Magic in the 2009 Eastern Conference semifinals). I'm not saying it can't happen (that would be silly) but I hate to think that the Big 3 go out like this, on the Garden parquet against a No. 8 seed with a chance to go the Eastern Conference Finals against a team they can beat (regardless of who wins that series).

UPDATE 5/25: Bradley had surgery on his shoulder today so he's done for the playoffs. That is a big loss for the C's since he's been their best on ball defender by far and he started 10 games before his shoulder was repeatedly dislocated. Get well soon Avery! He has a bright future for the Green.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Bass's Career Night Carries Celtics To One Game Away From Eastern Conference Finals

If you asked me to pick the Celtic that would basically save their season in the playoffs, the odds are that Brandon Bass would never come up in my first four choices.

However, shame on me since Bass was the player that woke Boston up after a quiet first half tonight against the Sixers. He scored a career-high 27 points, including 18 in the decisive third quarter, as the C's beat the Sixers 101-85 in the pivotal Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at TD Garden.

Bass is the only player from either team to score in double-figures every game so far in this series but nobody could have seen this explosion coming. He even had three dunks in the third quarter, something he very rarely does.

The Big 3 improved to 8-0 in Game 5s when Boston has been tied 2-2 heading into it and they also moved to 5-1 this postseason on their home court. Most importantly, they erased the bitter taste of Game 4's choke and moved one win away from another trip in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Philadelphia controlled play for the first two quarters as they led 27-23 after one and 50-47 at halftime. Honestly, the Celts were lucky to only be down by three points since the 76ers were making seemingly every shot and Boston wasn't playing with any sense of urgency. Philly was up by six early in the third quarter before the Celtics woke up with a 14-2 run. They closed the frame on a 10-2 spurt as Bass outscored the Sixers by himself (18-16).

There would be no epic collapse by the C's tonight as they wrapped it up with a strong fourth (26-19) thanks to some rock solid defense. It also helped that Boston lived at the free throw line (26 for 33) compared to Philadelphia (10 for 16), a typical NBA byproduct of being in front of the home fans. The Sixers unraveled in the second half as it felt like they turned it over on nearly every possession. Philly's 15 turnovers led to 18 points for Boston.

Bass also had six rebounds while Kevin Garnett (20 points, 6 rebounds), Rajon Rondo (13 points, 14 assists) and Paul Pierce (16 points) all played their parts. Greg Stiemsma made the most of his minutes with 10 points and three blocks off the bench. Avery Bradley missed the game due to his shoulder injuries (plural) so Ray Allen started for him but only had five points in 33 minutes. If Bradley is out longer, the C's have to find a way to get Allen more involved in the offense.

Elton Brand had by far his best game of the series with a team-high 19 points. He picked a bad time to play like that since most of his teammates were no-shows. Lavoy Allen was the next highest scorer with 12 points off the bench. If Doug Collins is set on Brand in the starting lineup (which was rewarded tonight), maybe he should consider starting Allen over Spencer Hawes (10 points) who has been awful. Evan Turner had 11 points and 10 rebounds while Jrue Holiday scored 10 points with seven assists. Andre Iguodala was held to eight points in the loss.

We all know how much the Celtics like to make things difficult on themselves so I'm expecting them to play worse in Game 6 on Wednesday (8 p.m., TNT) in Philadelphia. Plus, the Sixers will get the benefit of the calls. Still, it would behoove the C's to wrap it up since the Western Conference Finals are set (Spurs vs. Thunder) and they need to close out Philly. No reason to give them any hope and prolong this series even further when it should already be over.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Pietrus' Injury Overshadows Boston's Loss In Philadelphia

A serious injury in any sport always puts a damper on a game, no matter how important it is.

The Boston Celtics (25-22, 9-14 road) concluded their grueling eight-game road trip (4-4) with a 99-86 loss tonight to the Philadelphia 76ers (27-21, 17-10) at the Wells Fargo Center.

If they had won, the Celts would have moved into first-place in the Atlantic Division for the first time this season. However, for the second time, they were no match for the Sixers who now lead by 1.5 games but the Celts have a game in hand.

All of that seems insignificant though since Celtics swingman Mickael Pietrus suffered a serious injury late in the first half when he fell awkwardly on the court and his neck went back quickly. He had to be taken off on a stretcher and Boston released a statement that he had a "closed head injury" after the game.

At the time, the Celtics were leading but it is completely understandable that they ran out of energy and enthusiasm after seeing their teammate go down like that.

Plus, Ray Allen was already sitting out with an ankle injury and Avery Bradley suffered a similar injury (ankle) in the first half and he didn't return. He's hoping to return on Sunday, I'm not sure about Ray's status.

Elton Brand paced the Sixers with 20 points. Spencer Hawes had a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds), Andre Iguodala (14 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds) filled the stat sheet like always and Jrue Holiday scored 15 points.

Philadelphia is deep too since Lou Williams (19 points) and Thaddeus Young (12 points, 9 rebounds) are arguably their two most skilled offensive players and they both come off the bench.

Paul Pierce (9 rebounds) and Kevin Garnett (8 rebounds) both scored 20 points for the C's. Brandon Bass added 18 points and Rajon Rondo handed out a quiet 17 assists, if that's possible.

These teams will meet one more time in the regular season: Sunday, April 8 (Easter) at TD Garden. I just found out yesterday that I will be there with front row seats behind the Celtics' bench, something I've never experienced so I'm hoping for a better result then.

