Allen, Celtics provide 4th quarter heroics
by Jimmy Toscano on Mar 8, 2010 1:24 AM EST
in Boston Celtics Articles
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PrintWith a little over six minutes left in the fourth quarter, and the Celtics down 66-79, the Celtics called timeout. This gave fans a chance to find the closest exit, and there were some who did. You couldn't really blame them at the time. Based on the way the first three and half quarters were going, and the Celtics track history this season at home against much poorer teams (Nets anyone?), they had every right to leave. Those fans are probably kicking themselves right about now.
The Celtics went on to close out the last 5:56 of the game on a 20-4 run and defeated the Washington Wizards 86-83. Amazing what a little defense can do!
"We should have played with that intensity all game," admitted Paul Pierce. "Once our defensive intensity picked up it changed the whole ball game from us getting up on guys, making them do things that they didn't want to do. Tonight we saw something that I like to see at this point in the season, coming down the stretch. We saw the Celtics that we are used to seeing."
Maybe in the past two seasons, yes, but fans were treated to a comeback that hasn't been all too common this season, and it was certainly a breath of fresh air.
"You know, it was good to win a game like this, as far as I was concerned," said Coach Doc Rivers. "We've lost so many of these, where we've played poorly and lost. It's nice every once in a while to play poorly and win."
Down 13 points, Rivers spent the timeout getting on his team about stepping up the defense and not putting up poor shots. They responded with the type of basketball that fans have expected to see out of them for 48 minutes, and not six.
"I said ‘we have to be perfect from this point on defensively, we have plenty of time'. We really didn't but you have to get them not to start thinking hero shots. That was my whole purpose offensively is let's get stops, look for twos, not threes, and just play solid basketball."
While the Celtics did in fact attack the rim and not look for the "hero" shot, Ray Allen played the hero role very well in the closing minutes of the game. Rondo went to the line to try to complete the three point play that would put the Celtics one point away from tying it. Rondo missed the free throw, but Perkins ended up with the ball and found Allen open for the three pointer with 1:33 left in the game. It gave the Celtics their first lead since midway through the first quarter.
A Randy Foye jump shot would give the Wizards a one point lead with 1:17 left on the clock. The Wizards had a chance to expand on that lead, but Foye missed on his three point attempt. There was a scramble for the rebound, and when the dust cleared, Garnett ended up with the ball and the timeout with 27 seconds left on the clock.
"I don't even know man, that was a bar fight," Garnett said with Pierce laughing in agreement. "Chairs were thrown, bottles were breaking. You had to get your back to something and just swing. So that's what that was, all grit."
Throughout his career, Allen has been one of the best in utilizing screens and picks to get open. This was no different tonight, as Doc drew up the play in the timeout that worked exactly as planned. Ray Allen did a nice job in summing up how it all went down.
"Sam (Cassell) was over there heckling on the sideline when I walked down and he was trying to talk to me, and you know how Sam is. He looked at me and was like, ‘You're getting the ball, you're getting the ball, I know you're getting the ball!' So, you know I tried to shrug it off, so when I went to fake to Rondo I just cut out and Mike Miller is riding me and he's kind of riding me making sure I don't get the ball and he's pushing me (the opposite) way so I just kind of lazily cut through to the basket and Perk and Kevin were coming up. And the minute he thought I was going that way I just cut hard and they got him. I was sitting there wide open."
And did Cassell, a man of many words, have anything to say after that?
"No, he probably was just kicking himself," said Allen. "I told him he needed to wear a tie."
Allen ended the game 10-15 with 25 points, 18 of which came in the second half.
"I thought that once (Allen) got into a nice, little rhythm, I think that everyone else, you know, fed off of that a little bit," said Garnett. "When it was time to really get him open for the three, we got him open, and he hit a big shot."
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If I'm Doc...
I’m going nuts with these guys. He knows they can put forth the effort, perhaps even for long stretches. And they don’t. There have to be halftimes where he just wants to sit in his office and ignore the team and let them figure it out themselves. To his credit, he seems incredibly tenacious with them.
Also - the bench sucked
78 minutes. 9 points.
game to forget
wizards was better in FG and FT, have more turnovers….
Nate, palyed 14 min. 0 points, 0 rebounds …..
Daniels played 23 min, onlu 2 pts, no rebounds…
huh….
