This was a very physical game with bodies flying everywhere. There were also tempers flying everywhere with 6 technicals called in the game. Scal played his first meaningful minutes in a long time. Doc praised his energy, but he played over 13 minutes and finished with 5 points and no rebounds. He did play good defense, though.
Leon Powe gave the bench a lift as he finished with 6 points and 5 rebounds in 18 minutes. He was the only one of the Celtics bigs that didn't foul out. He finished with 5 fouls while Perk, KG, and Big Baby all fouled out. Eddie House hit some big shots and also did a decent job as the back up pg finishing with 10 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist. Tony Allen continues to be inconsistent and finished with just 2 points in 10 minutes.
Perk fouled out with 2 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots. He was great on defense as always. He did pick up another technical which isn't a good thing. Poor Perk, the refs just see the look on his face and call him for technicals.
Big Baby fouled out with 5 points and 3 rebounds. I was stuck with the Bucks announcers who are almost as big Bucks homers as Tommy is a Celtics homer. They did have the quote of the game though when they said that spinning around Big Baby was like trying to spin around the Bradley Center.
Ray Allen seems to be getting his stroke back. Even with the fatigue of back to back games, he shot 8-16 from the field for 27 points to go with 4 rebounds and 1 assist. He also was 9-9 from the line.
KG had a solid game before fouling out with 15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 blocks. KG and Bogut were called for double technicals after Bogut hit KG and KG retaliated with a smack to Bogut. Bogut was ejected since it was his second technical. The Bucks announcers were saying that Bogut had no intention and was just following through and KG threw a punch and should be kicked out and Bogut didn't deserve the technical. When I turned to the Celtics post game, I had to laugh as Tommy was talking about how Bogut hit KG first and KG was just reacting to the hit.
The Bucks played hard and there was a lot of bumping and grinding going on in this game. The Bucks were without Redd and Villanueva and will be very tough when they get both of those guys back if they play the way they did in this game. They played with heart and never let up, pushing the Celtics to overtime. Good thing the Celtics have off tomorrow. The need it after playing 8 games over the last 12 days and taking every team's best shot.
KG always burns Nene, this will be a terrible game to watch!
Need to keep Pierce out of the paint.....force him into some bad jump shots..... Don't know what we're gonna do against KG....Birdman might have done a better job on him than Nene. Ray ray, will get his points. Lets just hope he doesn't catch fire.
Paul Pierce is the key to the Celtics this season. Keep the game close and shut him down in the 4th, the game is yours. Easier said than done.
It seems that every game on one of the 'Big Three' show up every game. One night it's KG, then Ray and then Paul Pierce. I hate the Celtics. Their cocky as hell. Let's shut them up already.
They are mugging melo... They should not leave garnett open........
Man..Ray is dominating already.
18 points for Ray in the 1st quarter...man that's almost as much as our whole team lol.
Woah that's a dangerous flop by powe
Glad I don't have to listen to tommy heinsohn tonight
7 fouls in 5 1/2mins in the 3rd........ Home cooking taste good?
Can we trade Melo for Pierce and package LK and JR for someone who actually lives up to their potential?
I say Pierce goes for 25 in the 4th
21-5 run by the Celtics. This is becoming their trademark. I wouldn't blame the Nuggets for it. The C's have been deadly with their comebacks this season.
Denver don't respect the perimeter game of Boston...........
Melo is working very hard at denying Paul the ball.
LOOK AT MELO! Going up and snatching that rebound away from KG! KG is so overrated.
Curious question about KG. He obviously tries to be all thuggish etc, but does he ever go after anyone who would smack him down?
Someone mentioned it that he never seems to go after anyone who could own him lol I wonder what Kmart would do if KG started on him
Don't forget Melo's D tonight held Paul P to 4-12 shooting and Melo also had 13 rebounds
Nenê took a page of That Eason Guy's Ultimate Handbook of Dismemberement with that steal (which was more like a foul) on Perkins. Perkins is a monster and yet he was wincing and grabbing his shoulder after the "steal"...
Among all the logical reasons I want the Lakers to lose just so Kobe gets that self entitlement smug grin he's wearing around wiped off.
And again we hold an opponet under 90..and that opponet the ****in Celtics wow.
Weren't we the only western conference team that made the playoffs to beat the Celtics during the regular season last year as well?
