Boston Celtics Blog – Page 135 – NBA Blog

Grizzlies sign Darius Miles

The Memphis Grizzlies announced today that they have signed free agent forward Darius Miles. Terms of the deal were not disclosed per team policy.

“Darius has been an active, productive player in the past,” said Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace. “He did a good job with the Celtics in preseason and we look forward to working with him.”

The third overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, Miles played six NBA seasons (2000-06) with Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trail Blazers. The 6-9, 235-pound forward averaged 10.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.15 blocks in 27.7 minutes in 412 career games (190 starts).

Miles, 27, missed all of 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons while recovering from microfracture surgery on his right knee, but recently attempted a comeback with the Boston Celtics. After signing a free-agent contract with Boston on Aug. 22, 2008, he appeared in six preseason contests, averaging 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds in 10.4 minutes. He was waived by the Celtics on Oct. 20.

The Bellville, Illinois native became the first player in league history drafted straight out of high school (East St. Louis High School) to earn All-Rookie honors when he averaged 9.4 points and 1.54 blocks per game for the Clippers in 2000-01. In his last NBA season in 2005-06, Miles posted career highs in points (14.0) and minutes played (32.2) per game with the Trail Blazers.

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Dec 12: Celtics 94, Hornets 82

The AP reports: James Posey got his championship ring before the game. The Boston Celtics walked away with all the spoils after it. Paul Pierce scored 28 points and Kevin Garnett had 19 points and 10 rebounds on Friday night to lead the Celtics to their 14th consecutive victory, a 94-82 win over their former teammate and the New Orleans Hornets… Chris Paul had 20 points and 14 assists for the Hornets, while David West had 23 points and 14 rebounds. Posey scored seven points with seven rebounds and a steal while committing five fouls and contributing to a defense that forced the Celtics into 17 turnovers that led to 25 points… Kendrick Perkins had nine points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots, and Eddie House hit two of his three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

Dec 11: Celtics 122, Wizards 88

The AP reports: At 21-2, the Boston Celtics of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are off to the best start in the franchise’s storied history. Even Bill Russell, Larry Bird and Bob Cousy never were this good this early. Allen and Pierce scored 22 points apiece, Garnett nearly had a triple-double, and the Celtics beat the Washington Wizards 122-88 on Thursday night for the NBA champions’ 13th consecutive victory… Garnett finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in three quarters. Boston’s winning streak is its longest since a 14-game run in 1985-86. Caron Butler scored 19 points for the last-place Wizards, who matched their franchise’s slowest start, dropping to 4-16 for the first time since the 1966-67 Baltimore Bullets.

Dec 7: Celtics 122, Pacers 117 OT

The AP reports: Ray Allen scored a season-high 35 points, and the Boston Celtics defeated the Indiana Pacers 122-117 in overtime on Sunday to increase their winning streak to 12 games. Kevin Garnett had 17 points, 20 rebounds and five steals, Paul Pierce had 17 points and eight rebounds and Eddie House had 15 points for Boston (20-2). The Celtics are on their longest win streak since 1986, when they won 14 straight on their way to the NBA title. Marquis Daniels led Indiana with a season-high 26 points. Danny Granger scored 20 points, but shot just 7-of-22 from the field… Indiana G Mike Dunleavy remains out with a sore right knee. He has not played this season.

Dec 3: Celtics 114, Pacers 96

The AP reports: The way Rajon Rondo played, there was no way the Boston Celtics could lose to the Indiana Pacers again. Rondo notched his first career triple-double and Ray Allen scored 31 points, leading the Celtics over the Pacers, 114-96 on Wednesday night for their 10th straight victory… Rondo scored 16 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and handed out a career-high 17 assists. Garnett added 26 points and 14 rebounds for the Celtics, who matched their longest winning streak since their 2007-08 championship season, a 10-game run from Feb. 24-March 12… Danny Granger led the Pacers with 20 points, while Troy Murphy chipped in with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Dec 1: Celtics 107, Magic 88

