Tony Allen and Glen Davis Spark Celtics
by Jimmy Toscano on Apr 18, 2010 1:10 AM EDT
in Boston Celtics Articles
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PrintTony Allen was sick tonight- in more ways than one.
Fighting off the flu over the past few days, it was anyone's guess how Tony Allen would be able to contribute to the team tonight. It was clear early on that the Tony Allen we have seen as of late, the one who earned him the Comcast SportsNet Sixth Star Award, was in the building. His energy and defensive intensity was enough to turn down the Heat as the Celtics came away with an 85-76 victory.
Tony Allen also shot 7-12 from the field for 14 points to go with this three steals and two blocks. With the Celtics down 12 points with 6:30 to go in the third quarter, Tony Allen was subbed into the game for Ray Allen. The Celtics then went on a 15-5 run to end the quarter down only two points. During that stretch, Paul Pierce went off for nine points.
"I just wanted to be a little bit more aggressive," said Pierce of his third quarter scoring outburst in which he scored 11 of his 16 points. "Somebody mentioned to me that I only took one shot in the second quarter and then talking to Doc on the sidelines, just told me to stay aggressive. That's what I tried to do... Once I started doing that, defense kicked in. It wasn't about offense really; it is about how we played defensively."
The defensive intensity picked up even more in the fourth quarter, as the Celtics held the Heat to only ten fourth quarter points. It was the type of defense fans came so accustomed to seeing over the past couple seasons for the Celtics. It has been said over and over that the Celtics hang their hat on defense, and that was evident tonight.
"The key for us was Tony Allen's defense on Dwayne Wade," said Pierce. "I thought that he came in and really did a great job on both ends of the court, on offense and defense. It gave us the spark."
"He does everything that you want a guy off the bench to do," continued Pierce on Tony Allen. "You want him to bring energy, just a spark when things aren't going well. I thought he did that on both ends of the court. He made Dwayne Wade play him on offense and on the defensive end. He made him work on the other end."
While Tony Allen deserves a lot of credit, another player off the bench, Glen Davis, stepped up huge tonight like he did last year in the playoffs.
"Tony and Baby (Glen Davis) I thought defensively changed the game for us," said coach Doc Rivers. "Forget the ‘It's great to see Baby finish' and all that stuff."
The Celtics missed some easy buckets in the first half, something that Rivers stressed to the guys at halftime. Rivers was satisfied with where the offense was at, but knew that if they were to win it would be by stepping up the defense especially on Dwayne Wade.
Rivers said in his press conference that he told the players at halftime, "Offensively, I'll take what we have; defensively it'll be Wade in the second half, and we have to move our feet defensively." He went on to say, "And I thought Baby came in and then I thought he was sensational, and Tony was great."
Davis had eight points and eight rebounds in over 23 minutes tonight. His energy and play may have been enough to earn him a start on Tuesday night if Garnett is in fact suspended for throwing and connecting on an elbow to Quentin Richardson's face. Davis started in the playoffs last year in Garnett's absence, but only started one game this season- the last game of the season.
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Just watched the elbowing incident again over at espn.com
Taht second elbow from Garnett hit Q squarely in the jaw, and despite the fact that Q is a complete jerk, I don’t see how the league can avoid suspending Garnett for game 2. It is as plain as day that Garnett aimed the elbow at Q and connected.
Good piece, Jimmy
I was hoping someone here would write about BBD along with Tony being the spark that won the game for us. BBD deserves to be talked about! His defense was exceptionally great. And Tony needs to be in every game against DWade for a lot of minutes.
Thanks for a great post.
start TA
coming from a anti -TA guy,start him now…and give Nate a sniff in the first half..use baby first off the bench and keep Shelden ready if we can keep KG’s mins up,leaving Sheed as 31/2 big…gonna need to start TA vs LeBron if we get there….and anyway,Ray can be a shooter with Finley on 2nd unit which would allow Shelden to be a better fit with that group….Rondo get 40+mins unless were way up
And Don't Overlook ..
..that Rajon seems to enjoy playing with Tony. Thrives on having someone who slashes and gets out on the break with him. Those 2 need “quality time” together!
TA and Baby gave the C's a big lift....
TA had a immaculate performance.
His offense was sharp and came at timely moments .
His defense on Wade was stifling and just great.
Baby started off the game with big time problems finishing around the rim.
As has been his problem all year his lack of length and jumping ability makes it hard for him to get shots off in the low post as taller stronger front court big man just block his shots or make him alter his to a very low % shot.
But Baby got it going in the 2nd half and started to rebound and finish better near the rim on offense.
His energy (which has been great all year) along with TA’s gave the C’s a great spark and I think was contagious.
If the C’s want a shot at a title this year we need Baby to keep up the good work and hustle he showed us last night.
An unfortunate ending to a great comeback
Boston had just engineered a 20 point turnaround (thanks TA and PP). Coverage on Wade had been exceptional with his mid range game eliminated. There was no inside game for the Heat as the passing lanes for Wade were sealed. The Celts had two fouls to give (none for the Heat). The Heat were out of time-outs. The Garden was rocking with the noise meter hitting new highs. Forty seconds to go with a six point lead.
The heat were demoralized – licking their wounds. Pierce went for the ball to seal the deal – he went down – in front of the Heat bench. A little verbal abuse aimed Paul who had just engineered the turn around – was in order. And Paul never flops ???
KG had just missed the shot that would have iced the game. He was overly pumped up. His captain was down in hostile territory. Concern – yes. Over reaction – yes. And KG never trash talks ( #1 in the NBA). There is no justification for the elbows.
The garden was at a new emotional high. Fans were hugging cops and referees. KG took away the emotional high. He owes Celtic fans a sincere apology.
Ashtray Bouquet
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