Celtics Win Their Fourth In A Row, Get Back Over .500 In The Process

The Celtics are finally starting to hit their groove and it only took nearly half of the 2012-13 season to figure things out with all their new players. Boston (18-17, 11-6 home) won its fourth straight game with a 87-79 victory against Phoenix (12-25, 2-16 away) tonight at TD Garden, getting them over .500 for the first time since their Christmas day win in Brooklyn.

Beating the Suns isn't a very notable accomplishment these days but the way the Celts did it is what is worth mentioning. Kevin Garnett (10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals) was the only starter to score in double figures. I can't remember the last time the Celtics' bench outscored their starters, especially in a win.

Boston's bench had its best game of the season as they outscored Phoenix's reserves 47-16. A year removed from major heart surgery, Jeff Green had 14 points. Jared Sullinger had 12 points and 16 rebounds (a season-high for a Celtic) and Jason Terry added 13 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Phoenix is a model UN with an Argentian-Luis Scola (16 points, 8 rebounds), Pole-Marcin Gortat (12 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks), Yugoslavian-Goran Dragic (12 points, 5 rebounds) and Superfan from BC-Jared Dudley (14 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists) all in their starting lineup. Unfortunately for them, the NBA doesn't award extra points for diversity so the Suns are basically screwed.

The Suns led 24-23 after one quarter but the Celts ran out to a 53-41 halftime advantage. Phoenix rallied with a 23-14 third quarter but Boston had enough energy (mostly from the bench) to close it out in the fourth quarter (20-15).

Boston shot 6.4% better than Phoenix (45.7-39.3%) from the field, they had seven more steals (12-5) and three less team turnovers (16-13). Other than a couple vicious dunks by Green and some great work on the glass by Sullinger, it wasn't pretty but the C's got the job done against a truly awful team.

Things will certainly pick up on Friday as Boston hosts Houston (21-15, 3rd in Southwest Division), one of the hottest teams in the NBA. The Celtics will be looking for some revenge after the Rockets beat them handily, 101-89 back on December 14 in Houston. It should be a good one since James Harden is playing at an All-Star level and Houston has a bunch of solid complimentary pieces including Harvard's Jeremy Lin that seem to fit together perfectly.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

They Might Have A Worse Record Than Them But The Celtics Still Own The Knicks

You wouldn't think a Celtics-Knicks game on a Monday in early January would get the blood pumping but that's exactly what happened as the events at Madison Square Garden were much more interesting than Alabama's 42-14 pasting of Notre Dame in the BCS Championship game.

Playing without Rajon Rondo, who was suspended for a game after making contact with a referee in Atlanta on Saturday, Boston (17-17, 7-11 away) still found a way to hold off New York (23-11, 13-4 home) 102-96 in their first of four meetings in the regular season.

Paul Pierce led the Celts with 23 points and six assists, Kevin Garnett had 19 points, 10 rebounds and three steals while Avery Bradley (13 points, 5 assists) played like himself from last season. Jeff Green put up 16 points and six rebounds off the bench and Jared Sullinger had 10 points and five rebounds as Boston won its third straight game-all against Eastern Conference playoff teams.

J.R. Smith had 24 points off the bench for the Knicks. Carmelo Anthony scored 20 points but he shot a putrid 6 of 26 from the field. Tyson Chandler added 13 points and 17 rebounds while Amar'e Stoudermire notched 13 points as a substitute.

The weird subplot is that KG and Melo got tangled up during the game in the fourth quarter (both earning technicals) and it apparently carried over to afterwards as Anthony tried to confront Garnett by Boston's team bus. Haha really dude? Luckily, there was about 1000 people there to make sure nothing actually happened.

This had the look and feel of a playoff game, right down to the scoreboard. Zing! The Celtics led 22-21 after the first quarter but the Knicks wrestled slight control away with a 56-53 halftime advantage. Boston's defense took over in the third quarter (23-16) and they were able to hang on in the fourth (26-24).

The Celtics won because they shot so well from the field (52.7%) and held the Knicks to 40.8%. The only reason New York made a game of it was because they hit eight more 3-pointers (14-6). No Rondo but Boston still had seven more assists (26-19) and 12 more points in the paint (40-28).