The AP reports: Paul Pierce scored 17 of his 24 points in the third quarter to lead the Boston Celtics to their ninth straight win, 107-88 over the Orlando Magic on Monday night… Ray Allen added 21 points, Rondo had 16 points with 12 assists and Kevin Garnett scored 15 points for the Celtics (17-2) in a win over a top Eastern Conference rival… Rashard Lewis paced Orlando (13-5) with 30 points. Turkoglu had 19 and Dwight Howard, the NBA’s leading rebounder, had 14 points with 15 boards and four blocked shots… The Magic were without their starting backcourt for the second consecutive game.

Clifford Ray once saved a dolphin

Celtics assistant coach Clifford Ray was a star NBA center. He’s also a hero to dolphins everywhere. The Boston Herald (Mark Murphy) reports:

One of the most famous stories concerning Ray involved his role in saving the life of a dolphin from Marine World in 1978. The mammal had ingested a stainless steel screw, and Ray, because of his long reach, was brought in by doctors, who greased his arm so he could reach down the dolphin’s gullet and remove the screw. At another point, before he finally caught on as a big man coach following a long and oft-frustrating search for work within the sport, Ray worked on oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

Dolphins are awesome. Clifford Ray is pretty cool, too.

Larry Brown was almost Celtics assistant

The Boston Globe (Frank Dell’Apa) reports: Larry Brown has returned to the area where his professional coaching career started. Brown, now leading the Bobcats, guided the Carolina Cougars in the American Basketball Association for two seasons (1972-74). But Brown nearly became a Celtics assistant two years ago. “It was very close,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “He said yes. That’s about as close as you can get. But, like I jokingly said, it was a Larry yes, not a sign-on-the-document yes. I knew what was going on, though. His wife’s parents were not doing well. He knew it was a tough decision. He said yes but he may not be able to do it. He just thought at the end of the day he needed to be at home. “He would be a great guy to lean on, he would have been great. I would have loved him. He is overqualified, that’s why I would have loved him. He’s a great mind, and the more you’re around him, the more you understand that.”

Nov 29: Celtics 89, Bobcats 84

The AP reports: With two NBA All-Stars as teammates, Paul Pierce knows he doesn’t have to shoulder the scoring load every game. Pierce was ready when coach Doc Rivers called on him in the Boston Celtics’ 89-84 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night. Pierce scored 19 points to lead six Boston players in double figures as the Celtics held off the Bobcats’ fourth-quarter rally to win their eighth consecutive game… Kendrick Perkins had 15 points and 12 rebounds, Allen added 15 points, Tony Allen had 11, and Eddie House and Garnett 10 each for the defending NBA champions, who improved to 16-2 despite playing their sixth back-to-back series this month… Gerald Wallace scored 23 points, Jason Richardson had 22, and rookie D.J. Augustin 13 for the Bobcats. Charlotte shot 47.8 percent and outrebounded Boston 36-33, but couldn’t overcome 22 turnovers.

Nov 28: Celtics 102, Sixers 78

The AP reports: Ray Allen had a stretch of 11 straight points in the third quarter Friday. Rajon Rondo had a hand in all of them. Allen scored 23 points and Kevin Garnett added 16 to lead the Boston Celtics to their seventh straight victory, 102-78 over the Philadelphia 76ers. Allen was 10-for-15 from the field, including 3-for-5 on 3-pointers… Rondo had 12 assists, including one on the last basket of the third quarter, a perfectly executed alley-oop to Garnett for a dunk. Tony Allen and Leon Powe each scored 10 points for the Celtics. Paul Pierce was limited to six points on 1-for-6 shooting… Brand scored 18 points and Williams added 15 points. Andre Miller and Marreese Speights each had 12 points. Speights was ejected with 43 seconds remaining after committing a flagrant foul on Brian Scalabrine.