The Celtics and Heat faced off tonight at the TD Garden, but some familiar faces missed the contest.  Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo did not play, and Ray Allen was inactive due to an ankle injury.  LeBron James and Dwyane Wade sat out for the Heat.

Sasha Pavlovic and Marquis Daniels led the way for the Celtics with 16 and 13 points, respectively.  Paul Pierce scored eight points in just 17 minutes of play.

It was a pretty uneventful game, low-scoring game.  The two teams were even at half time with 50 points a piece, but the Celtics pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 12 point victory.

Boston plays Milwaukee Thursday night for the final game of the regular season.

The Boston Celtics finish up a nice little break before they end the regular season this week.  They take on the Miami Heat tomorrow night and the Milwaukee Bucks Thursday night before the playoffs begin this coming weekend.

Boston’s reserves fought hard to the finish Friday night in Atlanta, but the Celtics eventually fell.  There did play without Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo, who are both nursing injuries, as well as Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett who got the night off to rest.

Pierce and Garnett should definitely be in the lineup to finish up the season at home, but Allen and Rondo could be inactive to make sure their injuries heal before the playoffs.

Boston’s playoff spot is all but secured at the number four seed, and they should face off against Atlanta in the first round.  The Hawks, however, will get home court advantage with a better winning percentage than the Celtics.

» Continue reading “Boston Celtics: The Road Ahead”

Boston lost to the New York tonight 118-110, but the final score does not reflect the dominating performance from the Knicks.

New York shot lights out the entire night, shooting 57% from the field and also going 19-32 behind the arc.  The Celtics shooting was not too shabby either, but the Knicks had a fire under them that Boston could not just overcome.

The biggest difference in the game were the two benches.  The Celtics got just two points from their reserves, while the Knicks got 25 points each from JR Smith and Steve Novak.

Paul Pierce was Boston’s leading scorer, but his season-high 43 points were not enough to pull out a victory for Boston.

» Continue reading “Celtics Can’t Overcome Knicks Offensive Outpouring”

The Boston Celtics finally have a day off after three games in a row.  They went 2-1 on their back-back-back stretch, only losing to the Toronto Raptors.

They head to the Big Apple tomorrow night to take on the New York Knicks before returning home for a game against the Orlando Magic Wednesday night.

Here are your news and notes on this Monday afternoon:

• The Celtics played without the Big Three last night in Charlotte, but a new big three emerged and led the team to a victory.
• The NBA named Kevin Garnett Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
• Rajon Rondo continues to put up big numbers in the assist column.
• Avery Bradley proved he deserved to be on the court when Ray Allen was out with an ankle injury, and he has not slowed down since.

Location: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON

Tip-Off: 7:00 P.M. ET

Projected Starters:

Boston (34-24): Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, Paul Pierce, Brandon Bass, Kevin Garnett

Toronto (20-39): Jose Calderon, DeMar DeRozan, Alan Anderson, Amir Johnson, Aaron Gray

Keys to the Game:

• The Celtics are without Ray Allen, who continues to have ankle soreness.  He did not make the trip to Toronto.
• Boston has four wins in a row, all against playoff contending teams.  They cannot let up tonight against the Raptors, and they need to keep playing the way they have as of late.
• Rondo’s assist watch continues.  He has 19 consecutive games with double-digit assists, which is the second longest in NBA history.  His ability to dish the ball to his teammates is one of the biggest aspects of the Celtics, so it will be fun to see how long he can keep this going.