After almost two full weeks on the road, mostly very far away, Boston returns home to face the Washington Wizards on Sunday. The Celtics beat the Wizards three times in January but they were all pretty close (8 points, 8 points, 6 points) so if they're not careful, Washington could possibly steal a win.

Most importantly, let's hope that Pietrus is o.k. and that wasn't as bad as it looked.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Sixers Hand Celtics Their Worst Loss In The Big 3 Era

As far as I'm concerned, March is all about college basketball. The NBA might as well take the month off. So while I will be keeping tabs on the Boston Celtics, I can't say that I will be living and dying with every possession.

I recorded tonight's Celtics game against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center and I'm so glad I saw plenty of Tweets about the game and score. The Sixers (23-17) handed the Celtics (20-18), their worst loss in the Big 3 era, 103-71.

I'm happy to report that I didn't watch a second of it. Normally, I view everything be it a blowout win or loss but I couldn't pull the trigger on this one. I guess I needed to save some brain cells.

In this condensed 66-game season, perhaps no team benefits more than the Sixers. They're young, athletic and deep. That's why they'll overachieve during the regular season then in all probability come back to reality once the playoffs begin. They're more suited to this insane schedule than an older team like the Celts as everybody and their mother knows.

Boston's five-game win streak went out the window as they suffered plenty of embarrassment including not making a single 3-pointer. With the victory, Philadelphia gained a full game on the Celtics in the standings; the Sixers lead by two although the Celts have two games in hand. I guess playing two overtime games in a row and on back-to-back nights, not to mention traveling to the far away city of Philly was too much for the C's to handle.

Evan Turner led Philly with a career-high 26 points and nine rebounds. Showing how much of a blowout it was, the Sixers' next three highest scorers all came off the bench: Elton Brand (18 points, 9 rebounds), Lou Williams (15 points) and Nikola Vucevic (14 points, 12 rebounds) each put up nice numbers. Andre Iguodala had 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while Jrue Holiday had 10 points and six assists.

Paul Pierce (15 points) and Brandon Bass (12 points) along with JaJuan Johnson (10 points off the bench) were basically the only Celtics with any semblance of pride.

These teams will meet twice more, maybe Boston will opt to show up for one of those. That would be a treat.

The Portland Trail Blazers (19-20) visit TD Garden on Friday night. It is a pivotal game for Boston and basically a must-win since after that they depart on a season-long eight-game (really) road trip that stretches across the West Coast and takes up most of March.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

I really don't want to see the Sixers in the first round

I would much rather see the Boston Celtics face either the Indiana Pacers or Charlotte Bobcats in the first round of the playoffs this season. It's not that the Philadelphia 76ers would beat them but their athleticism and depth would take a lot more out of the Celts than the other two teams.

It seems like the Sixers (34-31) always give Boston (46-17) a game and last night, they ended up winning one, 89-86 at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Big Three combined to shoot 11-for-31, as bad a shooting performance as I can remember from those three future Hall of Famers.

Jeff Green led the Celts with 18 points while Nenad Krstic added 16 points and 15 rebounds. Kevin Garnett had 14 points and Paul Pierce scored 12 while Ray Allen was held to just five points. Rajon Rondo had a quiet 12 points.

Spencer Hawes led Philadelphia with 14 points and 10 rebounds while Elton Brand added 14 points. Andre Iguodala had 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Jodie Meeks scored 12 points and Thaddeus Young had 12 points off the bench.

Boston looks to bounce back from its two straight losses as they host the Milwaukee Bucks tomorrow night at TD Garden. Glen Davis is expected back in the lineup.

The most random 14-game win streak you'll ever see

There's no other way to explain the Boston Celtics' latest win streak (their fifth longest in the franchise's glorious history) besides the health and remarkable play by the Big Three: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

Boston (23-4) didn't even play well last night other than a key stretch in the fourth quarter and that was enough to get by the Philadelphia 76ers, 84-80 at TD Garden. The Celtics won their 14th straight game, the longest streak in the NBA so far this season.

Ray Allen led the Cs with a game-high 22 points and six assists. Shaquille O'Neal added 13 points and nine rebounds, Kevin Garnett had 12 points and seven rebounds while Paul Pierce notched 11 points and Nate Robinson (still subbing for Rajon Rondo) had nine points.

Based mostly on their young talent and athleticism, the 76ers (11-18) are a tough matchup for the Celtics these days. Forget their record, they've played them as close as you can in the first two meetings this season.

Elton Brand led Philadelphia with 16 points and 12 rebounds, Jrue Holiday added 15 points, Louis Williams notched 12 points and ex-Celtic Tony Battie (yes, he still plays in the NBA) had 10 points, six rebounds and four blocks.

Philly shot 43.1% to Boston's 38.8%. 3-pointers were rare (6-2 for Celtics) and the Sixers made six more free throws (22-16). Boston had five more assists (19-14), four more steals (0-4) and three more rebounds (43-30). The Cs doubled up the Sixers on fastbreak points (14-7) and almost twice the amount of points in the paint (34-18).

The Celts get a couple days off before their Christmas meeting with the Magic in Orlando. It'll be a totally different look team since the Magic traded for Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Gilbert Arenas last week in two massive deals. They needed to shake something up since they're really starting to lag in the Eastern Conference behind the Celtics and (gulp) Miami Heat.