After we all left the C's for dead last week-rightfully so-they have certainly turned things around. They have the potential to go on a nice run here as the schedule really works out in their favor: their next five games are all at home. Only two of them are against playoff caliber teams (Rockets, Bulls) while the other three are cupcakes (Suns, Bobcats, Hornets).

Boston hosts Phoenix (12-23, 5th in Pacific Division) on Wednesday night (7:30 p.m., CSN) in their first of two meetings this season.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Finally, The NHL Returns (No Thanks To This Clown)

Our long national nightmare is over: the most recent installment of the NHL lockout ended in the wee hours of this morning in NYC. The details including a new 48-game schedule will be released at some point this week with every team in the league reportedly opening the regular season on Saturday, January 19.

The lockout made us all sick but like true drug addicts, I know I will be back for my fix as soon as possible. There are no winners in situations like this but hey, at least we have the NHL back in our lives and no labor negotiation talk at least until next winter.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Texans Return To Foxborough, With Hopes Of Actually Giving The Patriots A Game This Time

Unlike in the past, I don't have much interest anymore in breaking down what I think will happen next Sunday (4:30 p.m., CBS) since that is mostly a useless task but as your loyal blogger, I'm here to inform you what you already know: the Texans are coming to Gillette Stadium to face the Patriots in the AFC Divisional Round.

Houston held on for an ugly 19-13 win against Cincinnati yesterday to clinch their second trip to Foxborough in less than a month. On December 10, the Texans traveled to Gillette for a showdown with the Patriots on Monday Night Foootball. They were the top team in the AFC but they were humbled 42-14 and had been in a serious tailspin until yesterday.

All I'll say is that don't judge Houston or New England for that matter, on what happened during the regular season. For Patriots fans, two years ago should refresh our memories to how much a blowout win in December matters once the postseason rolls around. New England pasted the Jets 45-3 on December 6, 2010 then lost 28-21 to the same team, on the same field in the divisional round. Apropos of nothing, the Pats opened up as a 10-point favorite.

Denver hosts Indianapolis on Saturday (4:30 p.m., CBS) in the other AFC game. Before the playoffs started, it felt like a Patriots-Broncos AFC Championship was a foregone conclusion. The Texans and Ravens will both give the home teams trouble, I don't expect either game to be a lopsided victory. However, I didn't see anything from Houston or Baltimore this weekend that made me doubt either New England or Denver.

UPDATE 1/8: Today the Pats signed wide receiver Andre Holmes to the practice squad.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Who Woke Up The Celtics?

I don't know where it came from but what transpired in the third quarter tonight might be later viewed as a turning point in the Celtics' season, that is if they go anywhere in the playoffs (all that really matters to this team).

Boston (16-17, 6-11 away) was down 53-38 to Atlanta (20-12, 11-6 home) at halftime but they somehow turned it around with a 33-9 third quarter. The Celtics held on for a 89-81 victory at Philips Arena, for what easily has to be called their best road win of the season.

It's hard to ever take the Hawks seriously, even when they have a good record since all they do in the postseason is choke. They had lost last night so like Boston, they were experiencing a dreaded back-to-back game. Winning both contests, in very different fashion, should do wonders for the Celtics' shattered confidence.

Paul Pierce (26 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists) and Rajon Rondo (14 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals) were brilliant while Kevin Garnett (14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) and Brandon Bass (10 points, 3 steals) also did their jobs.

Former Sixer Lou Williams (28 points) always kills the Celtics and he looked well on his way to a career night when he dropped 16 points in the first quarter alone. Jeff Teague had 17 points and three steals while Josh Smith had 12 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals.

Boston won because of three things which never go out of style: they hit the glass (44-36 rebounding advantage), passed well (27-18 assists) and took care of the ball (eight less turnovers than the Hawks).

After getting tomorrow off, the C's wrap up this very tricky three games in four days stretch with their first meeting of the season against the new and improved Knicks (23-10, 1st place in Atlantic Division) on Monday (7:30 p.m., CSN) at Madison Square Garden. Boston has a chance to go 3-0 against three likely playoff teams. The Knicks hit a million 3-pointers a game and Carmelo Anthony (28.9 ppg, 2nd in the NBA; 6.3 rebounds) is probably playing the best basketball of his NBA career. The good news is that the Celts usually match up well with the Knicks for whatever reason.

