Sharapova Likes What She C's

With my favorite leggy, 21-year old professional tennis player (Maria Sharapova) sitting courtside, the Celtics worked over the Heat for three quarters in Miami tonight. Up 22 going into the fourth quarter, the Heat staged a furious comeback but ultimately fell short, 95-85.

Paul Pierce led the way with a game-high 27 points (he had 18 in the first quarter), seven boards and six turnovers. Kevin Garnett (23 points, 9 rebounds) and Ray Allen (17 points) had deceptive games. KG could have had more if the Celts tried a little harder in the fourth quarter to get him the ball. Allen shot 3 of 17 overall after hitting his first two shots. He made a tough shot off the glass late that was key but mostly he made his living at the line. He was 10 of 11 shooting foul shots as the Celts continually let him dribble down the stretch and the Heat didn't realize they should double him and make someone else go to the line. Rajon Rondo only took one shot (he made it) and a free throw for three points, six assists and five steals. Eddie House had nine points and James Posey played well although his modest numbers (6 points, 5 rebounds) don't really reflect it. Posey made a steal in the fourth that iced it for the C's.

Recently Heat coach/used car salesman Pat Riley has started Penny Hardaway and Chris Quinn but then sits them for most of the game and lets Jason Williams and Ricky Davis play. Williams had a team-high 22 points (6 of 12 on threes) but Davis was a non-factor with six points.

Dwyane Wade had an even tougher night than Ray Allen, he finished just 2-11 from the floor and 6-11 from the free throw line for 10 points, five boards, three steals, two blocks and six turnovers. Shaq had a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards but he is nowhere near the player he used to be. You have to love Wade's game but at the moment it's simply not clicking. He's not 100% recovered from his various injuries and truth be told, he's just not a great shooter. He lives on driving to the hoop and getting the superstar (sometimes phantom) foul calls. Udonis Haslem quietly had the most efficient night for the Heat with 18 points and 10 boards. Still, if Williams is their leading scorer, they're probably not going to get many wins.

Boston led 59-41 at the half and it looked like it was going to be a laugher. After outscoring the Heat by four in the third quarter, the C's let up in the fourth as they couldn't hit any shots. Luckily, the Heat obliged them with a bunch of one shot (miss) possessions which the Celtics rebounded and cleared out.

The Heat are the second best defensive team in the league but didn't show that ability until the fourth when they held Boston to 12 points. For the game, Miami shot 45.7% to Boston's 39.7%. The C's made 16 more free throws (27-11) which was the story of the game. The Heat also committed 24 turnovers while Boston had 17.

It wasn't the prettiest game but they'll take it given the tough circumstances (back-to-back games, on the road). The Celts meet the Cavs again, this time Sunday afternoon at the Garden. LeBron is expected back after injuring his finger the other night.

Isiah Thomas, starring in Portrait of a Lame Duck Coach

The media circus that is the New York Knicks came to Boston last night on a modest two-game win streak to play the Celtics on TNT. When it was all said and done, the Knicks (4-10) left the Garden with their tails between their legs after an embarrassing 104-59 loss. You read that correctly. In fact, it could have been a Knicks team record scoring low and record low for a Celtics opponent if not for a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Nate Robinson at the end of the game. The Knicks are a complete joke and it's amazing that Head Coach/GM/sexual harasser Isiah Thomas still has a job in NYC but after this disgraceful loss that might not be the case for much longer.

Paul Pierce (29 minutes), Ray Allen (29 minutes) and Kevin Garnett (23 minutes) benefited from the blowout as they had extended time on the bench which should come in handy as the Celtics (12-2) flew to Miami following the game. Pierce had 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists while Allen had 21 points and five rebounds. Eddie House had 15 points, Glen Davis added 13 points and six boards while Rajon Rondo had 10 points and seven assists. Garnett finished his abbreviated game with eight points, 11 boards, four assists and two blocks. It broke his 67 game streak of scoring in double figures but he probably doesn't care.

This one got out of hand quickly as the Celts jumped out to a 27-16 lead after one. The lead ballooned to 23 at the half and as much as 52 points in the second half. The numbers were as one-sided as you'll ever see in an NBA game. Boston shot 46.8% while New York shot 30.3%. The Celts held the rebound lead, 51-35 and had 15 more assists (27-12). Boston only committed nine turnovers and New York had 15.