I think the Celtics are very beatable. Mark my words their will be a different champion this year. You just have to play defense against them ans they crumble.
yeah they didn't look all that impressive. they looked like the team playing on the road back to back. they won't repeat. ai is playing for the pistons like he didn't play for us and they are beating the lakers pretty good right now. I see them coming out of the east. Definitely wont be the celtics. they are too old and without posey don't have a bench.
The Player of the Game had to be Ray Allen. He had 18 points in the first quarter, allowing the Celtics to win the first quarter for the first time this season. He finished with 26 points on 9-16 shooting and was 5-10 from beyond the arc. He also had 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. His counterpart on the Nuggets, Dahntay Jones, had just 2 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Great game by Ray. Let's hope that he has found his range and will continue on his hot streak.
In the crucial point guard battle, Chauncey Billups definitely made a statement. Rondo finished with 2 points on 1-8 shooting, no rebounds, 7 assists and an incredible 7 steals while Billups finished with 18 points, 2 rebounds, and 7 assists.
There were no Paul Pierce Superman moments in this game. He finished with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals but went scoreless in the 4th quarter.
If the Celtics had the mindset that they could coast in a game and turn it on whenever they wanted to and win, they got a rude awakening in this 94-85 loss as they faded down the stretch while the Nuggets poured it on.
KG had a decent game with 16 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks, but he also turned the ball over 4 times. The Celtics 3 stars were responsible for 11 of the team's 17 turnovers. The Celtics have got to take better care of the basketball.
Ray Allen turned it on in this game and finished with 26 points on 9-16 shooting to go with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.
The bench didn't come through in this game. There were only 16 points off the bench and 13 of those were from Eddie House. As strong as the bench was in the first few games, they seem to have disappeared in the last couple. Doc said in his post game press conference that he plans to play the bench more and so either they have to step it up or the Celtics are going to lose a lot more games until they do.
The Celtics were out rebounded 43-37 and that indicates a lack of effort on the part of the C's. Rebounding is effort and determination and the Celtics allowed the Nuggets to get 2nd, 3rd and 4th chances at times to get a basket.
All Star voting started yesterday and all 5 Celtics starters are on the ballot. It is a long shot for all 5 to make the starting line up for the All Star game. Perk would especially have a tough time beating out Yi because it is hard to beat a player who has a whole continent voting for him. But, there should be enough Celtics fans out there who can give all 5 a good showing in the voting. So, Celtics fans, get out and vote. You can vote every day so vote early and often.
For those that don't know or have not noticed, "the truth" is Paul has been dealing with jammed fingers and a sprain to his hand for the past week or so. This hasn't seemed to bother Paul in the least...or KG for that matter.
We all know how superstitious KG is. Well, maybe ritualistic is the right word. KG definitely likes routines. Things that make him feel good that the C's will win. I know I have my C's pre/during/post-game routines for every game I watch. But it seems KG has taken Paul's hurt hand as a sign of good luck.
Only problem is, I think KG wants Paul's hand to be hurt before every game as part of the routine. I picture KG in an episode of the Sapranos slamming Paul's hand with a hammer he keeps in his locker beside his Adidas.
“We’re gonna keep the hand the way it is,” said Kevin Garnett Speaking of Paul Pierce's shooting hand that has been sprained for a week.
“It’s getting better,” says Paul “The swelling is going down.” But for Garnett, that's not good news...
“We have to put some swelling on that,” KG joked.
Looking at Paul's stat sheet for the week, you'd hardly notice he has a hurt hand. In fact, he has been hitting his FT's and even passed Bob Cousy for 2nd place on the C's all-time made FT's list. He went 12 for 14 vs the Raps and 15 of 16 vs the Hawks last night.
AND he has scored 36 [Raps] and 34 [Hawks] points in the last 2 games [70]. These performances have led Eddie House and KG to comment on Paul's superhuman abilities to come through in spite of the pain. Paul has yet to get an MRI.
“I’ve had a sprained hand for about a week and I’ve been icing it down,” Pierce said after the Raptors game. “I try not to think about it. It’s really bothering me. Every time it starts to get better, it gets hit.”
Whether or not his hand is getting better, he is certainly the man for Boston. He has always had a reputation for pulling the C's through. He gladly steps into the role and the team feeds off it. Call him "The Truth", "Superman" or just plain clutch, Pierce is showing why he was Finals MVP. Boston now stands alone at the top of the Eastern Conference.
