Celtics hold off Lebron for home court advantage run!
Who said miracles couldn’t happen, surely witnessed one tonight at the TD BankNorth Garden. The top seed Cleveland Cavaliers who were the first team to clinch a playoff berth earlier this week came into the Boston Garden looking for their 49th win to be in ranks with the Lakers, the Celtics the very same, and to break thier home court loosing streak with their all defensive player of the year out for another 1-2 weeks. Scoring the first two buckets of the game, Cleveland stepped into an early 2 point lead, but
sadly and surprisingly it was the only lead that they would see for the night.
Boston, with their largest, 15, did something tonight that we haven’t seen since the NBA Finals, consistant consistancy. If you didn’t watch tonight, and only looked at the scoreboard you would think that it was The Big 3 that carried this game, but the boxscore and recap would tell you a much different tale. Leon Powe (20), Kendrick Perkins(10) and Glen “Big Baby” Davis(10) got it going on the offensive and defensive ends early and didn’t give the Cavaliers any space to exhale. Dominating the paint and pretty much shining the court and their shoes with the Cleveland lineup the Celtics went wild scoring 58, against the Cavs stingy 22. There were only two things standing in the Celtics’ way of finishing their season at top of their conference, the NBA, and much better than they did last season, and that was themselves and their mistakes. As we’ve watched over the course of the season, you would often hear commentators stressing every time about the Boston Celtics; managing turnovers and being consistant; that they showed they could balance tonight. Only commiting three turnovers less than the Cavs 11 (8), the Celtics took control of this basketball game and showed the league, fans, and doubters that if they think Cleveland can stop them in their tracks, think again. If the numbers don’t make a believer out of you, then maybe the reiterated fact that Kevin Garnett didn’t play, or that Cleveland scored under 100 points, or Lebron James only going 5-15 from the field, or thier 45% field goal shooting would help?
Other than consistancy and ball management, staying healthy is another high concern for this Celtics team who don’t seem to be getting any healthier as the season moves on. With KG, Tony Allen, and Brian Scalabrine all out with injuries, Glen Davis being thrown out the game as a result of two flagrant fouls, and Rajon Rondo injuring his ankle getting back into a play (he eventually returned to the game), the Celtics kept loosing bodies, but never focus and intensity. Leading the Celtics and all scorers with 29 points, Paul Pierce stressed after the game that “This wasn’t just like any other regular season game, but a big game and a huge win for us; were playing for home court advantage, and were one more win away from it.” The Celtics who are 49-14 in the season, and the first team in the Eastern Conference to win 49 games, are now 26-5 at home, look to make it 27-5 when they face the Orlando Magic on Sunday at 1:00PM.
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