The Boston Celtics hung on to beat the Sacramento Kings, 95-92, winning the first game of a four-game West Coast trip due to the youth and inexperience of the Kings.

Sacramento missed 8 of the 10 fourth-quarter free throws they attempted. And one of those made free throws was with under a minute left and Omri Casspi intentionally trying to miss.

The first quarter was played at a fast pace and featured little defensive intensity. The game was tied at 30 at the end of the first quarter, but Boston only allowed 62 points the rest of the game. For the first quarter, Sacramento was shooting almost 60% from the field; for the game, Sacramento shot only 38%.

Boston also struggled offensively in the second half. The Celtics scored only 38 second-half points, shooting 37.5% in the game. Paul Pierce and Rasheed Wallace led Boston in scoring with 17 points apiece, while Casspi led Scaramento with 19 points. As Jay predicted in our Celtics game preview, Tyreke Evans was a tough defensive match up for Rajon Rondo: Evans finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Boston won despite a sub-par game from the starting five of Rondo, R. Allen, Pierce, Garnett, and Perkins, who combined to shoot 17-50. All five starters had plus/minuses between -3 and -8, while the five players off the bench who played (Daniels, House, Wallace, Davis, T. Allen) combined for 44 points and 20 rebounds, and all had positive plus/minuses, led by Glen Davis with a +11. Rasheed Wallace also played fantastic off the bench, contributing 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

I have a pit in my stomach.

Boston was up 12 points at halftime, and lost by 8 points, 93-85. In the third quarter, they were outscored 29-12. Paul Pierce had 8 turnovers, and Kevin Garnett had zero second half points.

The knife in my heart? Chris Paul didn’t even play. The All-Star Game couldn’t come any sooner for a team that is 9-13 in their last 22 games.

The statistics and the storyline are familiar. Boston turned the ball over 23 times; Boston was out-rebounded 47-37; Boston forgot to wake up from a halftime team nap in time for the third quarter.

“Our defense was horrible in the third quarter,” Doc was Rivers was quoted as saying by the NBA.com Celtics Twitter account.

In our Celtics game preview, Jay predicted a lopsided point guard matchup with Hornets star Chris Paul out with a knee injury. He was right, but the matchup favored rookie Darren Collison. After a rough start that led to 10 turnovers, Collison rebounded for 25 points- 13 of them coming in the fourth-quarter- and nine assists. Rajon Rondo recorded 7 points and 4 assists.

Morris Petersen also played a crucial role in the Hornets win, recording a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Peja Stojakovic added four 3-pointers on his way to 20 points, and David West was good for 15 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists.

The lone bright spot in such a dark game for the Boston Celtics was their bench, which contributed 40 points and 14 rebounds. Marquis Daniels (14 points), Glen Davis (9 pts, 4 rebs), and Rasheed Wallace (13 pts, 5 rebs) were especially effective.

House stole the show in the fourth quarter

The Boston Celtics treated the New Jersey Nets like their little brother tonight, on the way to a 96-87 final. You know the way it goes: You let him score some easy hoops and make some nice plays. You try to keep the score close without looking too lazy or too bad, and then, when the game is on the line, you make the plays necessary to win.

Boston gave up 55 first-half points on 63% FG’s, but they allowed only 32 points to New Jersey in the second half, only 14 in the final period.

Besides Eddie House’s shooting barrage in the fourth-quarter, after starting  0-5, the game was uneventful, and even quite boring. If you chose to go out and celebrate Friday night and the start of the weekend instead of watching the game, you didn’t miss much.

And if you did? Here are the game’s highlights for you…

Keys Stats of the Game:

• New Jersey Nets shot 63% in the first half.

• 4th straight double-double for Rajon Rondo- 17 points, 11 assists

• Back-to-back good games for Ray Allen- 26 points, 7 rebounds

• 32 bench points for the Boston Celtics

Unusual Stats of the Game:

• Rasheed Wallace had a season-high 6 assists

• Bill Walker received 10 minutes of playing time, sinking two free-throws and grabbing a rebound

Player of the Game:

• Eddie House- 10 fourth-quarter points ( would have been 13, but they inexplicably called a shot clock violation on one of the 3-point shots)

I waited all night for the Boston Celtics to dispose of  the Miami Heat.  I forgot: nothing has come easy for this Boston Celtics team. After getting knocked down by Kobe and his game-winner on Sunday, Boston still appeared to be regaining its balance tonight, but managed to win their second straight game, 107-102.

Boston looked great in the first quarter, scoring 26 of their 27 points in the paint, while Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett set a tone of unselfishness. After Rondo’s comments about selfishness in the locker room, he made a major statement of leadership tonight with 14 assists, while captain Kevin Garnett solidified the message with 9 assists of his own.

Despite the many flaws of the game, including poor defense (Miami shot 57% through 3Q, 52% for the game), Boston prevailed with a much-needed win. Ray Allen shot poorly from 3′s again (1-5), but had a solid all-around game with 23 points and 7 rebounds, while Eddie House was hot off the bench, sinking two 3′s on his way to 16 points. Glen Davis also provided good energy off the bench, contributing 6 points and 5 rebounds.

For Miami, and Dwyane Wade the story was all too familar. Wade was spectacular, slicing the Celtics perimeter-defense for 30 points and 13 assists, but he received little help from his teammates. Jermaine O’Neal (10 points), Michael Beasley (13), Rafer Alston (15), Quinton Richardson (12) and Udonis Haslem (15) all reached double-figures, but their production slowed in the all-important fourth-quarter.

Offensively and defensively, Boston looked crisp and focused in the fourth-quarter. Rondo continued his aggression and, with Garnett improving his stamina game-by-game, Boston executed offensively like they haven’t in a while. The execution was exemplified by a perfectly-designed play with 2:45 remaining. Garnett set a  pin-down screen on the baseline for House, who had already canned a huge 3-pointer, and then sealed his defender in the post. House bounced a pass into Garnett, while Boston’s other players simultaneously cleared the side for him. Garnett connected on his patented turnaround shot, giving the Celtics a 5-point cushion, and igniting the TD Bank Crowd.

Player of the Game:

• Rajon Rondo- 22 points, 14 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals

Play of the Game:

• 4th Quarter, 35.6 seconds left- With Celtics leading 97-94, Tony Allen steals the ball from Dwyane Wade, who was trying to drive past help-defender, Kendrick Perkins, on the pick-and-roll. Tony Allen was almost immediately fouled  fouled, and made the  two free throws to put Boston ahead 99-94.

Stat of the Night:

• 26 of Celtics 27 1st-quarter points in the paint.
  

Skeleton in the Closet:

• Turnovers- 17

I saw it coming, but couldn’t do anything but yell at the tv, “Double, Kobe! Double, Kobe!”

We didn’t. I foresaw the rest. Read more »