“The last play was drawn up as get the ball to Paul Pierce and get the hell out of the way,”
"Superman's in the booth. Let's go home. That was the play and if you don't believe that, ask Doc Rivers and he'll say the same thing."
"we aren't a perfect team. We're in the process of getting better."
"They weren't undefeated for no reason,"
"The things that stick out is that they're a lot more defensively sound than they were a year ago,"
"I wouldn't call it a rivalry yet."
Eddie House:
"Man, he's got a cape on his back sometimes,"
"We've all been on his back; it's been the Paul Pierce show for the last two games in the fourth quarter. I'm glad he's on my team."
"I think he's [Paul] a sneaky athlete,"
"You look at him and you don't think he's very athletic. He's one of the most athletic guys on the team."
"He plays at a perfect pace,"
"He's just a great player, man. He's a superstar. What more can I say?"
Kendrick Perkins:
“He works on those plays every day,”
“When Marvin Williams hit that shot in the corner, I could tell that (Pierce) was mad. I saw them dancing out there. They thought it was over. But the Big Three is never over.”
Paul Pierce:
"The Hawks have been playing really well and we knew it was going to be a tough game,"
We watched them on film, how hard they play, they're one of the best defensive teams this year, and they have a lot of talent."
"The key for us is to continue to grow. We know it's a long season and it's a pretty tough schedule with the teams we're playing. We're playing a lot of playoff teams early. I always said you don't have to learn from losses, you can learn from wins. And, definitely, the last two games we're learning and we have to get off to better starts."
"We ran the play as designed,"
"We watched film, we saw how hard they play,"
"We didn't expect this game to be easy."
“Once I went to the right I had the big guy on me. I sort of got to my sweet spot and I felt good the whole time,”
“The play was to get the ball to Kevin and if they switched off, either hand off or he would take the drive down the lane. But they switched and put Horford on me, and I knew I could get to my spot. I got to it, and thank God it went in.”
Doc Rivers:
"I told them to play together,"
"Everyone was thinking of putting a shot up instead of playing together."
“It was frustrating just trying to get a stop,”
“You’ve got two of the top four defensive teams in the league, and on every possession the other team kept scoring. That’s frustrating for a coach. Then you get up by three or four, and they make a 3. I mean, they made amazing shots. For fans, it was fun.”
"Great shot,"
"I told Paul 'average execution."
"Overall I just thought a good win for us, and another win where we didn't play great but we're still winning games. And that, guys, is a good sign not a bad sign."
"The second unit has played great for us,"
“I thought our starters came out and played great,”
Ray Allen:
"They [Hawks] discovered a lot about themselves in the playoffs,"
"too close for comfort."
"The slow starts in games haven't had too much affect on the season so far."
A lot of excuses from the Hawks fans. Some are valid, some aren't. The fact that they were missing Josh Smith is a valid point since Smith is their second best player and could have made a difference. Blaming the refs wasn't so valid. Some of the Hawks fans saw that the bad calls went both ways. What about the loose ball foul on Pierce when he wasn't anywhere near the ball or the play? I agree that the officiating was terrible, but it was terrible for both teams. I feel for the Hawks fans though because that was a tough loss since they did play well and were up 16 only to have the Celtics stage one of their patented comebacks. This is fast becoming a real rivalry, and a good one at that.
After the last two tough games with no Josh Smith and the back end of a back-to-back on the road...if we win this...
This would be a huge win for us. We really need Joe to have a good game if we want to have a shot though.
Can u imagine if the Hawks win, they'll be the #1 TEAM IN THE EAST
Unfortunately Boston gets lucky again and catches us on a back to back game on the road without Josh Smith. Go figure! It would really be a miracle to win this game
The way we've been playing, why not..are they that good?? No. It wont be the easiest win but they are definitely beatable
Playing the defending Champs on the road in a back to back game without Smoove? Not exactly stoked about tomorrows game. But I am curious. Boston is the team that these young Hawks got the confidence from playing.
I actually expect this to be close, with the confidence we're showing right now. King Zaza is gonna hear a lot of heckling, and he's going to snatch some fool out of the stands and devour him whole.
The Hawks are playing great now, but it is the 2nd night of back-to-backs (for the 1st time this year), on the road, and with one key player out. The biggest factor I think is the 6-0 record. The Celtics are going to fired up to put the Hawks in their place which I doubt they feel is 7-0 atop the East.
