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.
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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.
Nov 18: Celtics 110, Knicks 101
The AP reports: Brian Scalabrine, in the starting lineup while Kevin Garnett served a one-game suspension, hit a 3-pointer with 1:14 left to help Boston recover after its 15-point, fourth-quarter lead was trimmed to four and the Celtics beat New York 110-101 on Tuesday night. Paul Pierce scored 22, Kendrick Perkins had 16 points and eight rebounds and Rajon Rondo had 15 points, eight boards and seven assists for the Celtics, who were playing without Garnett for the first time this season. Wilson Chandler scored 23, and Zach Randolph had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Knicks, who have lost seven straight games against Boston but were hoping to gain ground in the Atlantic Division.
NBA suspends Kevin Garnett
Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics has been suspended one game without pay for striking Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut in the face. In addition, Bogut’s Foul that was committed on Garnett has been upgraded to a Flagrant Foul Penalty One, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.
The incident occurred with 3:58 remaining in the fourth period of the Celtics 102-97 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, November 15, at the Bradley Center.
Garnett will serve his suspension tomorrow when the Celtics host the New York Knicks at TD Banknorth Garden.
Here is a video of the incident. Click ‘high quality’ once you’re on the video page.
Nov 15: Celtics 102, Bucks 97 OT
The AP reports: Paul Pierce hit a 3-pointer on a second chance, and he and Allen hit all six of their free throws, lifting Boston to a scrappy 102-97 overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night… Pierce scored 28 points and Allen finished with 27, combining to hit 23 of 24 free throws. Boston went 32-of-36 as a team. Milwaukee hit its share, too, going 30-of-38 with the teams combining for 62 personal fouls, nine technicals and one ejection… Bucks rookie Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who finished with 14 points, hit two free throws to give Milwaukee a 95-93 lead, but Pierce answered with a 3-pointer off an offensive rebound by Garnett to put Boston up by one… Milwaukee, already without leading scorer Michael Redd (right ankle) and Charlie Villanueva (hamstring strain), finished 1-for-11 in overtime after rallying from a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
Celtics assign JR Giddens to D-League
Boston Celtics guard J.R. Giddens was assigned to the Utah Flash, the Celtics’ NBA Development League affiliate, it was announced today. In six preseason games with the Celtics, Giddens averaged 2.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 7.5 minutes.
Giddens, 6-5, was selected in the first round, 30th overall, by the Celtics in the 2008 NBA draft from the University of New Mexico. During his two-year career as a Lobo, Giddens averaged 16.1 points and 7.7 rebounds. As a senior, Giddens started all 33 of New Mexico’s games, and averaged career highs of 16.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists. Giddens shared Mountain West Conference Co-Player of the Year and earned First Team All-Conference honors during his senior year.
Giddens, the season’s fourth player to be assigned to an NBA D-League affiliate, is expected to join the Flash in Orem, Utah in time for training camp this weekend.
Nov 14: Nuggets 94, Celtics 85
The AP reports: The Nuggets are 4-1 since Billups’ arrived after a Nov. 3 trade with the Pistons. And on Friday night, the Nuggets added a statement game to their resume, beating the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics 94-85. “It’s a huge win,” said Billups, who scored 18 points and had seven assists… Carmelo Anthony had 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Nuggets. Martin had 16 points and Nene added 14. Smith and Linas Kleiza each scored 10 points. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Celtics (8-2). Ray Allen led all scorers with 26 points. Paul Pierce had 19 points and Garnett added 16 for the Celtics, who lost at home for the first time this season.
Nov 12: Celtics 103, Hawks 102
The AP reports: NBA finals MVP Paul Pierce hit a fallaway jumper with 0.5 seconds left to give Boston a 103-102 victory over Atlanta on Wednesday night, handing the Hawks their first loss of the season and their first since the Celtics ousted them en route to their unprecedented 17th title… Pierce scored 34 points in all, Kevin Garnett had 25 with 12 rebounds and Rajon Rondo had 10 assists for the Celtics. Joe Johnson scored 28 for Atlanta, finding an open Marvin Williams for the go-ahead 3-pointer with 7.4 seconds left before Pierce answered at the other end, faking out a pair of defenders and sinking the game-winner… Ray Allen scored 17 points, eight of them during an 18-2 run in the second quarter that turned a 44-28 deficit into a tie game at halftime.
James Posey talks Kobe
The Orange County Register (Janis Carr) reports — James Posey: “You can’t stop Kobe because he does so much. He scores, he shoots the 3-ball well, he has a nice in-between game, he knows how to get to the free-throw line, he attacks the basket. It’s tough. He’s one of the guys who has the ball a lot, and a lot of attention needs to be directed toward him. You can’t stop him, you just try to control him, just try to make him work for everything,” Posey said. “Sometimes even that isn’t enough.”
InsideHoops.com editor says: I could shut Kobe down. He knows it. He’s scared. Same with LeBron. None of these dues could score on me. But I like them and don’t want to hurt their feelings, so instead of signing with an NBA team and doing it, I’ll just continue to run InsideHoops.com.
Perkins and JO have beef
The Boston Herald (Steve Buckley) reports: According to Kendrick Perkins, these confrontations with Jermaine O’Neal are getting serious. “There’s always words exchanged,” he said. “We do have something personal. That’s how we’ve been since we’ve been matching up. But you know, it is what it is.” Don’t worry, though, Perkins and O’Neal won’t be meeting out on Causeway Street to settle whatever differences they may have. “He’s out there competing,” Perkins said. “It’s nothing personal off the court, but it’s personal when we get on the court.