Celtics fan's Blog

Ill mark this day as one of my happiest days in my life

julmali — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:40:14 +0000

October 28, 2009

Celtics spoil cleveland’s season opener

julmali — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:20:49 +0000

There are still 81 games to go, but for starters, this one was pretty good. The verdict: Boston 95, Cleveland 89 in front of a sellout crowd of 20,562 Tuesday at Quicken Loans Arena. And it was exactly the type of opening night you would expect from two teams loaded with stars. It was the Cavaliers’ LeBron James soaring through the air to swat shots from behind. It was Shaquille O’Neal making his Cleveland debut, the energetic home crowd going bananas every time he touched the ball. It was Paul Pierce pulling up for one of his patented mid-range jumpers in the fourth quarter, rescuing the Celtics from what appeared to be a late Cavs run. It was Kevin Garnett returning to the Celtics’ lineup, wearing the wide smile of a man who was just happy to be back on the floor, ready to make another run at another championship. Prior to tip-off, Pierce called it a “measurement game,” an early gauge of where two reshaped title contenders stand. And at first, it looked as if the Celtics were more likely to take a seat and watch. The Cavs bolted to a lead of 13-2. They built it to 17-4. They made the Celtics look old, slow, overmatched, unprepared. Then suddenly, everything shifted. The Celtics did what they have always done, what led them to the championship in 2008 — they bent their knees and shuffled their feet on defense, and hit the open man and cut to the basket on offense. Mostly, they stayed calm when it seemed as if all had been lost. “We tried to handle their intensity early,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. “We knew they were gonna come out jacked up.” Interestingly, it wasn’t until the Celtics’ reserves entered the game late in the first quarter that things began to change. That’s when Rivers inserted veteran newcomers such as Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels, who led the way with energy, hustle and a couple of big baskets. A 28-21 first-quarter deficit turned into a 51-45 halftime lead, and it practically happened in the blink of an eye. “Our second unit saved the game,” Rivers said. The first unit did the rest — with old standbys Pierce (23 points, 11 rebounds), Garnett (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Ray Allen (16 points) proving that the Big Three is alive and well, thank you very much

keys of the game

julmali — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:55:19 +0000

http://www.nba.com/celtics/game_recap/keys101309-celtics-nets.html

rasheed wallace eave the game with an apparent minor ankle injury

Celtics Rally, Take Down Nets in New Jersey

julmali — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:48:37 +0000

Celtics newcomer Rasheed Wallace scored 20 points and Rajon Rondo came close to a triple-double Tuesday night as the Celtics rallied to beat the Nets 91-88 in Newark, N.J.

Rondo dished out 13 assists, scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds as he helped engineer the fourth-quarter comeback along with Glen Davis, who finished with 18 points. Eddie House drained a couple of treys and totaled 14 points. Wallace added nine rebounds.

The Big Three — Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett — got some rest Tuesday as Boston prepares for its first back-to-back games of the preseason. The Celtics host the Toronto Raptors at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.

Celtics Get Preseason Win Over Nets

julmali — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:17:03 +0000

Behind a 25-point performance from Paul Pierce, the Celtics won their second-straight preseason game Sunday with a 100-93 home victory over the New Jersey Nets. Kevin Garnett added 12 points and six rebounds in a game that was very close until the fourth quarter.

Kendrick Perkins had seven points and a team-leading seven rebounds while the C’s got a couple of nice performances off the bench. Eddie House scored 13 points while Marquis Daniels dropped in nine points.

Next up is a trip to New Jersey for a rematch with the Nets at 7 p.m. Tuesday night.

Celtics Host Nets in Garden Matinee

julmali — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:24:24 +0000

The Boston Celtics will try to make it back-to-back wins against greater-New York teams at 1 p.m. this afternoon when they play host to the New Jersey Nets. The C’s grabbed their first preseason win in a dominating effort against the New York Knicks on Friday night.

