Celtics Lose A Weird One To The Bucks In Milwaukee

I can't say I have ever seen (or at least can recall) an NBA team beginning a game with a 17-0 lead. Likewise, I don't remember said team blowing it and eventually losing that game. I guess contests like tonight are why I choose to watch an NBA game on December 1.

Boston (9-8, 4-4 away) jumped out to a 17-0 advantage in Milwaukee (8-7, 4-4 home) but the Bucks eventually wore them down and came away with a 91-88 victory at the Bradley Center. I'm not mad though since it was the second game of Rajon Rondo's two-game suspension and all things considered (my favorite NPR program, I'm old!) the Celts played pretty well.

Paul Pierce led Boston with 19 points and six assists, Jeff Green had 18 points (his second solid game in a row, a new personal record for the Celtics), Kevin Garnett put up 17 points and seven rebounds while Jason Terry (15 points, 11 assists, 3 steals) and Courtney Lee (13 points) flourished in the starting lineup.

Brandon Jennings' (13 points, 6 rebounds) 3-pointer with 24 seconds gave the Bucks a 90-88 lead. Terry had a chance to hit a go-ahead 3-pointer on the other end but missed. After Larry Sanders (18 points, 16 rebounds, 5 blocks) made one of two free throws, Pierce then Terry missed 3-pointers. What can you do?

I predict that Milwaukee finally sneaks into the playoffs in the spring, this was their second win in three tries against Boston so far this season. They'll meet once more in the regular season (December 21 at TD Garden). They have a fair amount of talent especially when Sanders plays like that, he had a triple-double in the game before with blocks. Monta Ellis scored 17, Ersan Ilyasova added 15 points off the bench and old friend Marquis Daniels had eight points and five assists.

After three games in four nights, with Rondo absent from the last two, the Celtics get a few days to rest their old bones (I'm looking at you KG and Pierce) before they host the Minnesota Timberwolves (7-8) on Wednesday (7:30 p.m., CSN). I'm not going to pretend like the rest of the Greenteamers that Rajon has suddenly grown up since he clearly hasn't. However, all I hope is this latest suspension has fired him up sufficiently and he plays at the highest level possible.

UPDATE 12/2: Kris Joseph was returned to the Red Claws.

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I Guess Nobody Told The Celtics They Had A Game Tonight

Well I was all pumped up for the Celtics' (0-2) 2012-13 home opener tonight but that excitement quickly disappeared as they got trampled 99-88 by the Bucks (1-0) at TD Garden. Milwaukee led from start to finish and they easily should have won by 20+ if not for some garbage-time heroics.

After getting humbled by the Heat on Tuesday in Miami, I think we all assumed that with a couple days between games, the Celts would regroup and beat the Bucks. Unfortunately, Boston saw its five-game win streak in home openers get flushed down the toilet. It's also the first time since 2005-06 and 2006-07 aka before the new Big 3 era that the C's have started 0-2 in consecutive seasons. If it makes you feel any better, they began last season 0-3.

Brandon Jennings burned the Celtics for 21 points, 13 assists (a career-high) and six steals. His new backcourt mate Monta Ellis (14 points) was relatively quiet but Tobias Harris (18 points) and Ersan Ilyasova (7 points, 11 rebounds) not to mention the bench trio of Beno Udrih (10 points), Larry Sanders (10 points, 7 rebounds) and Ekpe Udoh (10 points) were all there to give Milwaukee the victory in its season opener.

Kevin Garnett led the C's with a very quiet 15 points. Rajon Rondo had 14 points, 11 assists (26th straight game with 10+ assists) and three steals and he was the only other Celtic starter that really did anything. Anybody seen Paul Pierce (11 points, 6 rebounds on 3 of 11 shooting) or Brandon Bass (10 points, 6 rebounds)?

The only positives to take out of this no-show for the home team were the glimpses of hope provided by Jeff Green (11 points), Jason Terry (10 points) and rookie Jared Sullinger (6 points, 7 rebounds). Don't ask me why Leandro Barbosa played seven minutes (2 points) after he took over in the 4th quarter against Miami?

It's easy to be sarcastic but however, there is no reason to panic with this team. Hey it could be worse-the Lakers are 0-3 after losing tonight to the Clippers. Still, with their first back-to-back tomorrow night in DC at the Verizon Center against the Wizards (7 p.m., CSN), Boston needs to find a way to beat Washington (0-1) and come home with a win. In a scheduling quirk, the two teams are off until Wednesday when the Wizards are in Boston. All the Celtics need is a win to build up their confidence and chemistry on the court that so far in two games, has been severely lacking.

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Bucks' 6-Game Win Streak Is Snapped By The Celtics

I bet nobody outside of Wisconsin knew that entering tonight, the Milwaukee Bucks had the longest current win streak in the NBA.

That is history now as the Boston Celtics (25-21, 9-13 road) went into the Bradley Center and beat the Bucks (21-25, 11-10 home) 100-91. The loss ended Milwaukee's six-game win streak while also improving Boston's road trip to 4-3.

The C's improved to 2-0 against the Bucks this season, they meet one more time-April 26 for the regular season finale-in Boston.

It was a true team win for the Celts as five guys scored in double figures not to mention some key contributions off the bench from Keyon Dooling (8 points) and Greg Stiemsma (6 points, 5 blocks, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists) in front of his hometown fans.

