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Blake, short-handed Trail Blazers beat Celtics

The AP reports: Even without All-Star guard Brandon Roy, the Portland Trail Blazers earned an impressive win Tuesday night. Steve Blake had 21 points, LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 and the short-handed Blazers beat the Boston Celtics 91-86, sending the NBA champions to their third loss in four games… Reserve forward Travis Outlaw had 17 points for Portland and Greg Oden added 13 points and 11 rebounds despite injuring his ankle in practice Monday. Paul Pierce scored 28 points, making 14 of 15 foul shots, and Kevin Garnett had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Celtics (28-5), who were at the end of a four-game road trip and have more losses since Dec. 25 than in the previous two months of the season… Rajon Rondo had 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds for Boston.

There was a controversial play late in the second quarter when the Trail Blazers scored while using six players on the court. The basket counted, but a technical foul resulted in a free throw for the Celtics. More details here.

Blazers score with six players on court

Tuesday night in Portland the Trail Blazers are hosting the Boston Celtics and late in the second quarter were losing to the visitors 44-38. But they got a late first half basket using six players on the court.

A video clip of this has been added below (scroll down).

With 10 seconds left in the half, Portland took a 20-second timeout. A Blazers substitution brought Jerryd Bayless into the game. Greg Oden was supposed to leave the game, but he didn’t.

So, after the timeout, Bayless inbounded the basketball to Steve Blake. With time ticking down, Blake lobbed it down to Oden outside the left paint near the rim, who quickly flipped it to Travis Outlaw on the right side of the paint, who threw down an open dunk.

LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Fernandez were also on the court for the Blazers, giving them six players versus Boston’s five.

At this point I’m leering at the 200-inch 1080P 120mhz InsideHoops.com home office HD LCD television (valued at $75,000) and laughing.

On the court for the Celtics was their starting lineup: Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins

Before Blake threw the pass, Kevin Garnett was guarding Aldridge at the left free throw corner. Oden was unguarded behind KG near the basket just outside the left paint. When Garnett spotted Oden he yelled/motioned for help (or was yelling that there are six Blazers men on the floor). Perkins, who was around the right side of the paint, responded.

Perkins switched over to guard Oden as Blake lobbed it inside, so Oden quickly flipped it to the now wide-open Outlaw, who crammed home the easy dunk with 3 seconds left, making it 44-40.

InsideHoops.com is 95 percent certain it was Oden who should have come out.

The Celtics went wild protesting. But the amazing result was that the referees, who did not notice the problem until after the dunk, actually counted the basket for the Blazers but issued a technical foul on them, putting Ray Allen on the line for a free throw, which he hit, putting Boston up 45-40, the score going into halftime.

Is this the rule? Did the referees handle this correctly? If so, the Blazers actually benefitted from this!

What if a team intentionally put six men on the floor, almost always scored as a result, and only gives up a single technical foul free throw each time. Right? Of course, that would only work if they managed to score before the refs noticed there were too many players on the court, so they’d have to get it done very quickly before the tech gets called. It could work, for a few plays every now and then!

This was wild.

–InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum thread.

Blazers sideline reporter needs a hug

I’m watching the Boston Celtics at Portland Trail Blazers game on NBA League Pass right now.

Boston is up big early in the second quarter, up 25-13. I think it was their worst first quarter of the season. Not sure, though.

They’re playing without Brandon Roy, and clearly still adjusting to it.

A very key observation: The Blazers sideline reporter is Rebecca Haarlow, a beautiful young blond woman who has done a perfectly good job so far.

But one thing: She seems bummed out! Maybe it’s that Brandon Roy is out. But even early in the game when it was close, she sounded a bit too low-key. Pick up the enthusiasm, Rebecca!

As for the Blazers, they’re getting pushed around and look all shook up. The Celtics are assassins out there.

I’ll be glued to the game for the evening.

Rockets re-sign Dikembe Mutombo

Aside from center Yao Ming and power forward Luis Scola, the Houston Rockets are pretty short up front. Carl Landry is strong but a modest 6’9″, and Chuck Hayes is listed at just 6’6″. But now Houston has brought back the Cookie Monster. The Houston Chronicle (Jonathan Feigen) reports:

The Rockets reached an agreement with veteran center Dikembe Mutombo on Tuesday, Rockets GM Daryl Morey said. Mutombo was signed for the remainder of the season at a pro-rated veteran’s minimum contract… “I almost haven’t touched a ball in six months. I shoot the ball in the park with my kid. I am not a shooter anyway,” said Mutombo, a career 52 percent shooter. “As long as I can rebound and block shots, that’s what’s important.”

Mutombo played 39 games for Houston last season, averaging 3.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks on good shooting in 16 minutes per game.

It’s a good move for the Rockets. Mutombo can come in, take up space, rebound, wave his arms around, defend, and talk funny.

