CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Wizards Whiz Past Celtics to Win 105-91

January 28, 2007

The Celtics hung tough with the Wizards in the first half, but as has been their MO in the past, they hit a patch in the third quarter where their shots just stopped falling, including layups, and they just forgot how to play basketball. The Wizards out played us all the way around. Wizards shot 46% to 39% for the Celtics. The Wizards scored 50 points in the paint to only 34 for the Celtics. And the Wizards out rebounded the Celtics 51-38. Second and third and even fourth chances just killed us.

Delonte West won the Tommy Award and Doc had some great things to say about Delonte after the game. Delonte finished with 22 points on 7-14 shooting to go with 4 rebounds, 11 assists and 3 steals. His play has been fairly consistent since he came back from the back spasms. Rondo was the back up point guard and finished with 9 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals in 21 minutes. He had trouble finishing when he took the ball to the basket, either missing the layups or getting called for offensive fouls. Telfair played only 4 minutes with no stats to report.

Al struggled tonight as the Wizards didn't fall for his upfakes and he was unable to get his shot off much of the time. He shot 3-12 for only 7 points with 8 rebounds and 5 turnovers. Perk played well in his 28 minutes and finished with 7 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block. He had some really nice passes inside for baskets. Gomes played very well and shot 10-14 from the field for 20 points with 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals.

It was good to see Wally back on the floor, even though his shot is still way off. He shot 3-12 for 9 points with 3 rebounds and 1 assist. Hopefully he didn't come back too quickly and will be able to get his legs back under him and get his shot back. It was an emotional lift though for a team that has been so decimated by injuries. Green also struggled with his shot hitting only 4-12 from the floor and had 3 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Ray,Kandi, Scal, and Powe all had limited minutes. Ray played 7 minutes and finished with 3 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist. Scal played 4 minutes and had 1 block. Kandi didn't put up any stats in his 6 minutes and as always, Powe made the most of his 1 minute playing time, pulling down 1 rebound. We were getting out rebounded and pushed around in the paint and I just don't understand why Doc didn't give Powe a chance to play more. He brings energy and toughness and is one of our best rebounders.

As with the past games, we played one solid half and then went into a tailspin for the other half. There are positives to be seen in every game along with the negatives. I still believe that our young players can continue to improve and that this team will pull together and at one point figure it out and start winning. This group is going to keep working hard and playing hard until they finally get it.

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