The Knicks are the epitome of the professional team that has individual talent but cannot consistently put anything close to a good product on the floor. The main reason is that Stephon Marbury (2 of 6), Quentin Richardson (3 of 12), Eddy Curry (2 of 11) and Zach Randolph (1 of 10) among others are me-first guys. They'll always take the shot themselves over passing to a more open teammate. They're all team cancers (led by Starbury) and that is only magnified by having the laughable Thomas leading them.

Boston plays Miami tonight in another primetime game (this one's on ESPN). The C's held off Miami two weeks ago at the Garden so we'll see how they do in the rematch. The Heat (4-10) are at the bottom of the Southeast Division and they probably won't catch the Magic this year.

King James and Cavs hold off Celtics in overtime

LeBron James at the ripe old age of 22 (he turns 23 on December 30), is playing the best basketball of his life. Last night, he had a game-high 38 points and 13 assists (plus 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks) as his Cavs (9-6) outlasted the visiting Celtics (11-2), 109-104 in overtime.

Late in the fourth quarter, Boston actually had a great chance to at least take the lead but the normally money Ray Allen missed both free-throws to keep the game tied at 92 with 23 seconds left. The Cavs gave it to LeBron and in a typical NBA last-possession, he stood around (while everyone scattered) until about five seconds were left then he dribbled just inside the three-point line and fired up a tough jumper that didn't go in. Gotta hate those only in the NBA moments. The Celtics before this season (with Allen and Kevin Garnett) were famous for those in the last few years as Pierce would take contested last-second shots with two or three guys hanging all over him.

Cleveland is the top rebounding team in the NBA and they grabbed 47 boards to Boston's 40. Drew Gooden had a season-high 24 points and 15 rebounds while Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 15 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and four blocks. Sasha Pavlovic added 16 points and five boards. LeBron took over in the extra frame, scoring 11 points on two baskets and six free-throws.

Allen led the Celtics with a team-high 29 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Garnett (for him) had a quiet night with 19 points, five rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Paul Pierce notched 16 points, six boards and five assists while Kendrick Perkins and James Posey both had 11 points. Rajon Rondo had a shooting line reminiscent of last year (1 of 9) as he finished with three points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Another key for the Cavs was the free throw line as they made eight more free throws (28-20). Cleveland also outshot Boston 48.1% to 43.0% for the game.

It was a tough loss but if these teams were to meet in the playoffs, the Celtics would have to be favored. They have more depth and more scoring options. No team in the NBA puts as much pressure on one player as the Cavs do with LeBron. Obviously the guy can deliver as he almost single-handedly brought them to the Finals last season but that's still not a formula built for consistent results.The Celtics come home to the Knicks tomorrow night. As widely reported, New York has been mostly a mess this season so it should make for some entertaining action.

A.J. Feeley has the game of his life and still loses

A.J. Feeley threw a pick-six on his second pass of the game and ended the game with two straight interceptions. Between those predictable mistakes, he picked the Patriots suddenly flawed defense apart and almost led the Eagles to the upset of the season. New England (11-0) however made just enough plays to hold down Philadelphia (5-6), 31-28 at Gillette last night.

It was clear that both teams stressed containing the other team's stars: Eagles running back Brian Westbrook had 52 yards rushing (1 TD) and 40 yards receiving while Pats receiver Randy Moss was held to five catches and 43 yards. One of the main differences between the two teams is that while Moss certainly wasn't himself, New England has enough other standouts (Wes Welker, Tom Brady and Asante Samuel to name a few) to make up for off-nights by many other teammates. Playing without Donovan McNabb, the Eagles needed a perfect game from Feeley to compete with the Patriots and he almost did the unthinkable by beating them. The Eagles just don't have enough game-breakers outside of Westbrook. And if you feel bad for Feeley, don't. He gets to come home to Heather Mitts (US women's soccer player, pictured below) every day.

Samuel took the first Feeley pick back 40 yards for a score on the game's third play and it looked like the shell-shocked Eagles would simply rollover for the Patriots. Not a chance. Philadelphia came out with their usual defensive game-plan (to blitz a ton) and the key for them was that they were able to move the ball on offense freely thus keeping Tom Brady and Co. off the field.

For instance, after the Samuel score, the Eagles took the ball 77 yards in 14 plays which took seven minutes. Westbrook punched it in from the 1-yard line to tie it up. New England answered with a 10 play, 78-yard drive (taking 5:08) that ended with a Heath Evans one-yard dive.

The Eagles would not go away as Greg Lewis caught a 28-yard TD pass from Feeley in the beginning of the second quarter. They showed unbelievable balls on the next play as they went for and recovered an onside kick. Even though they ended up punting on that drive, you could tell that on this night it was going to be pretty hard to put away this well-coached and experienced team.

