Kevin Garnett
Celtics Grab 2-0 Series Lead with 95-92 Win Over Magic in Orlando
Thursday, May 20th, 2010 | Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, Orlando Magic, Sports | No Comments
The Boston Celtics are just brimming with confidence right now. What a difference it makes to have a healthy Kevin Garnett on the defensive end for an entire post-season run. Although his stat lines have not been overwhelming, Garnett is the main reason that the Celtics have been able to limit the explosive offenses of the Heat, the Cavaliers and the Magic so far this post-season. Two more wins against the Magic, and we’ll be able to see if he can do the same against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in the NBA Finals (as they did 2 years ago en route to the title).
The Celtics are now in a great position – having won 2 road games to start the series. If they can keep the Magic from winning 4 of the next 5 games in the series, they will advance to their 2nd NBA Finals series in 3 seasons. Paul Pierce led the way again in Game 2, scoring 28 points with 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Rajon Rondo exploded for 15 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds. Garnett scored just 10 points, but grabbed 9 boards with 2 blocked shots.
To put this into perspective, we can’t forget that the Magic had won 8 straight games this post-season over the Charlotte Bobcats and the Atlanta Hawks and 14 games overall before running into the rejuvenated Celtics. In their 1st 8 post-season games, the Magic had scored at least 90 points all of them. In three of their 4 wins over the Hawks, they scored over 105 points in each game. 88 points in Game 1 and 92 points in Game 2 is not going to cut it. It won’t get any easier for the Magic, as they now have to go up against the Celtics on their home turf in the TD North Garden. It certainly isn’t over by any means – we saw the Celtics lay an egg against the Cavs at home in the previous series. But they are going to need a full team effort if they have any hopes of reaching the NBA Finals for the 2nd consecutive season.
Game 3 is set for 8:30PM EST on Saturday night in Boston.
Celtics Oust Cavs with Exciting 94-85 Win at TD Garden in Boston
Friday, May 14th, 2010 | Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Sports | No Comments
I think it was a much more exciting game than most people expected. The Cavs just didn’t roll over and give up as most critics expected, but a big 3rd quarter from the Celtics (25-18 edge) proved too much for the Cavs to overcome in the 4th quarter. A 2-point halftime lead for the Celtics ballooned into a 10 point lead after 36 minutes, and even though the Cavs stuck with the Celtics in the 4th quarter (18-18) they were never able to make a sustained run against Rajon Rondo and his club.
Once again, it was Rajon Rondo who controlled the tempo and game for the Celtics. Rondo scored 21 points and dished out 12 assists. And although he only grabbed 3 rebounds, he limited his turnoves to just 4 and also had 5 steals on the defensive end. Not a bad overall performance at all.
His play once again freed up Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to go to town on the undermanned Cavs. The Celtics just had too many weapons for the Cavs to handle.
Lebron James did his best to force a Game 7 back in Cleveland on Sunday night, but it wasn’t enough. James had his 6th career playoff triple-double – 27 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists – and although he is the 2-time defending NBA MVP and his team is the owner of a season high 61-wins, that much-coveted NBA title still eludes James. “The fact that it’s over right now is definitely a surprise to me… I want to win. That’s my only thing, my only concern. I’ve always prided myself — it’s all about winning for me and I think the Cavs are committed to doing that. But at the same time, I’ve given myself options to this point. Me and my team, we have a game plan that we’ll execute and we’ll see where we’re at.”
Now it’s off to Orlando for the Celtics and off to the golf course for Lebron. Will he end up staying in Cleveland, or will he take a leap of faith and head for the Big Apple (New York Knicks or New Jersey Nets in Brooklyn) or the Second City of Chicago? Only time will tell.
Game 2 Not So Kind to Bulls as Celtics Rout Bulls 118-90
Saturday, October 31st, 2009 | Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, NBA, Sports | No Comments
It was a tale of 2 different nights – less than 24 hours after a successful Bulls home opener win over the Spurs on Thursday night, the Bulls took it on the chin against the Celtics in Boston on Friday night. The Celtics used a 29-18 advantage in the 2nd quarter to open up a 15-point halftime lead. A 12-point advantage in the 3rd quarter gave the Celtics a 27-point lead after 36 minutes – game over.
There was a lot of anticipation heading into this game because of the way the 2 teams battled in the 1st round of the playoffs just 6 months ago. The Celtics won that series in 7 games, but the Celtics did not have Kevin Garnett in that series, and the Bulls had Ben Gordon who has since left the Bulls for the Detroit Pistons.
Paul Pierce (22 points), Ray Allen (20 points) and Kevin Garnett (16 points) led the way for the Celtics, while Rajon Rondo chipped in 8 rebounds and 16 assists as the general of the team. The Celtics have looked great so far in their 3 wins this season and Head Coach Doc Rivers is really pacing his older players’ minutes in order to keep them fresh for the long haul. Having Rasheed Wallace coming off the bench doesn’t hurt either.
The Bulls looked a little bit lost after a full team effort on Thursday. Joakim Noah looked the best – 16 points and 10 rebounds. Tyrus Thomas also had a solid game – 10 points and 8 rebounds – as did Kirk Hinrich who scored 10 points and dished out 7 assists off the bench. Derrick Rose scored 10 points, but he only had 2 assists and no rebounds. And Luol Deng only played 19 minutes because of foul trouble, scoring 4 points and grabbing 5 boards.
Looks like much will be the same for the Bulls in 2009-2010. This is an average team that will look great one night, only to look dazed and confused the next night. Buckle in for a long ride Bulls fans – but hopefully they will be able to win enough games to qualify for post-season play for a second year in a row.
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