Back to back on the road against the champs without Smith..... Ugh. They will really have to pull a rabbit out of the hat to win this one.
KG, Perk, Pierce, and Powe scare me a lot more than Noah, Thomas, Noc, and Gray. In fact, if POB were on the Bulls, he'd be the first big off the bench instead of glued to the end of it.
Boston by 35. ...in the turnovers column.
This is going to be a hard game,.... But if the Hawks play at their level, and Bibby has a good shooting night (hitting atleast five 3s), then the game could go 50/50 , even without Smoove.
Close game. JJ goes off, hits a game winning shot.
We may have lost game 7 of the playoffs last season but its coincidental that this is game 7 of the regular season in Boston! It just might be a different story tonight. Let's go Atlanta Hawks!
One thing is that Boston is committing 18 TUrnovers per game. The Hawks need to be prepared to get some steals and run the floor tonight.
Holy crap...44-28.
Our 2nd unit is destroying everything Boston is trying to do.
Man we are kicking them in the teeth right now...!!!
Celtics look like they miss Posey and PJ Brown, man we look like NBA Finals contenders.
The pressure they are putting on our guards is disrupting our offense. Need to come up with a play to counter it
That's how to blow a 16 point lead in less than quarter. They are killing us inside. Woodson still doesn't understand what foul trouble is apparently.
Meltdown...? Yes, but we came into their building and played VERY well up to now. If we play smart and play hard in the 2nd half, we'll walk away with this thing.
Good half. C's are the champs for a reason, you knew they were gonna make a run and it was nice to hold them off.
As it is I'm still optimistic about the 2nd half. It's nice to play a game in Boston and not have it be over with in the first quarter LOL.
This game is becoming very tough to watch. The refs are calling fouls on every possession.
Why are the refs giving Powe every call? This guy is a huge flopper.
And it's disgusting how Paul Pierce, a notorious hot head and whiner, gets EVERY POSSIBLE CALL while Joe Johnson, a guy who just plays the game, can't buy a foul call. Maybe you have to complain every trip down to get he refs to notice you, but it really shouldn't be that way.
I can't stand PP and his sloppy desperate unpolished game.
An MVP chant seven games into the season? That's a new one.
You touch Pierce and he's going to the line. You can slap, punch, kick, hug, push, grab, bite, and stab Joe and 9 times out of 10 you'll get away with it.
Y'all can count me as a Boston Celtic hater. We're BETTER than that bunch.
We're better than the Celts this year, guys. No doubt.
Get beat by a manfuacted "star" like Paul Pierce. That says enough.
So yeah, we've proven, IMO, that we can not only play with the C's in Atlanta, but we can take it to em in the Garden as well. Let our team be full strength tonight, and we walk out with a W. I guarantee it.
I think we hurt the Celtics more then they hurt us, we have lost, good, now the team don't have to have all that pressure.
The Celtics complained about everything, and the Hawks put their heads down and went to work. Celtics looks like little boys out their, and Hawks looked like Men
Such a heart-breaker. Still an excellent game for the Hawks, now they'll know we're for real. BOS wouldn't have this one weren't they playing 8 on 5. Those refs are such bloody bastards. This was so robbed.
They got every call, it was 8 on 5 out there.
The refs were bad both ways. Bibby kicked his leg out and got a foul. PP made a clean block on Johnson and it was called a foul. Those were both crucial calls.
I'm not sure about all the complaining about the refs. The C's always look like they're fouling, but if you go back and look at replays it's actually just great help defense.
We beat the c's tonight. They won because they were allowed to push and shove and hack with impunity. Commentators like to talk about their defense? ANYBODY can "play" defense if the refs let them play like that.
They called fouls on us when we breathed hard (kept our big men out of the game and hesitant) and allowed some talentless bums (Powe, Perkins and Davis) to play like offensive linemen instead of basketball players. 2 handed pushes on defense and over-the-back apparently are invisible when the c's do them. Stern must REALLY want winning basketball in BOS.
I don't think I dislike any of the Boston's players(besides Garnett) but their announcing crew is beyond horrible. They complain about the refs the entire game(at 1 point saying they handed us 6 points) as if they didn't shoot like 40 free throws themselves.
Really can't blame the refs for the game...there were bad calls all the way around. But Joe definitely was fouled a lot but he never gets the calls anyway...he should cry about it like Pierce does.
We were without our second best player, lost our starting center to injury and Horford was limited by foul trouble. Atlanta was called for 33 fouls. Boston was called for 23.