» Continue reading “Celtics Head North To Take On Raptors”

Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA

Tip-Off: 8:00 P.M. ET

Projected Starters:

Boston (33-24): Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, Paul Pierce, Brandon Bass, Kevin Garnett

Atlanta (34-23): Jeff Teague, Kirk Hinrich, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Zaza Pachulia

Keys to the Game:

• Garnett had a dominating performance in last night’s win over the Heat.  He made the big plays on the defensive end and also came up with the big shots when the Celtics needed them most.  He needs another good game tonight to continue Boston’s push for the playoffs.
• Boston played a great team game last night.  They worked together on defense, and they also passed well on offense and got each other involved.  Their stars led the team, but the other starters and reserves did their part as well.  That is the key to the Celtics getting a victory tonight, and for the rest of the season.
• Rondo has been the main reason for getting the entire team involved.  He has had 10 or more assists in 18 straight games, which is second behind John Stockton for most all-time.  He must continue racking up the assists.

» Continue reading “Celtics Ride Momentum Into Tonight’s Game Against Hawks”

Kevin Garnett had 24 points and 9 rebounds for the Celtics tonight, and his presence on the court was enough to lead Boston to a victory on the road in Miami.

The Celtics jumped out to an 18 point lead during the first half, and although Miami cut it to single digits at the break, Boston was able to hold off many Heat comebacks to secure the victory late in the fourth quarter.

This victory comes nine days after the Celtics blew out the Heat at home, and Ray Allen made sure his teammates treated tonight’s game as if they were in the Garden and not on the road.

Boston rocked their home white jerseys due to Miami wearing their black uniforms, and the Celtics proved they can play well and beat good teams whether they are at home or on the road.  The team played great team basketball and are really clicking on all levels, which is a great sign going into the playoffs.

Paul Pierce led the way for the Celtics 27 points, while Rajon Rondo added 18 points of his own along with 15 assists.

Location: United Center, Chicago, IL

Projected Starters:

Boston: Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, Paul Pierce, Brandon Bass, Kevin Garnett

Chicago: C.J. Watson, Richard Hamilton, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah

First Quarter:

• Bradley gets the start tonight in place of Allen.
• (9:28) Bulls have two early turnovers. The Celtics need to take advantage of these extra scoring opportunities.
• (7:44) Pierce hits a three-pointer on the break. He looks on tonight, which is a good sign for Boston.
• (5:35) Great basket off the dribble for Rondo. The combination of him and Bradley is one of the keys for the Celtics tonight.
• (3:30) Allen gets his first minutes of the night. Let’s see how that ankle holds up tonight and see if he can get some of that rust out of his system.
• (0:41) Stiemsma picks up his second foul.

The Celtics moved into first place of the Atlantic Division with their win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.  Boston has a tough game tomorrow afternoon against the Miami Heat.

Here are your Saturday news and notes:

• The Celtics only have a couple weeks left in the regular season, but it will be a tough finish as they face some of the best teams in the NBA.
• Jermaine O’Neal’s season-ending wrist surgery was successful.
• Rajon Rondo is putting up big assist numbers this season, and last night, he notched his twelfth consecutive game with double-digit assists.
• Ever since Austin Rivers declared for the NBA draft, a lot of speculation has been made about him joining his father and playing for the Celtics.  The to-be rookie point guard commented on the possibility of coming to Boston.
• Doc Rivers said Mickael Pietrus could return for the playoffs.

Location: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO

Tip-Off: 9:00 P.M. ET

Projected Starters:

Boston (23-20): Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Brandon Bass, Kevin Garnett

Denver (24-20): Ty Lawson, Arron Afflalo, Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, Timofey Mozgov

Keys to the Game:

• The Celtics got blown out at the hands of the Sacramento Kings last night.  They are on a tough road trip right now, and it is important for them to get back to winning with tonight’s game.  This finish this stretch above .500 to keep them in a good spot heading toward the end of the season.
• Ray Allen broke out with 26 points last night, and he has to keep up these numbers.  The Celtics need him to get going, especially with the limited numbers they are playing with.
• Boston currently sits in seventh place in the Eastern Conference playoff standings.  The Celtics made no moves before the trade deadline, so this is the time the team needs to Big Four to step up and prove they still have it in them to make a run for the title.

» Continue reading “Celtics Look To Find A Pot Of Nuggets In Denver”