Loving it!!!
weve been losing these games ALL YEAR so to have a big comeback and finish it off is very relieving. Ya it wont happen against a better team but hopefully we continue to improve. Tough back 2 back with MIL and Griz(never thought id say that) like to win 1(that either) but if we step up the effort n stop throwing the ball away like sloppy 6th graders we can win both
4 straight wins...against teams that are a combined 56 games BELOW .500
I smell championship!
In games like this
when the Celtics could not buy a basket early on, Finley will come in handy. Is he cleared to play?
once again
they can only play the teams on their schedule -
and they made a huge run at the end to snag the win –
that’s all that matters – - -
……………..
Don't fake the funk on a nasty dunk
I just keep on believing, Jimmy...
and will for as long as we are not mathematically eliminated.
This is possibly the best kind of win for us right now….a come from behind, against all odds, fighting and scratching despite ugly play Win! To quote one of our own, “Anything is possible!”
and yet
as bad as the Celtics seem to be playing they have moved ahead of the Hawks, barely, to 3rd in conference…btw, Flip did an amazing job with the Wizs last night.. coach of Washington , now there’s a job I wouldn’t want….Let’s hope RA’s shooting stays locked in…one more ramdom thought…the schedule (days off) does favor the Cs…Tboots, I agree (to paraphrase) ugly wins are cool…
the lazy boys showed up for most of the game and then the men took over. it’s a very bad habit that will kill them in the playoffs if they keep this up. nate was reluctant to shoot, looking for mates instead. get a little selfish, nate. the last 2 games in very limited minutes scal has played very well and that’s how he should be used. perk had more of his swagger back.
as ugly and bad as we looked for most of the game
this was a huge win for us. Not only do we keep our winning streak going but we finally won a game coming from behind in the 4th qtr. We finally did to another team what they have been doing to us all year. If we can win with KG going 0-7 and our bench barely scoring that’s a good sign. We finally played lock down defense. Of course it took 42 minutes of play and against a good team there’s no way we win this game but again there are a lot of positives to take away. I like the wizards front line. Those guys gave us fits and it looks like they will be a formidable duo for years to come. The league is changing quickly and teams like the wizards ,nets and Knicks could be on top of the atlantic division a year from now while we’re headed to the lottery. You can see the changing of the guard. But at least for tonight we held back the sands of time— barely!
ESPN sportscenter a highlight reel...
of a comeback built on illegal plays. Ray Allen fast break travel – no call. KG blatant over the back on the “bar fight”.
And then perhaps the most obvious moving pick of KG’s noteworthy career in this specialty – the moving pick. KG just keeps backing up, is NEVER EVER set, so of course Ray is wide open.
“I just cut hard and they got him”.
Indeed…
by nba is the worst on Mar 8, 2010 9:40 AM EST reply actions
Ray did not travel
…and that was a correct no-call. The new NBA rule is 2 steps allowed after gathering the ball. Ray took exactly 2 steps after gathering the ball. You really should watch the replay before drawing conclusions.
Fouls and moving picks are judgment calls. A recent study found that refs are reticent about making close calls at the ends of game, in a (presumed) natural desire to let the players decide the game. Those particular two events to which you referred were too subjective to be called at that time. (Of course, SOME refs love doing that… the Crawfords and Salvatores of the world… but that’s why those guys are so universally reviled.)
Illegal Plays or Calls not Made?
I never say the refs cost us the game…we usually do that ourselves and I AM NOT GOING TO SAY THE REFS GAVE US THIS GAME…..I have a hard time getting over your negativity which never seems to leave you. Cheer up…..just a bit anyway
The biggest error thjat almost cost us was not fouling on the last possession by Wizards…they got off a three that almost went in…we should have fouled IMO.
Nice to see PP attack the basket. I do find the lack of effort in the first 42 minutews disturbing.
The Wiz have some really good potential young big men (McGee a young Dikembe Mutumbo?)
Glad with a win….but not with the effort
Is it Soup Yet?
good post master po
mcgee was excellent last night – kept swatting away attacks from KG & PP – it was a good game –
fouling on the last posession would’ve been the right move – they always debate whether or not it’s a good idea
.
