Boston Celtics: Return To Dominance

[Pezell04x]

Re: Boston Celtics: Return To Dominance

During the Oklahoma City Thunder game against the Boston Celtics, Glen "Big Baby" Davis came down on someone's foot after an offensive rebound. Davis, who immediately grabbed his ankle, was helped off of the court by his teammates. The Celtics medical staff released this update to the media:

"At this time Glen Davis is diagnosed with a level 2, possibly level 3, ankle sprain and will miss the minimum of 2 weeks. It is more than likely he will be out for a month."

The Celtics left Oklahoma City with a 113-101 loss.

[Pezell04x]

Re: Boston Celtics: Return To Dominance

When the final buzzer sounded in Oklahoma City Arena, the Boston Celtics (5-2) headed towards the locker room with their heads hanging and questions beginning to arise.

The green were just handed their worst loss of the season - losing 101 to 113 to Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder (4-2). Durant's 36 propelled the Thunder to their third straight win, but he wasn't alone. Jeff Green recorded a double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 rebounds while James Harden scored 22 points.

"Durant's a beast. We tried to make it a point of stopping him and letting the other guys beat us, but we couldn't even stop hime. The whole team had their way with us tonight - it was not pretty." - Doc Rivers

Danny Granger and David Lee led the way for the Celtics, each scoring 21 points. There were three other players in double figures - Kevin Garnett (12), Ray Allen (10) and Delonte West (15) tried their best to keep up with the energetic Thunder.

We couldn't do much. We couldn't rebound, we couldn't shoot, we couldn't hold on to the ball - again we couldn't do much" - Doc Rivers

Late in the third quarter Glen Davis fell awkwardly on someone's foot coming down for a rebound. The diagnosis is a severe ankle sprain which will keep Davis away from action for 2-4 weeks.

In the wake of the Glen Davis news, the Celtics have traded Von Wafer and a 2012 second round (Golden State's) pick to the Grizzlies for Darrell Arthur and a 2011 2nd round pick. Arthur is expected to suit up for the green against Dallas though it is not known if he will play.

"Losing Big Baby is terrible for us. He's a high energy guy - high motor and provides quality minutes off of the bench. It may be a month, it may be longer, it may be shorter, but in the end we're missing a big piece of this team and will need to find help from somewhere else." - Doc Rivers

"When I came down (from the rebound) I heard something pop. I knew it was bad, but didn't know if it was broken or not. To me - being out for a month is the equivalent to being out for the season. I can't wait to get back on the floor with these guys." - Glen Davis

The Celtics will continue their tough road trip facing a Dirk Nowitzki-less Dallas Mavericks as Dirk is out 1-2 weeks with a strained MCL before heading to Miami.

Nov 7, 2011 - BOS at OKC
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Boston Celtics (5-1)	26	24	28	23	101
Oklahoma City Thunder (3-2)	34	26	28	25	113

Boston Celtics
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Rajon Rondo	26	1-2	0-0	0-0	1	10	2	0	5	2
Ray Allen	28	4-12	2-7	0-0	1	2	1	1	0	10
Danny Granger	32	8-24	5-9	0-0	5	1	0	1	1	21
Kevin Garnett	30	4-7	0-0	4-5	7	3	0	0	1	12
David Lee	32	8-24	5-9	0-0	7	2	0	3	1	21
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Shaq	13	2-2	0-0	5-5	4	0	0	1	1	9
Glen Davis	16	3-3	0-0	0-0	3	2	0	0	0	6
James Posey	17	2-8	1-5	0-0	1	0	0	1	0	5
Delonte West	21	6-7	3-4	0-0	1	1	0	1	0	15
Avery Bradley	21	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	10	2	1	3	0
Marquis Daniels	6	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Von Wafer	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		39-81	11-25	12-16	31	31	5	9	12	101

Oklahoma City Thunder
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Russell Westbrook	39	3-10	0-1	303	2	15	2	0	4	9
James Harden	39	8-14	4-6	2-2	5	3	2	0	1	22
Kevin Durant	39	14-38	3-12	5-6	3	6	3	0	1	36
Jeff Green	35	7-11	0-2	4-4	12	2	2	1	0	18
Cole Aldrich	34	1-4	0-0	2-4	16	2	0	0	0	4
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Nick Collison	15	4-5	0-0	1-1	3	0	0	0	0	9
Serge Ibaka	14	1-3	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	2
Eric Maynor	10	0-1	0-0	4-4	1	4	0	0	2	4
Thabo Sefolosha	10	2-2	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	4
Michael Finley	10	2-3	1-1	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	5
Daequan Cook	-- DID NOT PLAY --
DJ White	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		42-91	8-22	21-24	45	32	9	1	8	113

[Pezell04x]

Re: Boston Celtics: Return To Dominance

In a game where the Mavericks led 56 to 52 after three quarters, the Celtics dropped 36 points in the fourth, 14 of them coming from Kevin Garnett.