We lost..don't blame the refs. We had every chance to win, but lost in a very encouraging game at the defending champs without our 2nd best player. It hurts the way we did lose, but we really showed how for real we are tonight, and probably more so than we did in our 6 wins.
Paul Pierce for the second game in a row put the Celtics on his back and took them to victory. He had his second straight game playing over 40 minutes and the second straight game scoring over 30 points. His stats for this game: 34 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 assist.
But, the biggest basket of the night came after Marvin Williams put the Hawks up 1 with just over 7 minutes to go in the game. The ball was inbounded to KG who passed the ball off to Pierce who dribbled down the side and hit a fall away jumper with Al Horford in his face. And it wasn't just the game winner. He hit two very clutch free throws down the stretch as well. Pierce's legacy as a Celtic is certainly growing. Monday it was the 22 point 4th quarter to win the game and against the Hawks it was clutch free throws and the game winner. The Truth is becoming Superman before our eyes.
I have to give an honorable mention to KG though as he came up big in this game. He finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks and a whole lot of defense. He energized the crowd and the team.
Kevin Garnett had a great game with 25 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. He had a sweet alley oop dunk on an assist from Rondo that energized the team and the crowd.
Ray had another off shooting night hitting only 6-17 from the floor and only 1-9 from beyond the arc. But that isn't to say he didn't help the team as he also had 7 rebounds, 5 of which were on the offensive end to go with 2 assists and 1 steal.
The Hawks have learned from their play against the Celtics in the playoffs and have become a defense first team which is why they were undefeated up until last night. But the Celtics are still the masters.
This has to be a scary sight. If a player can manage to get past KG, then they have Perk right behind him to greet them. At one point, Tommy said that KG was like a pinball just guarding any player that was close enough to guard. Perk played some good defense and had a solid game with 9 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists.
Tony continues his up and down play. He had 2 points and 1 rebound but he has been playing good defense. The one thing that Posey brought that was very important was consistency and Tony isn't there yet.
When your star is willing to take charges and hit the floor for a loose ball, it energizes the team.
No Rondo's Better chants that I could hear last night, but Bibby was booed every time he touched the ball at least for the first quarter. We all know that Rondo' better by now, so that's a given.
In spite of playing with a sprained hand, Paul Pierce came up big for the second game in a row. He finished with 34 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist and hit the game winner with a defender in his face and .5 seconds left on the clock. To quote KG, "Superman's in the booth."
All 5 of the Celtics starters are on the All Star Ballot. This is old hat for KG, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen as they have been on every ballot for years. But, this is the first time that both Perk and Rondo have been on the ballot. For years I have been writing in Perk's and Rondo's names on the ballot and now I get to vote for them on the ballot. You can vote at NBA.com starting Thursday so let's go Celtics fans and get behind all 5 players. Vote early and often and vote all GREEN!
Gary Payton has some sour grapes and I don't know why. Maybe it is because Payton got close to Delonte when he was mentoring him the year he was in Boston and he sees Rondo having taken Delonte's job. Maybe it is because Payton had to sell himself out cheap to championship contenders for years at the end of his career in order to finally get his ring and Rondo got his in just his second season in the league. Whatever his reasons, it cheapens him and really hurts his credibility as a sports analyst. Payton makes it sound like Rondo just lucked into a ring and had nothing to do with earning it. In a different segment, he said that Rondo doesn't belong on the All Star ballot. Very sad.
The Hawks surprised everyone in the playoffs by taking the Celtics to 7 games in the opening round. They are proving that their success in the playoffs wasn't a fluke. They are 6-0 coming into the Garden for tonight's game and they have won against some pretty lofty opponents. They beat the Hornets, Magic, Sixers, Raptors, Thunder and Bulls. The first 4 teams are contenders and the Hornets have been picked by some to win it all. So, it's not like they have been playing the bottom feeders. They are doing it with defense and hope to beat the Celtics at their own game. The Hawks are 2nd in the league in points allowed behind the Lakers who are also taking a page out of the Celtics book and winning with defense. The Celtics better take this team seriously because they are for real. And, they are looking for revenge when they come to the Garden for this game.
The slow starts for the Celtics are somewhat concerning but not something that will make me lose sleep. The starters, who should be hitting on all cylinders after playing together for a full season are for some reason struggling out of the gate. It may be because they didn't play much in the preseason. But for whatever reason, let's hope they figure it out because eventually digging themselves into a hole every game is going to come back to bite them.