The Pats had a good drive stall in the red zone so Stephen Gostowski hit a field goal from 23 yards to put New England up 17-14. Once again, the Eagles responded as Lewis caught another score, this one from 18 yards out (he finished with 4 catches for 88 yards). With three minutes left on the clock, the Eagles left too much time on the clock for the Pats offense (one of the few mistakes they made all night). Brady finished off that drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Jabar Gaffney, who has reappeared in the last two games after being MIA since last year's playoffs. The touchdown turned out to be Brady's only score of the game. It went to halftime with the Pats up 24-21 (the final score of the Super Bowl between these two teams).

In the second half, the Patriots changed up their offense (they had only run it twice in the first half) but went three-and-out on their first possession. Laurence Maroney got the nod from off the bench and broke a few decent runs but Gostowski missed a 32-yard field goal the next time the Pats had the ball. The Eagles had another great drive (10 plays, 78 yards) topped off by a 8-yard toss from Feeley to Reggie Brown. The Eagles were up 28-24 going into the fourth quarter.
New England went to work on offense and scored the game-winning touchdown (10 plays, 69 yards) on a Maroney 4-yard scamper. There were some tense moments as the Eagles drove down into Patriots territory looking for the tying field goal or go-ahead touchdown. Feeley made his other terrible decision as he overthrow a receiver in the end zone and Samuel picked off his second pass. Philly got it back one more time but they had no timeouts left (bad coaching) and James Sanders picked off one last Feeley pass.

Feeley was 27 of 42 for 345 yards with 3 TD's and 3 INT's. Other than Lewis, Kevin Curtis was the other receiving threat (5 catches for 71 yards). Brady finished 34 of 54 for 380 yards with the one touchdown. Maroney had 31 yards on just 10 carries. If Samuel was the defensive player of the game, Wes Welker got the game ball for his efforts on offense. He was unstoppable out of the slot, on short passes. He caught a career-high 13 passes for 149 yards, which is the second-highest total for a game in Pats history (behind Troy Brown's 16 in 2002). Gaffney had six catches for 87 yards, Stallworth had four catches for 57 yards.

Probably the only reason the Pats won was because they forced three Philly turnovers while recording zero themselves. The good that will come out of this game is plentiful. The Pats saw that while they've had an amazing start, they're not invincible. When they don't execute well (7 penalties for 44 yards) and a determined opponent comes in with a solid game-plan, they can lose. Most worrisome in the game was the Patriots secondary which looked extremely vulnerable to in-routes (as Madden pointed out) and couldn't stop a bunch of average Eagles receivers. They made Feeley look like a Pro-Bowler and not the career backup he's been. Also, while it was a function of the Pats calls in the first half, they have to make a more conscious effort to run the ball more. When the weather gets worse (ie. rain and snow), you can't pass it 50+ times and beat a good team in the playoffs.

With all that said, probably the best of both worlds happened for the Patriots in this game. They won and remained unbeaten while also giving their diligent coaches plenty to harp on in the coming weeks. This might be the kick in the pants this team needed to get through the rest of the year. It's too early to start making the DVD but if the Pats do end up winning the Super Bowl, this game has the feeling of a turning point in the action. Just a thought.

New England travels to Baltimore (4-7) next Monday for their third straight primetime game. The Ravens have looked horrible in the last few weeks and Kyle Boller is the starting quarterback. Look for the Pats to wake up with authority next week.

Celtics Continue to Find Ways to Win

In the three closest games of the season thus far, the Celtics have won two on late Ray Allen shots and lost the other when Paul Pierce missed what would have been a game-winning three. Last night, the Celtics (11-1) stole a win from the Bobcats (6-7), 96-95 in Charlotte. The Celtics were down two when Pierce missed a jumper and Charlotte controlled the rebound. The Celtics fouled but they weren't over the limit yet so the Bobcats had to inbound it. Eddie House got a piece of the inbounds pass, which deflected to Pierce, who kicked it out to Allen. He was off-balance but he got a good look and drilled it as time ran out.

By all accounts, the Bobcats should have won it. They shot 48.6% as a team to Boston's 43.6%. They also controlled the boards, 41-34. The C's though made seven more free throws (22-15) and ultimately made the plays when it mattered the most. Pierce (23 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds), Kevin Garnett (23 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals) and Allen (14 points on 4-for-15 shooting, 5 assists, 4 rebounds) continued to collectively play at a high level. James Posey added 14 points.

