Celtics Weekly Recap 3/16 - 3/22
Four incredibly difficult games on the road, but overall, it was a great week of action turned in by your Boston Celtics (except for last night's Hornets game, which believe me, I will get to). The Celts swept the dreaded Texas triangle, beating three of the West's best in the Spurs, Rockets and Mavericks, but stumbled come crunch time against Chris Paul and the Hornets. Anyway, without further ado, here's my breakdown:
3/17 at San Antonio Spurs (93-91 W)
In what was at the time their most trying matchup of the season, the Celts topped the Spurs in a suspenseful St. Patty's day duel. In spite of Tim Duncan's constant whining, Bruce Bowen's 'bow (elbow) throwing and Tony Parker's relentless traveling (did I mention that I despise the San Antonio Spurs?), the basketball playing that did actually take place turned out to be a showdown for the ages. The Celts had three players with 20 or more points (Pierce, KG, Rondo) and on the defensive end, they kept Duncan (10 points, 8 rebounds) well below his season averages of 19+ points and 11+ rebounds per game. In the end, the Celts were able to bounce back from an abysmal first quarter in which they scored only 11 points to put a check mark in the win column.
3/18 at Houston Rockets (94-74 W)
Just one night after their huge win over San Antonio, the Celtics snapped the Rockets' 22 game win streak in blowout fashion. The C's looked flat in the first half, which concluded in a tie at 40s; however, they rebounded to outscore Houston 54-34 in the third and fourth frames. KG registered a double-double thanks to his team high 22 points and 11 boards, while Pierce and Leon Powe recorded 20 and 21 points respectively. The big story in this one was the fact that the Celts kept Tracy McGrady to just 8 points, thanks largely to some stingy defense from Tony Allen. The award for "Weirdest stat line of the game" goes to James Posey: 29 minutes, 0 points, 10 rebounds. With the first two legs of the "Texas tripod" knocked out (yes, we're thinking of trademarking that one...), the Celts had visions of brooms dancing in their heads (you know, for the Texas triangle sweep... yeah yeah, cheesy joke, I admit) as they set their sights on Dallas.
3/20 at Dallas Mavericks (94-90 W)
The Mavs gave the Celtics quite a test in this one, but the reemergence of injured starter Ray Allen proved too much for Mark Cuban's club to handle. Ray Ray had 21 points including a huge trey with under a minute to go to seal the victory for Team Green. Pierce and KG remained solid with 22 and 20 points respectively and it was the third game in a row that the Celts featured three players that scored exactly 20, 21 and 22 points (how weird is that?). KG and Pierce pulled in 13 rebounds apiece, giving each player yet another double-double. Dirk Nowitzki had a very impressive game with 22 points and 19 rebounds, but turnovers (14 for the Mavs) and steals (12 for the Celts) did in Dirk's Dallas squad (hope you like alliteration featuring the letter "D").
3/22 at New Orleans Hornets (106-113 L)
Hey, they were bound to lose at least one on this brutal road trip, and I'm actually kind of glad it came against the Hornets because as a result, they got a great inside look at how Byron Scott will likely utilize possible MVP candidate Chris Paul if the two teams happen to meet in the NBA Finals (do I smell a bold playoff prediction from BSB? Perhaps...). Pierce finished with 28 points and KG recorded - you guessed it - another double-double (19 points, 12 rebounds). The Celts seemed to have this one locked up with an 8 point lead at the conclusion of the third, but a particularly poor fourth quarter (especially from Ray Allen) that saw the good guys commit 9 turnovers (they had 20 for the game) ultimately led to their demise. The loss was especially disappointing considering the Celts at one point had a lead of 15 points. In the end, CP3 (19 points, 7 assists) and David West (37 points, 4 rebounds) were just too much for the C's.
The Celts now embark on a much welcomed 4 game homestand. They'll face the 76ers, Suns and Hornets this week and we'll break down all the action next Sunday. The C's will be looking to clinch home-court advantage over the next couple of weeks and we'll keep you updated if and when it should happen.
3/17 at San Antonio Spurs (93-91 W)
In what was at the time their most trying matchup of the season, the Celts topped the Spurs in a suspenseful St. Patty's day duel. In spite of Tim Duncan's constant whining, Bruce Bowen's 'bow (elbow) throwing and Tony Parker's relentless traveling (did I mention that I despise the San Antonio Spurs?), the basketball playing that did actually take place turned out to be a showdown for the ages. The Celts had three players with 20 or more points (Pierce, KG, Rondo) and on the defensive end, they kept Duncan (10 points, 8 rebounds) well below his season averages of 19+ points and 11+ rebounds per game. In the end, the Celts were able to bounce back from an abysmal first quarter in which they scored only 11 points to put a check mark in the win column.
3/18 at Houston Rockets (94-74 W)
Just one night after their huge win over San Antonio, the Celtics snapped the Rockets' 22 game win streak in blowout fashion. The C's looked flat in the first half, which concluded in a tie at 40s; however, they rebounded to outscore Houston 54-34 in the third and fourth frames. KG registered a double-double thanks to his team high 22 points and 11 boards, while Pierce and Leon Powe recorded 20 and 21 points respectively. The big story in this one was the fact that the Celts kept Tracy McGrady to just 8 points, thanks largely to some stingy defense from Tony Allen. The award for "Weirdest stat line of the game" goes to James Posey: 29 minutes, 0 points, 10 rebounds. With the first two legs of the "Texas tripod" knocked out (yes, we're thinking of trademarking that one...), the Celts had visions of brooms dancing in their heads (you know, for the Texas triangle sweep... yeah yeah, cheesy joke, I admit) as they set their sights on Dallas.
3/20 at Dallas Mavericks (94-90 W)
The Mavs gave the Celtics quite a test in this one, but the reemergence of injured starter Ray Allen proved too much for Mark Cuban's club to handle. Ray Ray had 21 points including a huge trey with under a minute to go to seal the victory for Team Green. Pierce and KG remained solid with 22 and 20 points respectively and it was the third game in a row that the Celts featured three players that scored exactly 20, 21 and 22 points (how weird is that?). KG and Pierce pulled in 13 rebounds apiece, giving each player yet another double-double. Dirk Nowitzki had a very impressive game with 22 points and 19 rebounds, but turnovers (14 for the Mavs) and steals (12 for the Celts) did in Dirk's Dallas squad (hope you like alliteration featuring the letter "D").
3/22 at New Orleans Hornets (106-113 L)
Hey, they were bound to lose at least one on this brutal road trip, and I'm actually kind of glad it came against the Hornets because as a result, they got a great inside look at how Byron Scott will likely utilize possible MVP candidate Chris Paul if the two teams happen to meet in the NBA Finals (do I smell a bold playoff prediction from BSB? Perhaps...). Pierce finished with 28 points and KG recorded - you guessed it - another double-double (19 points, 12 rebounds). The Celts seemed to have this one locked up with an 8 point lead at the conclusion of the third, but a particularly poor fourth quarter (especially from Ray Allen) that saw the good guys commit 9 turnovers (they had 20 for the game) ultimately led to their demise. The loss was especially disappointing considering the Celts at one point had a lead of 15 points. In the end, CP3 (19 points, 7 assists) and David West (37 points, 4 rebounds) were just too much for the C's.
The Celts now embark on a much welcomed 4 game homestand. They'll face the 76ers, Suns and Hornets this week and we'll break down all the action next Sunday. The C's will be looking to clinch home-court advantage over the next couple of weeks and we'll keep you updated if and when it should happen.
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