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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