Don't fake the funk on a nasty dunk
I don’t know why, but I always hate the intentional foul to prevent a 3-pointer. I’d rather go to OT and take it there, than allow a mistake that would 1, make it a 4-point play, or 2 give them 3 free-throws because an easily mis-executed fouling play. A well guarded 3-pointer is still one of the most difficult shots to make, I’d rather take my chances.
by BudweiserCeltic on Mar 8, 2010 10:06 AM EST up reply actions
I don't disagree - I have mixed emotions about it ...but last night seemed the time to do it
but I see both sides….
Is it Soup Yet?
They absolutely should have fouled, and Im about 90% sure they had a foul to give too
by Jimmy Toscano on Mar 8, 2010 10:19 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
That’s a bit worse then no? First you risk giving a shooting foul for nothing, and secondly you can make them advance the ball without time running.
by BudweiserCeltic on Mar 8, 2010 10:25 AM EST up reply actions
what is worse than giving up a wide open three that wiz just missed?
Wiz had no timeouts so they wouldn’t have drawn up a play after initial foul. And time would have run off the clock before foul was given.
by Jimmy Toscano on Mar 8, 2010 10:46 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
They didn't have a foul to give
Peirce gave their last foul about the 1 minute mark. I agree with BudweiserCeltic on this one.
ok then, even with no foul to give you foul
Foul them in the back court to avoid the likeness of a shooting foul. We have used this strategy often this year and it has worked. They were trying to foul but couldn’t, for the record. They were lucky wiz missed open look or we would be talking about that botched defense a lot more.
by Jimmy Toscano on Mar 8, 2010 10:50 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
They were trying to foul...
…but, their old legs could not catch up to the ball-handler!
Both
I haven’t seen anything in the past 10 weeks that indicates success in the playoffs, including last night’s ref-assisted win.
by nba is the worst on Mar 8, 2010 10:11 AM EST up reply actions
who was worth enough for a 1-point win on a last-second shot in the prior game
with a weak Pierce just off injury in the Celtic lineup.
Whose presence hasn’t prevented LA from having its own meltdowns against supposedly much weaker teams.
’Suggests the gap between the two teams is not so great as you might think.
‘Just sayin’.
That's two of their wins against the top teams
All you have left is the Cleveland win on opening night, as the rest are losses.
I wonder
… if’, or rather when, they start succeeding in the playoffs… will you be happy, or miserable (as you normally are in here) over being proven wrong? Just curious…..
(And btw…if you lie in your answer, we’re gonna know it, soon.)
Dear Mr. medical expert
I have freaking season tickets, so of course I want the Celtis to win. So far I have been proven wrong about nothing and you have been proven right about nothing. You think they can win the cahmpionship, I and others do not. Also, aren’t I simply pointing out that teh C’s are 3-9 versus the Cavs, Hawks, Magic and Lakers. Or maybe my facts are wrong.
Your season tickets
… plus your relentless negativity add up to a diagnosis: “Terminal Masochism”.
You contradict yourself here
Below you say thee “dark glasses” crowd has no right to draw conclusions but yet in this post you are concluding that the Celtics will succeed in the playoffs. Interesting.
12/3 @ San Antonio, win
11/29 @ Miami, win
11/11 @ Utah, win and yes
Opening night versus Clevaland, win
negativity = :(
Don't fake the funk on a nasty dunk
Not sure about the Utah win as quality
When Utah was in total disarray. I will give you San Antonio and Cleveland, however, in my opinion, San Antonio is in the same situation as the Celtics this year. I guess it is negative to point out that the C’s are 3-9 this year versus Lakers, Cavs, Magic and Hawks. That is a freaking fact.
Fouling with a 3-point lead
…is usually debatable. But with 6 seconds left and NO FOULS LEFT… I doubt anybody would debate the wisdom of fouling.
Correction
… With 6 seconds left and NO TIME OUTS left for your opponent, there’s no debate. (Sheesh… cobwebs lingering!)
Are you serious?
Fisher, an 85% ft shooter, misses 2. Bynum, 75% ft shooter, 2-4. Farmar misses 2. etc
Lakers lost that game at the line – celts didn’t “beat” anyone
by nba is the worst on Mar 8, 2010 10:41 AM EST reply actions
I have it highlighted on my schedule that on my wall on my desk as a win -
- please analyze now how many games the Celtics lost to other teams that didn’t ‘beat’ them
Don't fake the funk on a nasty dunk
You know when we should argue whether this is a playoff team?