UPDATE 1/6: Today, the Celtics waived rookie Kris Joseph and forward Jarvis Varnado. They were both playing on non-guaranteed deals and the deadline to be guaranteed was tomorrow at 5 p.m. This opens up two roster spots as teams around the NBA make similar moves. Perhaps, it's also a precursor to a bigger trade/move down the line. We shall see.

UPDATE 1/7: Rajon Rondo was suspended for tonight's game against the Knicks. I watched the game on Saturday at Atlanta on DVR so I missed it (and nobody talked about it afterwards) but apparently he made contact with a referee after a call. It seems pretty bogus but then you remember that Rondo had been suspended three times in the last year. So yeah, he gets no leeway around the NBA and all the referees are rightfully keeping an extra eye on him.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Celtics Finally Decide That It's More Fun To Be On The Winning Side Of A Blowout

We can't get too ahead of ourselves after one night, facing a team without its two best players but let's be honest: doesn't it feel good to enjoy a blowout win for once? Something that has been few and far between all season for the Celtics.

Boston (15-17, 10-6 home) snapped a four-game losing streak (all losses had been by double-digits) with a 94-75 win against Indiana (19-14, 8-11 away) tonight at TD Garden. I wouldn't say this was a must-win but given how bad they've played and their caliber of upcoming opponents, they really needed a complete team effort.

The Celtics notched their largest margin of victory of 2012-13 while holding their opponent to the lowest total this season vs. the C's. Danny Granger and George Hill were both inactive for the Pacers, a stroke of good luck for the Celts-something which they've sorely lacked among other things.

Kevin Garnett (18 points, 7 rebounds) was wrongfully ejected for an inadvertent elbow of Tyler Hansbrough (19 points) with 8:23 left in the fourth quarter but it didn't matter since Boston's defense had already turned out the lights on Indiana. At that point, the C's were up 78-55.

Rajon Rondo had 18 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals, Paul Pierce put up 13 points, six rebounds and five assists while Courtney Lee (13 points, 5 rebounds) had arguably his best game as a Celtic. Jared Sullinger added 10 rebounds before he fouled out and Brandon Bass grabbed eight rebounds as he was inserted back into the starting lineup.

David West (10 points) was the only other Pacer in double figures. Indiana couldn't get over 19 points in the first three quarters of action. Boston slogged through a slow start of its own (15 points in the 1st quarter) as they exploded for 32 in the second quarter thanks to some stingy defense and easy transition buckets.

The Celtics meet the Hawks (20-11, 2nd place in Southeast Division) tomorrow night (7 p.m., CSN) in Atlanta, their first of four matchups this season.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Avery Bradley's Return Can't Help The Celtics Avoid Their Fourth Straight Loss

Remember when we were all excited about the Celtics when this season started in October? It seems like a long time ago when it actually was only a few months back. Boston (14-17, 9-6 home) lost their fourth straight game, 93-83 to Memphis (20-9, 7-6 away) tonight at TD Garden.

All four losses by the Celts have been by double-digits. Avery Bradley (4 points, 1 steal in 20 minutes) played his first game of 2012-13 but it'll take time for the defensive stopper to get acclimated to this currently lifeless squad. The loss dropped Boston a season-low three games under .500.

You don't hear much about them because they are in the Western Conference and a small market but the Grizzlies are a very solid team. They are deep, tough, they play defense and each guy seems to know his role (a rarity in today's NBA). Mike Conley led Memphis with a season-high 23 points and nine assists, UConn's Rudy Gay had 19 points, six rebounds and five assists while former Celtic Tony Allen had 15 points and five rebounds in his return.

Things were going so good for Memphis that Darrell Arthur (10 points) hit the first two 3-pointers of his NBA career (5 years) and Marreese Speights added 10 points and six rebounds off the bench as well.

Paul Pierce had a quiet 17 points and seven rebounds, Kevin Garnett put up 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists while Rajon Rondo notched 11 points and 10 assists. Boston's bench actually outscored Memphis' 37-25 so for once you couldn't blame them. Jeff Green had 10 points to led the Celtics' reserves.

The Celts face the Pacers (19-13, 1st place in Central Division) on Friday (8 p.m., CSN) at the Garden. After a slow start, Indiana has figured things out and they will be a tough matchup for the suddenly reeling Celtics.

UPDATE 1/4: Kris Joseph was sent back to Maine.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate