The AP reports: Andre Iguodala scored 10 straight points during a 19-0 run that brought Philadelphia back from a double-digit, fourth-quarter deficit Monday night, and the 76ers beat the Boston Celtics 95-90 to move above .500 for the first time this season. “It shows how hard we’ve worked to get back,” said Iguodala, who finished with 28 points… Andre Miller scored 20, Thaddeus Young had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Samuel Dalembert grabbed 12 boards for Philadelphia. Kevin Garnett scored 18, Leon Powe had 16 and Ray Allen scored 14 for Boston, which lost its second straight after winning 14 out of 15. The Celtics long ago clinched a playoff berth, and they played as if it didn’t matter down the stretch.
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Players of Week are Garnett, Paul
The Boston Celtics’ Kevin Garnett and the New Orleans Hornets’ Chris Paul today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, March 17, through Sunday, March 23. This is the second Player of the Week nod for both players this season.
Garnett led the Celtics to a 3-1 week, as Boston became the first team since the Sacramento Kings in 2001 to sweep the Texas Triangle (Dallas, Houston and San Antonio). The last time Boston accomplished the feat was in 1987. Garnett had 22 points, 11 rebounds and three steals in Boston’s 94-74 win over the Rockets, snapping the team’s 22-game winning streak. For the week, Garnett averaged 20.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals.
Paul led the Hornets to a 3-0 week, averaging 25.7 points, 10.0 assists and 3.0 steals. Paul has scored 20-plus points in 15 of the team’s last 19 games. In a 113-106 win over the Celtics, New Orleans came back from a 15-point deficit as Paul scored seven of his 19 points in the final 2:12 of the game. The Celtics were 36-0 when leading by 15 or more. Paul had 37 points, 13 assists and three steals in a 108-97 victory over the Bulls. He recorded 16 fourth-quarter points to help the Hornets finish the game on a 24-4 run.
Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Joe Johnson, Boston’s Paul Pierce, Cleveland’s LeBron James, Indiana’s Mike Dunleavy, L.A. Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge, Phoenix’s Amaré Stoudemire and Washington’s Antawn Jamison.
Celtics to be a playoff favorite
The New Orleans Times Picayune (John Reid) writes: “With 14 games remaining on their schedule, all signs appear the Celtics will be the odds-on favorite once the playoffs begin next month. The Celtics (55-13) play the Hornets tonight at the New Orleans Arena having won 14 of 15 games. It had been eight years since a team went to Texas and came away with victories against Southwest Division foes San Antonio, Houston and Dallas. The Celtics became the first since the Sacramento Kings achieved it in 2001. Boston came back from a 22-point deficit to defeat the Spurs and snap their seven-game home winning streak earlier this week. They ended the Rockets’ 22-game consecutive winning streak, the second longest in league history, after holding them to a season-low 34 points in the second half. On Thursday night, Ray Allen’s 3-pointer with 31.7 seconds remaining sealed Boston’s 94-90 victory against the Mavericks. The Celtics is 6-0 against Southwest Division opponents, playing the Hornets for the first time tonight.”
Stat-focused notes after Celtics end Rockets win streak
Final Score: Boston 94, Houston 74
POST-GAME NOTES
Team Leaders:
Houston
Points: Luis Scola-15
Rebounds: Luis Scola-8
Assists: Tracy McGrady-8
Boston
Points: Kevin Garnett-22
Rebounds: Kevin Garnett-11
Assists: Paul Pierce-5
Today’s attendance of 18,525 is Houston’s 23rd sellout at Toyota Center this season and marks the largest crowd in team history, surpassing the audience of 18,409 set last game vs. the L.A. Lakers (3/16/08). Houston’s top-five attendance totals at Toyota Center: 18,525 today, 18,409 vs. the L.A. Lakers (3/16/08), 18,402 vs. Cleveland (2/7/08), 18,392 vs. the L.A. Lakers (12/12/06) and 18,375 vs. Phoenix (4/16/07).
The Rockets have now sold out all of their last eight home games, which matches Houston’s longest single-season sellout streak at Toyota Center (eight games from 2/27/05-4/3/05).
The second longest winning streak in NBA history comes to a close at 22 games with a 94-74 loss to the Celtics, which also draws to a close a 15-game home winning streak for the Rockets. It was Houston’s first defeat since a 97-89 setback vs. Utah (1/27/08).
The Rockets scored a season-low 74 points in suffering their largest margin of defeat this season (-20, 74-94). Houston’s 72 points last season vs. Boston (2/26/07) were actually the fewest in the all-time series against the Celtics. The Rockets also registered their fewest points in a second half this season with 34 tonight, edging out a 35-point second half at Toronto (12/9/07).
Houston lost the battle of the boards by a double-digit margin (-10, 35-45) tonight. The Raptors (-13, 35-48 on 12/9/07 at Toronto) and Warriors (-13, 34-47 on 12/31/07 vs. Golden State) are the only other two opponents to have outrebounded Houston by a double-figure total this season.
The Celtics outscored the Rockets 32-16 in the third quarter, setting Houston’s opponent high for third-quarter points this season. The previous high was 31 done twice before (last: 3/2/08 vs. Denver). Houston has now scored a combined 28 third-quarter points over the last two games, including 12 points on 4-for-23 (.174) from the floor in the third quarter vs. the L.A. Lakers (3/16/08).
Rafer Alston finished with 12 points, including a pair of makes from beyond the arc. He now has at least one 3-point field goal made in each of the last 20 games.
Mike Harris came off the bench to notch 12 points (6-10 FG), matching his career-high 12 points (5-8 FG) vs. Charlotte (3/14/08).
Kevin Garnett (22), Leon Powe (21) and Paul Pierce (20) all reached the 20-point mark in tonight’s game. It was the first time this season for a Houston opponent to have three players each score 20 or more points in a game.
Rockets 22 straight wins, take lead in West
NBA News: With their 104-92 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, the Houston Rockets (46-20) extended their franchise-record winning streak to 22 games and took over sole possession of first place in the Western Conference. On Jan. 28, the day before the streak started, the Rockets were 24-20, in 10th place in the West and eight games out of first. Houston passed the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks on Friday for the second longest stretch in NBA history. The record of 33 straight victories was achieved by the Lakers in the 1971-72 season. The Rockets have won 26 of their last 27 games and 31 of their last 34. They’ve won 15 straight at the Toyota Center; 12 straight on the road; 10 straight since All-Star Yao Ming suffered a season-ending broken foot; and 11 of their last 13 games by double digits. The Rockets host the Boston Celtics tomorrow (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT).
The Celtics pace the league with a 52-13 mark and are an NBA-best 23-8 on the road. For the Celtics, however, tomorrow’s game in Houston is the start of a hyper-difficult Texas Triangle trip in which they will also play the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs. The three Texas teams are a combined 80-18 (.816) at home this season, and are riding a 26 game winning streak. The last team to sweep the Texas Triangle trip was the 2001-02 Sacramento Kings (Nov. 27-30, 2001).
Scot Pollard out for season
The Boston Globe (Marc Spears) reports: Celtics forward/center Scot Pollard said before tonight’s game against the Detroit Pistons that he will be out for the rest of the season with a torn tendon in his left ankle. Pollard has had a lingering left ankle injury since October that hasn’t healed. The original injury revealed a slight tear that became a lot worse as shown on an MRI today, Pollard said.
Celtics sign Sam Cassell
The Boston Celtics announced today that they have signed guard Sam Cassell. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
A terrific aging point guard with an engaging personality and sweet mid-range jump-shot, Cassell is expected to play back-up behind starting point guard Rajon Rondo.
Cassell, a 6’3”, 193 pound guard, is in his 15th season in the NBA. Cassell was averaging 12.8 points and 4.7 assists in 25.4 minutes per game this season for the Los Angeles Clippers in 38 games. The former All-Star has appeared in 115 career post-season games and has posted career averages of 13.6 points and 4.9 assists in his playoff career. Cassell has posted career averages of 15.9 points, 6.0 assists and 1.07 steals in 976 career games.
Celtics re-assign Gabe Pruitt to D-League
The Boston Celtics announced today that they have reassigned rookie guard Gabe Pruitt to their NBA Development League affiliate Utah Flash. Pruitt is the team’s fourth assignment to the NBA Development League this season and the third time for Pruitt.
Pruitt was averaging 2.0 points in 5.7 minutes per game at the time of the assignment. The 6’4 guard had appeared in nine games since his recall from the Flash on December 13, 2007.
Pruitt scored a career-high seven points in his first game returning to the Celtics from the Flash on December 14, 2007 against the Milwaukee Bucks in five minutes of play.
Cassell, Clippers have buy-out
The Los Angeles Clippers today waived point guard Sam Cassell. The official report is here.
It’s too bad that Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston got injured. I’d have liked to see the Clippers this season with those guys alongside the improved Chris Kaman (yes, Brand being hurt did put more responsibility on Kaman’s shoulders, but he also did really get better). They looked like a decent team, but fell off for a bit, and now Cassell is gone. Of course, he’s not the future – Shaun Livingston, if he can recover from serious injury, and meet his potential, is.
If Cassell does wind up signing with the Boston Celtics, I think it’ll work out in a big way. What better backup point guard than a guy like him? He’s a smart player, and a scoring point guard, but he does it in a manner that helps a team. As opposed to scoring point guards that take bad shots and don’t fit into a total team offense.
I assume that on Boston, Rajon Rondo would continue to start and play the bulk of minutes, but Cassell would get plenty of time off the bench. And Cassell will help Rondo improve in practice.
LeBron wins All-Star game MVP as East beats West 134-128
Final score: East 134, West 128. Fun game!
The East’s LeBron James was awarded the 2008 NBA All-Star game MVP award.
For the East: Ray Allen (10-of-14, 5-of-9 threes) had 28 points in just 19 minutes. LeBron James (12-of-22) had 27 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists (4 turnovers), 2 steals and 2 blocks. Dwight Howard (7-of-7) had 16 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Chris Bosh (7-of-15) had 14 points and 7 rebounds. Dwyane Wade (7-of-12) had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Paul Pierce scored 10. Jason Kidd dished 10 assists.
For the West: Brandon Roy (8-of-10) had 18 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Carmelo Anthony (8-of-17) had 18 points and 7 rebounds. Amare Stoudemire (8-of-11) had 18 points and 5 rebounds. Chris Paul (7-of-14) had 16 points, 3 rebounds, 14 assists (just 2 turnovers) and 4 steals. Carlos Boozer (7-of-15) had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki (just 5-of-14) had 13 points and 4 rebounds.
The best East players were LeBron, Dwight Howard and Ray Allen. The best West players were Chris Paul and Brandon Roy.
Read unedited 2008 NBA All-Star game notes taken live as the action happened.