…when we’re in the playoffs. Not now. We have absolutely no clue what this team will look like then.
We have clues
… what we don’t have is the right to draw conclusions, like the “dark-glasses” bunch above are doing.
But what about the green glasses guys
Who can pronounce that the Celts will win the championship. Again, all the pessimistic realists are doing is looking at the performance so far this year, and games like last night against Washington and last week against New Jersey, and saying they do not believe this team can win the championship. Each side has a legitimate argument. I am so glad though that you have declared yourself king arbiter of the argument. It makes me sleep better at night.
No, I have not "pronounced"
… that the Cs WILL win. I have said that the Cs CAN win. For good reasons.
In a post above you said "when the Celtics succeed in the playoffs"
Sorry, but that is a pronouncement
Props to Ray, Perk
How dumb is Ray making everyone (myself included) look for wanting to ship him off a few weeks ago? This is the best I’ve seen him play since he became a Celtic. Think about it, we won a title without Ray playing like Ray for most of the playoffs. If this is the Ray we get in the playoffs, it would be a tremendous boost.
Also, hat tip to Perk for getting the offensive board and finding Ray right away. That wasn’t an easy play to make.
To me, this team will live and die on its rebounding effort. For 3 1/2 quarters, with the exception of Baby, the Wizards were beating us to every board, then voila, we suddenly are getting second chances and snatching up every Wizards miss. It’s not as if this team can’t rebound the ball, they’re just too slow to the glass and refuse to box out often enough. That’s gotta change if we’re gonna go deep in the playoffs.
by joebianca on Mar 8, 2010 12:08 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Offseason priority
Whether we win a title or not this spring, Danny should be looking to add an athletic player who can rebound and defend at the 4/5 spot.
by TheOutletPass on Mar 8, 2010 1:01 PM EST up reply actions
nice to see someone be a man step up an admit they judged Ray's remaining ability to harshly
hat tip to you joebianca
Is it Soup Yet?
meh, Baby was mainly grabbing offensive rebounds
and promptly getting blocked on his putbacks. Basically worthless effort there. Offensive rebounds are very rarely worth the effort. Only 2 defensive rebounds for Davis.
I’d hardly call him out as the exception that was doing something positive on the boards. KG was by far our best rebounder, grabbing 10 defensive rebounds.
Go look at how many offensive rebounds we grabbed in our last route (Bobcats). Three. Yes, 3. And we didn’t have a single one until the 4th quarter. Yet that was a nearly perfectly executed game on our part (one of the few all year).
Rebounds are important. But not in the way most people seem to think. And defensive rebounds are FAR more important than offensive rebounds.
Ray has been and continues to be our most valuable player overall this whole season. I’ve been very consistent in stating that.
That's some set of examples
We blew Charlotte off the court, so forgive me if I don’t draw any long-term conclusions, positive or negative, from one game. Offensive rebounds are just as important as defensive rebounds if converted into points. Teams that get the most 2nd chance points have a huge advantage.
And I don’t remember only talking about offensive boards in my post. I’m pretty sure I wrote equally about keeping the Wizards from getting 2nd chances.
by joebianca on Mar 9, 2010 12:54 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
That's just one example but it dramatically illustrates the point.
Offensive rebounds are nice – its definitely a good thing when they come your way – but being good at grabbing them has no correlation with winning.
They are NOT as important as defensive rebounds. And none of the very best teams put much effort into grabbing them.
Yes, you did mention defensive rebounds, but I was responding mainly to your calling out BBD as if he was the only one doing any rebounding. I thought that odd because his rebounds were the most useless in that game. He only grabbed 2 defensive rebounds and his 6 offensive boards were largely offset by the fact that he got blocked on his put-backs.
I wonder
I would expect to find that teams which focus on offensive rebounding are relatively poor in their transition defense – where many points are scored by teams that get it going. That may in part account for the non-correlation of offensive rebounding with winning. I wonder if it’s true.
I'd like to see some stats
That illustrate this supposed non-correlation between offensive rebounds and wins. It would seem logical that if another team beats you 2-to-1 on second chance points because you totally ignore offensive rebounding, you’re fighting an uphill battle.