"Oh he's a monster, it doesn't matter how old he is. Our game plan was to get Kevin the ball, but that couldn't happen when he picked up some quick fouls. Instead Danny got on track and Rajon had no problem moving the basketball. Kevin was great in the fourth and really was the reason why we won this game." - Doc Rivers

Garnett scored 14 points in the fourth quarter, 9 of them coming from the free throw line. Garnett was able to power himself past guys like Dirk Nowitzki and Sean Marion, who had to fill in for Brendan Haywood because of foul trouble.

Danny Granger scored a game high 27 points and was consistent throughout the game, scoring 11 points in the first half and 16 in the second.

"Danny was great tonight. His shot was on and we were able to use him in switches and mismatches on the post. Danny will be the focus of our offense and tonight he showed everyone why he can do that. He's a great player in this league who is always overlooked." - Doc Rivers

Granger shot 13-21, including 1-3 from outside, and pulled other defenders on him when he touched the basketball. Rajon Rondo helped the offense with 13 assists and 15 points, his second double-double of the season.

"We were on our game - moving the basketball. If we're able to move the basketball well, we'll win games." - Rajon Rondo

On the other side of the court, the Mavericks were led by Brendan Haywood, who scored 17 points but uncharacteristically only grabbed 5 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki was good for the Mavs, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

The 6-2 Celtics will travel to Miami on Thursday, November 11 to avenge their 103-99 opening night loss to Lebron James and the Heat.

Nov 8, 2010 - BOS at DAL
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Boston Celtics (5-2)	20	17	15	36	88
Dallas Mavericks (4-2)	22	15	19	19	75

Boston Celtics
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Rajon Rondo	37	6-12	0-2	3-3	2	13	0	0	1	15
Ray Allen	26	3-7	0-2	2-2	1	0	0	0	2	8
Danny Granger	32	13-21	1-3	0-2	4	0	5	5	2	27
Kevin Garnett	17	4-7	0-0	9-9	3	1	1	3	0	17
David Lee	32	3-6	0-0	1-2	11	1	2	0	2	7
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Shaq	17	1-4	0-0	2-2	4	0	1	1	0	0
Darrell Arthur	32	0-4	0-0	2-2	8	2	1	1	1	2
James Posey	17	0-2	0-1	0-0	4	0	2	0	2	0
Delonte West	23	3-5	2-4	0-0	5	2	0	0	1	8
Avery Bradley	12	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	3	0	0	1	2
Marquis Daniels	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Glen Davis	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		33-69	3-12	19-22	38	23	12	7	13	88

Dallas Mavericks
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Jason Kidd	39	2-7	1-5	0-0	2	7	2	0	3	5
Jason Terry	39	5-20	2-7	0-0	1	4	0	0	2	12
Caron Butler	33	4-8	0-1	3-3	1	0	1	0	2	11
Dirk Nowitzki	31	6-19	0-0	4-4	11	3	0	0	2	16
Brendan Haywood	28	7-11	0-0	3-4	5	0	3	1	1	17
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Tyson Chandler	24	1-2	0-0	1-2	13	0	0	3	1	3
Sean Marion	21	2-5	0-0	2-3	4	0	1	0	1	6
JJ Barea	10	1-3	0-0	0-0	1	1	1	0	2	2
Dominique Jones	8	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Deshawn Stevenson	7	1-2	0-0	1-1	0	0	2	0	0	3
Brian Cardinal	5	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rodrigue Beaubois	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		29-78	3-12	14-17	38	15	10	4	14	75

[Pezell04x]

Re: Boston Celtics: Return To Dominance

After a win in Dallas, Boston flew to Miami and practiced hard with revenge on their mind. Unfortunately the Miami Heat and Lebron James had something different in mind as the Heat rallied back to beat the Celtics 100-97.