The Nets traded away their star player, Vince Carter, to Orlando this summer and in turn handed the keys to their rising stars. The hope in New Jersey is that Devin Harris and Brook Lopez are the cornerstones of the team’s future and will steer the franchise back in the right direction.

highlights

julmali — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 05:23:26 +0000

C’s Earn Preseason Win

julmali — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 05:03:52 +0000

Kendrick Perkins scored 14 points and Ray Allen added 13 as the Celtics downed the Knicks 96-82 Friday night at home, evening their preseason record at 1-1. Celtics newcomer Rasheed Wallace tallied 13 points off the bench, and Kevin Garnett scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds in almost 22 minutes of playing time. Paul Pierce added nine points. The Celtics next preseason game is 1 p.m. Sunday at the TD Garden, when Boston hosts the New Jersey Nets.

Celtics rally for Game 5 victory over Magic

julmali — Wed, 13 May 2009 04:07:09 +0000

BOSTON(AP) Ray Allen’s 3-pointer with 1:20 left gave Boston its first lead since the opening minutes and the Celtics beat the Orlando Magic 92-88 on Tuesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Stephon Marbury scored all of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, keeping the Celtics in the game after a lackluster 36 minutes that left them trailing by 14 with 8:49 to play. Orlando led 85-75 with 5:39 left, then Boston scored the next 13 points to open an 88-85 lead before Rashard Lewis’ free throws with 7.3 seconds left.

Paul Pierce had 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, Kendrick Perkins grabbed 11 rebounds, and Game 4 hero Glen “Big Baby” Davis scored 10 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter. Davis also grabbed the rebound and hit a pair of free throws after Dwight Howard intentionally missed a free throw with 5.9 seconds left.

“It’s all about never giving in and having the heart of a champion,” Pierce said.

Howard had 12 points and 17 rebounds for Orlando, which needs a victory in Game 6 on Thursday night to force the series back to Boston for a decisive seventh game.

Lewis scored 19 and Hedo Turkoglu had 18 with seven assists for the Magic, who almost blew a 28-point lead in Game 1, then lost Game 4 on Sunday when Davis hit a 21-foot buzzer-beater.

Davis hurt them again on Tuesday, but he didn’t wait quite as long.

Mickael Pietrus dunked on an alley-oop to make it 77-63 with 8:49 left, Orlando’s biggest lead of the game, and Celtics coach Doc Rivers disgustedly called a timeout.

But Marbury hit a 3-pointer, then another jumper, and after Davis sank a pair of hook shots, Marbury converted a three-point play to make it 83-75. Turkoglu made a jumper to extend the lead to 10 points before Rivers put Pierce, Perkins and Rajon Rondo back in the game with 4:55 left.

Two jumpers by Davis, a layup by Pierce and a reverse from Perkins made it 85-83. Davis missed a potential game-tying shot with 1:55 left, but Allen made up for it by putting Boston ahead with a 3-pointer – just his third basket of the game.

Orlando had a chance to take back the lead when Rondo’s 3-pointer as the 24-second clock expired seemed to skim only the net as it came down, and the shot clock buzzer went off. But Perkins, who had grabbed the rebound, argued vociferously that the ball tipped the rim, and the referees overruled the call, giving the ball back to Boston with just 37 seconds left and allowing them to run the clock down to the final seconds.

Notes: Brian Scalabrine played 19 minutes after missing the morning shootaround with symptoms of the flu. … The fans stood and cheered when the scoreboard showed the highlights and final score from the Bruins’ 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, which forced a seventh game in the new Boston Garden on Thursday night. … Coming off their best-shooting game of the playoffs – .528 in Game 4 – the Celtics shot just 36 percent through three quarters.

Celtics Storm From Behind to Take Series Lead

julmali — Wed, 13 May 2009 04:05:57 +0000

Allen, Davis Come Through in Clutch

He had scored only eight points all night, but when the Celtics needed him most, Ray Allen hit a clutch 3-pointer with 1:20 to play to cap an 11-0 run and give Boston a 92-88 win over Orlando Tuesday night at TD Banknorth Garden. The Celtics overcame a 14-point deficit and now lead the series 3-2.

Stephon Marbury started the C’s rally by scoring all of his 12 points in the fourth quarter while Game 4 hero Glen Davis scored 10 of his 22 points in the final 12 minutes. Paul Pierce added 19 points with nine rebounds and eight assists.

Boston can close out the series Thursday night with Game 6 in Orlando.