Anyway, the point is we’re not doing much rebounding on either side right now. And yes, Baby’s offensive boards are useless if he gets blocked right away. But if he learns to kick the ball out more often and it leads to made shots, then offensive rebounding becomes important again. The biggest play of the game (Ray’s first three) happened because Perk wrestled for an offensive board and then found a man on the wing. If he doesn’t get that offensive rebound, we probably lose. Does that DRAMATICALLY illustrate my point?
props to ray without getting carried away
yeah, he’s doing well now. But thats only because he’s playing smarter. I was dumping on his colossal dissappointment of offensive effort in the first half. He and rasheed forcing threes—fixated, trying to force rhythm instead of taking better percentage shots within the bailout big three offense. Which leads to the only reason I find myself more optimistic with these last handful of games: rasheed is not forcing, pierce is not pressing as much, ray is taking what the d gives him, and Kg is getting good shots/looks with good lift. If this continues, and the bench play how theyre capable: should be a fun rest of the year win or lose.
malcontents....the lot of you
except that Ray was, for most of the first half of the season, taking fewer 3 PT shots
He’s not stupid. He WAS taking higher percentage shots.
Through most of the fall and winter, Ray’s FG% was (is) actually UP over his career averages, even though his 3PT% was down (though climbing steadily recently).
If there is one thing you can probably count on with this team, it is that Ray Allen will ALWAYS “play smarter”. He has been by far our most consistent player all season – even before his recent ‘hot’ streak.
I did not want to trade Ray....
But, with 6 mins to go and Blatche shooting, again, over KG, I said to my wife “Let’s go and catch the end of the Oscars”. So, I’m one of those fans that heard the end in my car. At least I got to see my man, the Dude, win best actor. He was awesome in that role and that is damn good country soundtrack (I’m not a country fan).
But back to the C’s. They stunk. No life. KG with 4 travelling calls. Big Baby battling under the boards but Rasheed just watching. The only offensive flow was from Ray. The only positive was that KG was moving and jumping like old KG. Winning ugly is part of a long season, but if this type of game is still in them at this late point, when they are all healthy and the Washington Generals (er, Wizards) don’t have Arenas or Josh Howard, they will get crushed by elite teams. It’s one thing when your shot isn’t dropping. It’s quite another to look like the Nets for 3 1/2 Qs
Yes it must just be awful to root for a championship contender. We’re 1 game back in the loss column for the 2 seed in the East. Too many people on sports sites confuse “realism” with cynicism. The Celtics have enough games over the last few seasons to warrant some more respect from their fans and have earned a little benefit of the doubt IMO. Sure they won’t win 70, but neither will anyone else. There will probably be 1 60-win squad this year. So they aren’t going all out in these RS games. We had to know it would come eventually. They can’t play like it’s game 7 every night. This team is pacing a little but come playoff time, look out..
Bad Basketball Does Not Win Championships
The mantra of the optimists is that they’ll “get it together for the playoffs.”
Well, there are 20 or so games to go, and they definitely have NOT gotten it together.
I will be surprised if they win more than one of their next three games. Let me add that Rondo was simply AWFUL last night. Dumb turnover after dumb turnover after dumb turnover. I think it was a major setback for the Celtics that he was named to the all star team. His head got too big.
What is the logical connection
…between your first sentence and your second (which is presented as an argument refuting the first?) How is the concept of getting it together for the playoffs affected by whether or not they’ve gotten it together till now?
ditto on rondo
Im yellin at the tv for doc to bench him…then he makes like three plays in a row: can’t put my finger on the great disappearing rondo. I don’t buy the turn it on the playoffs thing either. IMOP, you’ll see what’ll you get over the next 20.
malcontents....the lot of you
They Won't Get It Together for the Playoffs
There isn’t enough time. They are not even vaguely close to being playoff ready— not mentally, nor physically.
I love
to argue about the future…because no one is wrong…btw…Po…good Pink reference..and Cavsfan..you must love refs…you get all the calls…half of Lebron’s block are either GTs or fouls…
To those who are unbiased
It was a clear travel.
And to not call a blatant moving pick where the man was NEVER set – that allows a game winner – is just wrong
by nba is the worst on Mar 9, 2010 9:30 AM EST reply actions
Unbiased review of the play
= no travel. Ray gathered the ball, then took 2 steps and up for the basket. Refs were correct in their no-call.
good gawd, man
you really are acting like a troll.
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