The Celtics were up 60-44 at halftime, but whatever happened in that locker room, their shooting went cold in the third quarter.

"I don't know what was happening out there, but I know we couldn't throw that basketball in the Atlantic (ocean). After the first half, we talked about Lebron and how he can bring a game back - well he did. We knew what we had to do to stop him and we couldn't." - Doc Rivers

James dropped 27 on the Celtics, but the game high in points belongs to Danny Granger, who scored 30 points while shooting 13 from 19 (68%) from the field.

"Danny was great again. After a great game in Dallas, he continued it here. Unfortunately - no one else showed up. I think our defense was great int he first half but in the second we wouldn't be able to stop a CYO team." - Doc Rivers

The Celtics blew their own chance at the end of the game. After stopping Miami, Doc Rivers called a time out with 8 seconds left.

"We drew up a play for Danny. Down 94 to 100 - he hit a 3 that brought us within 3. We needed it and we screwed it up." - Doc Rivers

Granger inbounded the ball to Rondo, who made a bad decision and threw the ball back to Granger. Unfortunately for Boston - Lebron James tipped the ball then threw it off of Rondo going out of bounds.

"It was a great play by Lebron. We were down early and looked out of it but I told them at half time that we can beat these guys. They've been on the road - we're at home - we can win this game." -Erik Spoelstra

Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Chris Bosh were both limited tonight because of foul trouble, yet both were effective when on the floor. Chris Bosh scored 18 points in 24 minutes while Ilgauskas scored 11 point and grabbed 12 rebounds.

The Celtics take their 1-2 road trip record into Memphis to face off against Rudy Gay and the Memphis Grizzlies.

Nov 11, 2010 - BOS at MIA
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Boston Celtics (6-2)	35	25	13	24	97
Miami Heat (7-1)	22	22	31	25	100

Boston Celtics
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Rajon Rondo	37	3-12	0-0	2-2	2	16	1	0	3	8
Ray Allen	36	5-8	2-5	1-1	3	1	3	0	2	13
Danny Granger	34	13-19	4-6	0-0	3	0	1	1	1	30
Kevin Garnett	32	5-9	0-0	8-8	8	1	0	1	0	18
David Lee	38	9-18	0-0	2-7	6	0	2	0	0	20
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Shaq	11	2-5	0-0	0-4	2	1	1	1	0	4
Darrell Arthur	17	1-1	0-0	2-3	1	1	1	0	1	4
James Posey	15	0-0	0-0	0-0	4	0	0	0	0	0
Delonte West	13	0-3	0-1	0-0	2	0	1	0	0	0
Avery Bradley	12	0-2	0-2	0-0	0	1	0	0	2	0
Marquis Daniels	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Glen Davis	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		38-77	6-14	15-25	31	21	10	3	10	97

Miami Heat
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Dwayne Wade	36	6-10	0-1	0-0	4	12	1	0	4	12
Mike Miller	38	3-5	0-1	2-2	7	2	1	1	2	8
Lebron James	40	12-28	1-3	2-2	6	3	0	0	0	27
Chris Bosh	24	9-17	0-0	0-0	3	0	0	1	1	18
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	19	5-6	0-0	1-1	12	0	0	0	0	11
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Joel Anthony	23	2-6	0-0	0-0	7	0	2	0	0	4
Mario Chalmers	21	2-2	1-1	0-0	1	6	2	0	2	5
Udanis Haslem	16	4-6	0-0	0-0	3	0	1	1	2	8
James Jones	11	0-4	0-2	0-0	1	0	0	0	1	0
Patrick Beverley	8	1-1	0-0	0-0	1	2	0	0	1	2
Carlos Arroyo	6	0-0	0-0	2-2	2	2	0	0	0	2
Eddie House	3	1-2	1-2	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	3
TEAM TOTALS		45-87	3-10	7-7	48	27	7	3	13	100

[Pezell04x]

Re: Boston Celtics: Return To Dominance

bad news, file was corrupted

[bichettehappens]

Re: Boston Celtics: Return To Dominance

I think it's admirable that Kevin Garnett decided to still play after losing his right hand

In seriousness though, this was good. Too bad about that file being corrupted, no fun