Paul Pierce had a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds. Three Celtics had double-doubles: Kevin Garnett (16 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists), Brandon Bass (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Rajon Rondo (10 points, 14 assists, 3 steals).

Brandon Jennings led the Bucks with 19 points. Carlos Delfino had 16 points and eight rebounds. Ersan Ilyasova added 12 points and 14 rebounds. Monta Ellis had 13 points and seven assists while Mike Dunleavy scored 11 off the bench.

I included the picture up above since Ryan Hollins is the newest Celtic. Boston will be his fifth team in only seven seasons. Still, he's 7-feet-tall, he can run the floor and block shots. However, he can't rebound at all which doesn't really address one of Boston's biggest issues. He's expected to be in uniform tomorrow night in Philadelphia as the Celtics wrap up their insane eight-game trip against the 76ers.

Philadelphia is only a half game ahead of Boston while the Celts have a game in hand. If the C's can win tomorrow, not only does it make the trip very successful (5-3) but it vaults them from No. 7 in the Eastern Conference to No. 4 since they would lead the Atlantic Division.

The two teams have only met once so far this season, a 103-71 shellacking handed out by the Sixers on March 7 at the Wells Fargo Center. The C's have to be completely exhausted but with only one more game against the Sixers after tomorrow, this will be one of the most important contests of the regular season.

UPDATE 3/23: The Celtics waived Chris Wilcox to make room for Hollins, who will likely make his debut tonight for the Green in Philadelphia.

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Celtics Back To .500 After Second Win In As Many Nights

I've been negative for much of the 2011-12 season but this evening was a time to be happy about the Boston Celtics.

The Celts (17-17) got back to the .500 mark and won their second game in as many nights by holding off the Milwaukee Bucks (14-21) 102-96 at TD Garden.

You know I love statistics and there were some tasty ones from this win. Kevin Garnett scored a season-high 25 points to go along with 10 rebounds. His second solid performance, showing that the All-Star break did plenty of good for his old body. Last night, Rajon Rondo went scoreless but had 11 assists. Tonight, he notched his third triple-double of the season with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Other guys stepped up too: Brandon Bass had 16 points and seven rebounds, Ray Allen scored 15 and Paul Pierce had 10 points, six rebounds and five assists. Chris Wilcox put up seven points and 13 rebounds off the bench while Keyon Dooling scored eight points.

It was the seventh time that Boston has scored 100+ points, they are 4-3 in those games.

What the Bucks lack in talent, they make up for in effort which sounds cheesy but not when you think of all the lazy teams in the NBA. If they can ever keep Andrew Bogut healthy, they could be pretty decent. Ersan Ilyasova (25 points, 10 rebounds) is playing the best basketball of his life while Drew Gooden had 23 points and eight rebounds. Mike Dunleavy added 10 points off the bench. Milwaukee won't win many games that Brandon Jennings is held to six points and eight assists.

After an even first quarter (25-25), the Bucks led 54-50 at halftime before the Celtics turned it around in the third quarter (27-13). Boston looked poised for a rare blowout win since they got up 90-73 in the fourth but they had to sweat it out as Milwaukee cut it to 98-96 with 24 seconds left. KG hit all four free throws as the Celts held on for the second game in a row (something they couldn't do in the first half of this season).

Boston will look to make it three consecutive wins as the New Jersey Nets come to the Garden on Friday night. The Celts beat them 89-70 on January 4 but that was without Brook Lopez who just returned to the lineup.

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Pierce reaches elite company in Celtics history

In overtime last night, Paul Pierce joined John Havlicek and Larry Bird as the only Celtics players to reach 20,000 points in their career with just Boston.

It's been a remarkable turnaround for Pierce personally and professionally and save for the occasional wheelchair drama, he's a steady leader that truly loves to play here and appreciates being with one storied franchise for his whole career.

The Celtics (4-1) beat the Bucks (1-4) 105-102 at the TD Garden. It marks the first time this season that Boston has won on back to back nights, something that will be talked about often until they prove it is real or not.

Pierce had a game-high 28 points, Ray Allen scored 23, Rajon Rondo nearly had another triple double (17 points, 15 assists, 8 rebounds) and Kevin Garnett had 13 points and eight rebounds. Glen Davis continued to be the guy off the bench, scoring 14 points and coming up with several great hustle plays.

Despite its poor start, the Bucks are a team to watch this season, particularly if Andrew Bogut (21 points, 13 rebounds) stays healthy. They have a bunch of players not really known around the NBA but they can play.

Carlos Delfino had 15 points, Ersan Ilyasova scored 15 off the bench, Brandon Jennings added 13 points while Corey Maggette (11) and Keyon Dooling (10) were in double figures.

Like almost every NBA game, this one was back and forth. The Celts led 25-16 after one quarter but their old legs showed up in the second quarter (31-22 Milwaukee). It was a gross third quarter (16-15) but Boston seemed to take control in crunch time. They were up six with under two minutes left but the Bucks kept hitting shots and making free throws, hence overtime.

Former Celtics assistant coach Tom Thibodeau returns to Boston tomorrow night with his new team, the Chicago Bulls. This rivalry developed two seasons ago with the epic first round playoff series and it will continue as long as Rondo and Derrick Rose are on these respective teams. Should be a good one and I'm happy to say, I'll be in the building.