The Bobcats got a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds from Jason Richardson, while Raymond Felton (18 points, 9 assists), Emeka Okafor (15 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks) and former BC star Jared Dudley (11 points, 9 boards) all stood out in defeat.

The C's travel to Cleveland on Tuesday to take on LeBron and the Cavs. James is playing arguably the best basketball of his NBA career which is saying something so it should be fun to watch the Celtics try to contain him. He'll need some other guys to step up though if they're going to defeat Boston.

BC finally beats the U and now looks ahead to rematch with VT

For whatever reason, Miami had owned BC to the tune of 15 straight wins. On Senior Day at the Heights, the Eagles (10-2) finally took care of business and beat a garbage Miami (5-7) team, 28-14.

The 10 wins are the most for BC since 1940. They move on to their biggest game of the season (and probably since Doug Flutie was taking snaps) when they face Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship game, next Saturday in Jacksonville. Win there and they'll be in the Orange Bowl (a BCS bid), lose and it's most likely the Chick Fil-A Bowl.

As always, BC was led by quarterback Matt Ryan, who was 26-of-43 for 369 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. BC looked about to cruise to an easy win as they scored 14 points in the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead into halftime. Ryan threw an 8-yard TD pass to L.V. Whitworth and a 5-yard TD pass to Kevin Challenger. However, the stubborn Hurricanes hung around as an interception and fumble recovery led to two scores which tied the game in the fourth quarter.

Ryan and his offense went back to work as he hooked up with Clarence Megwa for a 20-yard TD toss and running back Andre Callender sealed it with a 45-yard dash up the middle. The Eagles had big performances from Callender (95 yards rushing) and wide receiver Rich Gunnell (135 yards receiving).

BC's signature win of the season was the shocking 14-10 comeback at Virginia Tech. The Hokies have been playing very well since then, using the unconventional two quarterback system. It's a fact in any sport that it's harder to beat any team a second time in the same season so we'll see if this Eagles team is up to the task and can really make this a memorable season by getting to a quality bowl.

Blast from the Past: Beat LA chants fill the Garden

Watching the Celtics against the Lakers last night, it was obvious why Boston has high hopes for this season while LA looks like a fringe playoff team (at best) in the Western Conference. The blueprint for championship teams in the NBA this past decade has been to have a few superstars, surrounded by capable role players, who each step up at different times. The Pistons, Heat and Spurs have all won it using this model and you can't help but think, at the moment, the Celtics have one of the best mixes of that formula in the NBA. This doesn't mean much in late November but it certainly is promising. The Celtics (10-1) took care of the Lakers (7-5), 107-94 at the Garden.

Kendrick Perkins (who I bashed in the last post) had a career-high (and team-high) 21 points and nine rebounds. Rajon Rondo had 10 assists. Paul Pierce (20 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds), Kevin Garnett (21 points, 11 rebounds) and Ray Allen (18 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) all did their thing while James Posey added 10 points and six boards off the bench. It would be ridiculous to expect performances like that from Perkins and Rondo on a regular basis but you have to admit that both are proving to be better (already) than anyone would have guessed.

The Lakers seemed to have copied the Warriors game-plan from the other night as they came out clanking jump shots and as a result, were down 18 at the half. One can only imagine the gems that zen-master Phil Jackson was coming up with in the locker room at halftime, in the wake of his now-infamous Brokeback Mountain joke.

Some interesting stats from the game: Boston entered with the top rebound differential in the league while they had the fourth-highest assist total as well as holding opponents to the lowest field-goal percentage.

The Lakers woke up in the second half but it was too little, too late as they could only cut the lead to nine points. Kobe had a game-high 28 points but he was only 9-for-21 shooting with four rebounds and three assists. The next highest scorers for LA were Vladamir Radmonovic (18 points), Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmer, who both had 13. I'm not a huge Kobe fan but it is a shame to watch such a talented player on such a blah team. He's been the subject of non-stop trade rumors, you kinda hope he gets on a team that can put him in some important playoff games.

The C's shot 50.6% for the game and had 10 more assists (31-21) than the Lakers. Boston only fouled the Lakers 13 times to the Lakers 25 fouls. This is indicative of the Celtics concerted effort to drive to the hoop while the Lakers took the first shot they saw on almost every possession.

Boston travels to Charlotte tonight to take on a banged up Bobcats team. Charlotte's Adam Morrison is out for the year after tearing his ACL and their best player, Gerald Wallace, got hurt and didn't return last night. Playing back-to-back nights is never easy though so the Celtics should have their hands full for a while.