Much has been made of KG's taunting of Jose Calderon. Lakers fans are jumping on the Raptors cause calling KG names and insisting that if it was any other player he would have been kicked out. But, KG is such a competitor he will do what it takes to win. If he sees that a player can be rattled he will do it. The Lakers fans who are calling KG names and putting him down for this would be singing another tune if their efforts to get KG had worked out and he was on their team. Sounds like sour grapes to me.
The Celtics bench last season was much maligned even into the Finals where many "experts" picked the Lakers to win because of their deeper bench. This season again, the bench has been questioned. With James Posey and PJ Brown gone, the bench is considered weak by many of the same "experts." But, in the Celtics' first 8 games we have seen the bench come in and make up the deficits that the starters have gotten into. This bench is very strong and will only get better as the season goes on.
Should be a good game tonight. Expect a defensive battle and a low scoring game. Hopefully the Celtics can end this win streak just as they did Houston's last season.
The general consensus among the Raptors boards was that they got robbed by the officials and that the refs are in KG's pockets. Interesting take on it. No matter how you look at it, this had to be a tough loss for them to swallow. The Raptors dominated for 3 quarters and then got beat in the 4th. Lots of interesting comments for you to enjoy................
I don't see this ending pretty tonight. I'd like to think that Bosh will be fresh for tonight, but the minutes he's been playing to start the season will likely catch up on days like today against big teams like the Celts.
Very curious to see how Bosh will look against KG. It'll be a measuring stick for him to see how far he's come.
Its gonna take the Raptors' most solid defensive game of the season to even keep this one close... And HOT shooting.
Gonna be a bloodbath if the Raps don't find a defense. Tommy Points will be flying out tonight.
Raptors should win this game. Both teams are coming from back to back games, but hopefully the Raptors will pull out with the win. Celtics will have more turnovers, and we have to take advantage of the match-up between Jose and Rajon.
Bosh is going to school KG tonight
Theres absolutely no reason for us or any other team outside the lakers to win at Boston. Only way we come with a win is as simply as the whole team plays INSANELY good.
Wow... Lol... This is amazing... I haven't seen the Raps start a game like this (against a good opponent) in AGES. So aggressive. It's great.
Bad calls, bad calls, bad calls
I dunno if anyone else is watching the Celt's feed, but Heinsohn just called Joey Graham--get this-- a good player! How absurd is that?
Beating the Celtics by 14 O-M-G
I don't think I've seen the Celtics post KG trade look this bad. Ever.
WOW!!! KG just tole the ref wat to do o.0
I thought JO and Perkins were about to go toe-to-toe.
Expect a BIG push from BOS when they come out in the 2nd half.
JO showing some guts going after Perkins I love it!
HAHAHA Pierce missed 2 lay ups
Graham, Oneal, Kapono: The new big three.
I don't want to be the bad guy. But we are going to lose this game. No way Boston shoots and defends so badly in the second half
.Bosh is scared of Garnett.
I hate KG
KG is firing up his team.... Bosh HAS to counter.
LOL ... Jose cursing Garnet!
Yea...very bad news for the Rapz....once KG gets goin...even Scalabrine will get goin
That was actually pretty good defense there by Powe.
Pierce gets a lot of calls.
Referees might as well give them the game.
Boston's defense is sufficating right now
Can't keep the Refs outta the bookies, or from dictating the game for the "world champs" when a lessor kown team is working hard.
Can't blame the refs. The Celts are picking up their games HUGE. We just have to match it.
I'm watching the Boston feed, and even they've questioned a few calls. That doesn't happen. Ever.
PIERCE KILLIN US
KG won't allow his team to lose now!
Ummmm... Hi God? Can you put a plague on the BOS shooters? Kthankxbye
Pierce is deadly.
A top 5 worse loss in Raps history for sure.
Celtics/Refs - 94 Raps - 87
Just hand over the trophy to the Celtics already...
Worst officiating ever.
To the Boston fans reading this thread - you did not win this game with Pierce's clutchness. That wouldn't even be a factor without the help of the refs. Good job at getting an undeserving win.
We're still the same soft team year after year. A lot to blame. Sam, Bosh & Jose. You can just see it the way KG bullied Jose. Jose was looked like a wuss.
I hate KG with a passion.