Celts return to winning ways, 108-63 over Kings

The AP reports: The Celtics bounced back from back-to-back losses in emphatic fashion, beating the Sacramento Kings 108-63 Sunday night in one of the most one-sided wins in franchise history… The 45-point margin of victory matched the sixth biggest by the Celtics, who also beat the New York Knicks by that amount last season. The last time Boston had a bigger win was a 153-107 victory over the Baltimore Bullets on Nov. 27, 1970… John Salmons’ 11 points led the Kings. Francisco Garcia shot 1-for-7 before leaving in the first half with stiffness in his right calf. Kevin Garnett made 10 of 11 shots to lead the Celtics with 21 points and 11 rebounds despite playing just under 23 minutes. He now has 20,894 career points, moving past Bob Pettitt into 27th place all-time. Ray Allen added 19 on 7-for-8 shooting and Eddie House had 15 off the bench.

Fatigue hits Celtics

The Boston Celtics have dropped two games lately, which isn’t a huge deal, but by their high standards is two losses too many. The Boston Globe (Marc J. Spears) reports: So, what’s wrong with the Celtics now after so much went right? Fatigue is a factor. Entering last night, Boston was the only Eastern Conference team to have played more than 30 games. Center Kendrick Perkins sprained his surgically repaired left shoulder in the first quarter against the Lakers and missed his first game of the season against Golden State. Although the games against the Lakers and Warriors were day-night, back to back, with a short plane ride from Los Angeles to San Francisco, Rivers believes it took its toll on his players, so he gave them yesterday off. “I would have rather had the day off [Friday],” Rivers said. “[The Lakers game] was a hard-fought, emotional game. We didn’t play very well. But it was still hard-fought. It was one of those rare games during the regular season where guys have a lot of emotions invested into the game. I would have much rather had a day off.

Dec 26: Warriors 99, Celtics 89

The AP reports: Stephen Jackson returned to the lineup and scored eight straight points during the decisive fourth-quarter stretch to finish with 28, and the Golden State Warriors sent Boston to back-to-back losses for the first time this season by rallying past the Celtics 99-89 on Friday night. Paul Pierce had 21 points and five assists and Kevin Garnett scored 14, but the Celtics couldn’t hold a 14-point lead a day after their franchise-record 19-game winning streak ended with a nine-point loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles on Christmas… Jackson—who had missed the past four games with a sprained left hand— scored 15 points in the final period and Marco Belinelli totaled 22 for the Warriors, who have won five straight and 12 of 15 against the Celtics at home. Golden State lost 119-111 in Boston on Nov. 26 in the teams’ first meeting.

Dec 25: Lakers 92, Celtics 83

The AP reports: Kobe Bryant had 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists, Pau Gasol scored seven of his 20 points in the final three minutes, and the Lakers used a strong finish to beat Boston 92-83 Thursday, snapping the Celtics’ franchise-record 19-game winning streak… “Give them all the credit,” said Boston’s Paul Pierce, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds but was scoreless in the fourth quarter. “We just have to play better down the stretch.” … Lamar Odom had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Lakers (24-5), who won their 12th straight game at home, where they’re 15-1… Kevin Garnett shot 11-of-14 in leading the Celtics (27-3) with 22 points and nine rebounds. Ray Allen scored 14, but went 2-of-11 after making his first three shots. Rondo was held to six points, shooting 3-of-11, but had 12 assists.

Dec 23: Celtics 110, Sixers 91

The AP reports: Winning streaks are nice and all, but Kevin Garnett prefers something more tangible—like a championship ring. “Unless you win it all, it’s pretty much steam in the air: You see it, and then it evaporates,” Garnett said after scoring 18 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a franchise-record 19th consecutive victory, 110-91 over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night. The Celtics will go for 20 in a row against the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day in a rematch of last spring’s NBA finals, which Boston won in six games for its unprecedented 17th league title. The crowd couldn’t wait, chanting “Beat L.A!” with 5:27 left to play against the Sixers… Rajon Rondo also scored 18, Kendrick Perkins had eight points and 11 rebounds, and Ray Allen had 16 points as the Celtics starters watched from the bench while reserves Leon Powe and Eddie House helped expand the lead in the fourth quarter. Boston improved to 27-2—the best start for a two-loss team in NBA history.

Celtics win 18 straight games

The Boston Herald (Mark Murphy) reports: The Celtics defeated the Knicks, 124-105, to tie a franchise record originally set by the 1981-82 team with 18 straight wins. Now 26-2, they also pulled even with the 1969-70 Knicks and 1966-67 76ers for the league’s best start through 28 games. This historic run, however, doesn’t mean there aren’t imperfections. It doesn’t mean that the C’s occasionally take their eyes off the ball. “We have things that we’re talking about all the time – the bench playing better, cutting down on turnovers, a long list of things,” coach Doc Rivers said before the game. “Because you’re winning games, people think you’re throwing stuff out there when you talk like this. But it’s true.”