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.
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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.
Kendrick Perkins leading league in techs
The Boston Globe (Julian Benbow) reports: The first thing you should know about technical fouls is that they’re not cheap. They’re $1,000 a pop, and that’s just the first five. The next five go for $1,500. Five more and you’re looking at $2,000 plus a warning letter from the league after No. 12. The 16th is the suspension ceiling, where every other technical costs you a one-game suspension. They also cost you $2,500 each. Kendrick Perkins has eight techs in about a month… “This is what I’m trying to explain to y’all,” he said. “I’m not trying to be out there getting techs. It’s just something, you get caught up in the heat of the moment. It’s something I can’t control, but I’m not trying to get techs. I’m not trying to let them take a thousand dollars out my pockets every time.”
Nov 23: Celtics 118, Raptors 103
The AP reports: With Rajon Rondo running at full speed, the Boston Celtics’ offense has found a new gear. Ray Allen scored 21 points and Boston led from the start in winning its fifth straight game, 118-103 over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. Rondo, Kevin Garnett and Tony Allen each scored 15 points for the Celtics, who have won 11 of 12 since a Nov. 1 loss to Indiana… Kendrick Perkins had 12 points and Paul Pierce and Eddie House each had 11 in helping Boston score a season high. Its previous best was 110 points in a Nov. 18 victory over New York… Chris Bosh led Toronto with 24 points, while Jose Calderon had 14 points and nine assists. Andrea Bargnani and Anthony Parker had 14 apiece for the Raptors, who are 2-4 at home.
Pistons will sign Antonio McDyess
The Boston Globe (Marc Spears) reports: As expected, free agent Antonio McDyess has decided to return back to the Detroit Pistons, according to his agent Andy Miller tonight… The Celtics were among 18 teams that were interested in the 2001 NBA All-Star and president Danny Ainge made calls to Miller and McDyess. Indications from the beginning, however, were that McDyess would return to Detroit although he can’t officially sign until Dec. 7.
Nov 20: Celtics 98, Pistons 80
The AP reports: Rajon Rondo had 18 points and eight assists, outplaying the recent Pistons acquisition and leading the Boston Celtics to a 98-80 victory over Detroit on Thursday night in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference finals… Allen Iverson had 16 points and four assists for Detroit, which fell to 4-3 since he was acquired from Denver for Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess… Kevin Garnett scored 15 in his return from a one-game suspension, and Kendrick Perkins had 10 rebounds before both teams emptied their benches down the stretch… The Celtics scored the first seven points of the second quarter and opened a 40-27 lead with 5:13 left in the half. It was 49-40 at halftime and Boston went on an 18-5 run in the third to turn a 10-point lead into a 75-52 blowout.
InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: For Boston, Rondo shot 7-of-11 and also had 3 steals. Garnett had 3 steals as well. Tony Allen shot 6-of-7 off the bench for 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Ray Allen scored 12. Eddie House shot 4-of-7 off the bench for 11. For Detroit, Iverson shot 5-of-13 for 16 points, just one rebound, and equal assists/turnovers. Rasheed Wallace had a modest 13 points and 6 rebounds. Richard Hamilton was shut down with 12 points and little else. Jason Maxiell had 10 points and 6 rebounds on 9 shots. All Boston did wrong was brick their free throws, shooting 19-of-28.