That reffing display was undoubtedly the worst I have seen. It killed all the momentum the Raps worked so hard to build. PATHETIC and unfair. Changing calls a few times because KG says so!!
IF IT WAS ANYONE ELSE WHO PULLED THAT **** KG WAS DOING ON HIS 1 MAN PRESS THEY WOULD BE T'ED UP
The day KG or Pierce will break his ankle I will cry tears of happiness... This league is really a joke with this refs...
Don't blame KG. If he was on our team y'all would be loving it. Blame our players for allowing it to happen. Bullies pick on people they know they can handle. As you all know Raps are the softest team in the League.
We shouldn't try to use the refs as a scapegoat tonight.. The players and coaching staff failed tonight..
LoL I love how the refs totally ignored what KG did, good job. Stern needs to suspend some of these refs for being sooo stupid. They buy into the hype since its KG and the fans are going crazy. And that was just one play..
I really wished we still had Bonner to throw KG's a** down to the floor again.
KG vs. Bosh = Man vs. Boy.
Its clear bosh is very intimidated by KG.
...Me thinks Smitch wants KG to win, there I said it!
Boston,...where playing dirty and paying the refs happens/
Hey man, I just want to say I don't at all blame the refs on the loss tonight... BUT I have NEVER seen the refs change their call because a player whines it's the wrong call, but tonight they did it TWICE! And the thing is, on the replay it looked like they had the right call to begin with
I havent seen so many calls reversed and go to the home team before, ever. If that's the call, THAT'S THE CALL! Reversing it constantly makes it look like you got paid off.
Someone buy Doc Rivers some cough drops. That guy has a permanent sore throat!
There was just one choice for the player of the game tonight. Paul Pierce put the team on his back and scored 22 of his game high 36 points in the 4th quarter as the Celtics pulled out a come from behind win. He finished with 9 rebounds and 4 assists to go with his 36 points. This is even more impressive considering that he has been playing with a sprained hand that has been causing him pain for the past week or so.
First of all, Happy 24th Birthday to Perk! Perk was a factor in this game although he only scored 2 points, pulled down 4 rebounds and blocked 1 shot. Jermaine O'Neal was dominating in the first half with 19 points until Perk got in his face and rattled him to the point where he scored only 4 points the rest of the game.
Big Baby was the most effective big of the bench with only 1 point but 4 of the bench's 7 rebounds. Eddie House had 7 points. Tony Allen who came up big against the Piston didn't score.
Kevin Garnett had a KG-like game after struggling recently with 21 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block. He also got into it with Jose Calderon which seemed to rattle the Raptors PG somewhat.
Rondo didn't dominate offensively with only 4 points, but defensively, he was terrific, holding Calderon to just 7 points.
Ray Allen had a solid night with 19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal.
The Celtics were fairly lifeless through the first 3 quarters but then Paul Pierce put the team on his back and carried them to the victory with 22 points in the 4th quarter.
The Pistons really need this one. Sucks that they lost yesterday. If they lose this one too I cant imagine the what the press will be sayin the next day.
I don't have a good feeling about this game... The bench needs to be played accordingly in this game and not just for the sake of playing everyone...Kawme should never on the floor when KG is on...
I really hope the pistons can beat this ba***rd Paul pierce, I hate him as much as I hate Kobe I think. Please A.I., please Shaun, please Hamilton and pleaaaase Sheed, make me feel good about this game when I try to remember it next week
I really, REALLY want AI to own the **** out of Rondo tonight. I know this isn't all Boston fans, but there's some of them that think Rondo is one of the best PGs in the league, and as much as we overhype Stuckey, Rondo's is pretty ridiculous as well.
I'd like to see Curry deploy Brown against Perkins and big Baby. He should be able to slow down those 2nd rate players for doing too much damage.
Put Kwame on Perkins !
Rondo IS good. He's got his shooting flaws (though he shoots a great FG percentage) but he's terrific at other aspects of the game.
I don't think "statement" games really exist this early in the season. If we lose it's easy to write off as early season growing pains. The Celts certainly wouldn't be rattled by a loss either. Still, I'm sure it's a game both teams would like to have and should be a fun game. I'm just not taking to much from it win or lose.
Games like this where Dice could body up with KG.
Pffft, the Celtic bigs had their way with Dice. Perkins in particular lit him up.
I live in Boston and so I'm watching this on the Celtics network and I almost split my drink when one of their announcers said that we are not playing in the paint b/c we lost Dice...
