The AP reports: “I just try to give the game what it needs. Today, I thought it needed my scoring,” Paul Pierce said after his 36 points, eight rebounds and six assists helped Boston extend its winning streak to 11 games with a 109-101 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves… Al Jefferson, the centerpiece of the trade that brought Garnett to Boston, scored 34 points for the Timberwolves, who lost their third in a row since winning 10 of 12… Randy Foye had 21 points and nine assists, and Jefferson also had 11 rebounds—the 26th double-double of the season for a player who was a surprise exclusion from this month’s All-Star game in Phoenix… Ray Allen scored 22, and Glen “Big Baby” Davis had 12 points, six rebounds and three steals while playing in place of Kevin Garnett.
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Celtics beat Pistons for 10th straight win
The AP reports: The Boston Celtics finally got a game. The result, though, was the same. Kevin Garnett scored 22, Paul Pierce had 20 points and Ray Allen added 14, leading Boston to an 86-78 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. The Celtics, who have won 10 straight, took their last seven by double digits, including three victories by 20-plus points… Detroit’s Allen Iverson scored 19 points, moving past Hall of Famer Charles Barkley and into 16th place on the NBA’s career scoring list.
House helps Celtics crush Kings
The AP reports: Eddie House is all warmed up and ready for the 3-point shooting contest on All-Star weekend. All he needs is an invitation. The Boston sharpshooter scored 28 points on a career-high eight 3-pointers, going 8-for-9 from beyond the arc on Wednesday night to lead the Celtics to their ninth straight win, 119-100 over the Sacramento Kings… John Salmons scored 22 points, and Jason Thompson had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings, who lost to Boston by 45 earlier this season. Sacramento is 0-20 against the Eastern Conference—the only NBA team that has been blanked by entire conference so far.
Brian Scalabrine suffers concussion at practice
The Boston Globe (Marc Spears) reports (via blog): Celtics forward Brian Scalabrine was taken to New England Baptist Hospital after suffering a concussion at practice today, and coach Doc Rivers said he expects the forward to be out for an extended period of time. Scalabrine originally suffered a concussion against Dallas last Sunday and received another when he bumped into teammate Patrick O’Bryant while trying to get a rebound at practice today.
Celtics blow out Mavericks 124-100
The AP reports: Paul Pierce reached over and gave Kevin Garnett a hearty slap on the back as they laughed off the suggestion that now, with virtually everything going right, would be a good time to buy a lottery ticket. “I’ve got a lottery ticket already,” Pierce said after watching Garnett score 23 points and help shut down Dirk Nowitzki to lead Boston to its eighth straight win, 124-100 over the Dallas Mavericks… Reserve Eddie House also scored 23—including seven 3-pointers—and Ray Allen scored 20 of his 23 points in the first half as the Celtics opened a 27-point lead and coasted to their sixth straight double-digit victory… Jason Terry scored 27 for the Mavericks, who have won just three of their last nine games. Nowitzki had 18, but the Dallas 7-footer shot 4-for-17 from the field and had the ignominy of having his shot blocked by the 6-foot-1 House in the second quarter… Rajon Rondo had 13 points and 14 assists for the Celtics.
Celtics win 7th straight, top Magic 90-80
The AP reports: Paul Pierce had 27 points and 10 rebounds, Glen Davis added a season-high 16 points and Boston disrupted everything Orlando wanted offensively, holding the Magic to a season-low in points. Kevin Garnett scored 16 points to help the Celtics (36-9) extend their winning streak to seven games… Dwight Howard, who on Thursday became the first player in league history to receive 3 million votes in a season for the All-Star game, was held to a relatively ordinary 11 points and 11 rebounds. He fouled out with 2:30 left, and Orlando’s run of seven straight wins was snapped… Hedo Turkoglu scored 22 points, Rashard Lewis finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Jameer Nelson had 17 points for Orlando, whose previous low scoring total this season was 82.
InsideHoops.com notes: The Celtics hit 46.7% of their shots, the Magic just 38.2%. The difference in three-pointers made and attempted was amazing: Celtics 0-of-6, Magic 7-of-22. Rebounds, assists and other stats were pretty close.
Official 2009 All-Star starters
Here are the official starters for the 2009 NBA All-Star game:
East: Dwyane Wade, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard
West: Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Amare Stoudemire, Tim Duncan, Yao Ming.
Read basketball fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.
Celtics win 6th straight, roll past Heat 98-83
The AP reports: Something about playing in Miami brings out the best in Eddie House. The former Heat guard scored 20 points—more than he’d managed in any game this season—in the second quarter, finishing with 25 and the Boston Celtics ran their winning streak to six games by downing the Miami Heat 98-83 on Wednesday night… He was 7-for-11 from 3-point range, Ray Allen was 5-for-6, and the Celtics finished a season-best 15-for-25 from beyond the arc, matching the most 3’s ever allowed by the Heat in their 21 seasons. Allen finished with a game-high 27 points, Kevin Garnett had 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Paul Pierce added 14 points for Boston… Dwyane Wade finished with 25 points, Daequan Cook scored 20 and Michael Beasley added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat.
Celtics blow out Suns
The AP reports: Rajon Rondo had 23 points and seven assists before sitting out the fourth quarter with the rest of the starters, and Boston opened a 30-point lead before coasting to a 104-87 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night. The Celtics have won five straight since a 2-7 slump that was the worst stretch of the new Big Three era. “I don’t think this is a team that will get shaken or rattled when we go through a struggle,” said Paul Pierce, who had 12 points, eight rebounds and eight assists… Pierce scored all of his points by halftime to help Boston take a 64-34 lead. Ray Allen scored 20, and Kevin Garnett had 16 points with eight rebounds… Shaquille O’Neal scored 16 with 11 rebounds for Phoenix, which had won seven of its last 10. Amare Stoudemire, the Suns’ leading scorer this season, had just three points on 0-for-7 shooting.
Allen’s 25 leads Celtics to 105-85 rout of Nets
The AP reports: Ray Allen scored 25 points to lead the Celtics to a 105-85 win on Saturday afternoon. The Celtics put the game away in the opening quarter, taking an 18-2 lead behind nine points from Allen. Boston had beaten New Jersey by 32 points at home on Wednesday… Devin Harris and Vince Carter, the Nets leading scorers, had front row seats for the entire second half to watch the Celtics road show as New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank benched his two stars… Paul Pierce and Eddie House both had 13 points for the Celtics, while Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe each had 12. Rajon Rondo came close to a triple double with eight points, nine rebounds and 14 assists… Brook Lopez led New Jersey with 28 points and Jarvis Hayes added 15 for the Nets, who dropped their third straight game. Harris had seven points and Carter finished with five.