We are missing Dice in our second unit
Pistons don't know how to seal people off, the Celtics have the drive and dish down to a science...
We cannot compete with Boston right now.
Iverson honeymoon is over. Fans booing. This is ugly. Real ugly.
After the back-to-back techs by Pierce and Rivers the Celtics have been allowed to manhandle the Pistons while the fouls on Pistons bigs (namely Johnson and Brown) increased exponentially. Curry has not adjusted and this thing has turned into a laugher.
I cannot possibly think of a better way to flush all the Iverson enthusiasm down the drain then what I witnessed in the first half of this game.
What the hell is wrong with the refs`? You can't even breathe at the Celtics w/o getting a call... Iverson gehts grabbed on the jersey and HE gets the foul?!
Nah refs are bad on both ends right now, both ends.... That last offensive foul on Powe was bull.
I for one am happy for this game because for a second I was actually considering getting league pass again. What was I thinking (my faith in the ethics of this league is nowhere near restored)?
Gotta give the Celts credit - they are moving the ball very well offensively right now and they're protecting the paint defensively.
Well once upon a time Detroit had a defense to keep it close in offensively dreadful game
Actually, its *because* of their defense (and pierce' 3 early fouls) that the game isn't worse than it could've been.
Once again, the Celtics are killing the Pistons in the paint on both ends of the court. Iverson's nice, but this hasn't changed. When is Dice coming back?
Boston gets easy baskets while we turn the ball over left and right and throw up bricks. It also seems like Boston is being allowed to be more physical on defense than we are.
Kwame is a bust... Like he's always been. What a waste.
Boo birds filling up the Palace
Being PUNKED and BOOED off the court at the Palace? PATHETIC! Rasheed has been useless, Hamilton looks lost as he is not getting the same shots he usually gets. It all looks pathetic right now.
Well I believe torture is wrong, so I will be bowing out at this time to play this game in NBA Live where I can happily beat the Celtics by 30... Call it therapy
It just killed us that Boston chose to attack the basket and fast break while we just settled for jumpshots... Which just further fueled Boston's fast breaks/easy baskets
To be honest I didn't think we'd win this game....but this I was not expecting.
Bynum taking it to KG
People are probably leaving the game, or turning it off, but they just missed Will Bynum crossing KG up. That was worth it. I can cheer for that.
I think the Celtics defense has a lot to do with this. The Pistons still haven't found an offensive answer.
I'm just disgusted with the front line right now excluding Amir....in fact, add Amir too...losing a dang jump ball to Rondo....
The game can be summed up in a nutshell: Celtics are getting lay-ups (due to zero interior Piston defense) and Pistons can't buy a hoop. Because of the Celtics interior defense.
I'm literally cheering for us to get to 70 points at this moment. Sad
Honestly, if I had to choose a game to get schooled in, this would have probably been it. Our guys need to know that it's not going to be an easy time and no one is going to take it easy on you just because you are trying to get a new guy acclimated. Take the punch to the chin and use it as a building block.
Boston seems to be in some Detroit players' heads (Rip, Sheed, Max). I know they play great D, but they made it look easy tonight. They seem like they have some really long players--always clogging the passing lanes. Detroit made some dumb passes (Rip, Sheed, Max. . .). I'm surprised Afflalo didn't get more time in the first half (did he get any?).
Who the hell is Tony Allen? Dammit, we got Devin Harrised again. Crap. Someone should start this thread: "What Bench Player Will Be a Superstar Against Us Next?"
We actually did a decent job on Bostons big 3. KG was just 4-15 (Amir did a great job). Pierce just 3-10 and Ray was 4-9. That's a good sign. What hurt was their bench scoring (Tony Allen) and they beat us on the glass. But those to me are less a concern than if guys like KG & Pierce continued to have their way with us.
The final score doesn't look as bad as it actually was.
Seriously though, if someone had've told me Ray-Ray will score 17, KG will score 8 and PP will score 7, I would've taken it. 32 points between the BIG 3 and we get massacred? Ouch.
As bad as the Pistons' shooting was (ESP. Rip and Sheed), I'm more concerned about the porous defense. How many uncontested lay-ups did the Celtics have? I'm surprised anyone on that team broke a sweat. From a defensive standpoint Pistons were pitiful.
“We’re gonna keep the hand the way it is,” said Kevin Garnett 
