Boston Celtics Blog – Page 64 – NBA Blog

Celtics have looked into trading for DeMarcus Cousins

According to league sources, the Celtics have, indeed, inquired about Cousins, but that shouldn’t come as a great revelation in that they, like most every NBA club, are constantly checking the marketplace to see if a bargain can be had.

Word is, however, that the Kings are asking for a high draft pick and people who can help them now. So, forgetting the fact the Celts’ first-round pick will be middle of the road at best, would you want to part with a young starter (and more) for someone as uncertain as Cousins?

Considering the talent the Kings already have in the backcourt, it’s possible the Celtics can’t even muster something that would be attractive enough for Sacramento — at least not at this moment. And you’d have to question whether you’d give up even equal talent for this guy, his abilities notwithstanding. What we know right now is that the Kings aren’t inclined to hold a fire sale.

— Reported by Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald

Celtics waive Kris Joseph and Jarvis Varnado

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have waived forwards Kris Joseph and Jarvis Varnado.

Joseph, a 6’7” forward, appeared in six games for the Celtics and averaged 1.2 points in 4.0 minutes per game. Varnado, a 6’9” forward, appeared in five games for the Celtics and averaged 1.2 points in 3.6 minutes per game

The Celtics roster now stands at 13.

Rondo leads Celtics to chippy 94-75 win vs Pacers

Kevin Garnett went over the fans sitting courtside to save the ball, and then he ran through the seats halfway up the court before he found an opening – over the broadcast table – to get back on the floor.

By the end of the game, he couldn’t get back on the floor at all.

Garnett scored 18 points before he was ejected for a flagrant foul in the fourth quarter, but by then the Boston Celtics were on their way to a 94-75 victory over the Indiana Pacers that snapped a four-game losing streak.

”You could tell we needed this win, and that’s how we came out tonight,” Garnett said after Boston held the Central Division-leading Pacers to a season-low 31.8 percent shooting. ”We needed a win. Tonight was the night to stop the bleeding. I felt like we did that.”

Rajon Rondo added 18 points, seven assists and five rebounds for Boston, which had lost eight of 10 to fall a season-worst three games below .500. Garnett also had seven rebounds and made a nice play to keep a ball from going out of bounds in the second quarter.

After going over the thickly padded courtside seats, Garnett couldn’t find a gap in them to get back on the court. He ran through the fans until he got to midcourt, then jumped onto and over the broadcast table to return to the game.

Things weren’t so comical by the fourth quarter, though. After three Pacers technical fouls, Garnett picked up a Flagrant 2 for hitting Tyler Hansbrough in the face while flailing with his arms…

Hansbrough, who scored 19 points, said his immediate concern was his history of concussions.

— Reported by Jimmy Golen of the Associated Press

Rajon Rondo opens up about Celtics losses

Rondo said the search for who they are as a team isn’t the most frustrating aspect of what’s happening this season.

“The frustrating part is we’re losing,” he said. “Regardless of how many combinations we’ve had, how many different starting lineups we’ve had, we’re still losing. I’m a sore loser. It’s tough to lose.”

Avoiding that feeling won’t get any easier with the Indiana Pacers coming to town on Friday and a road game at Atlanta the following night.

“I’m a confident player. We’re a confident team,” Rondo said. “We just haven’t found our way now.”

— Reported by A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE

Fab Melo suffers concussion from running into a hotel door

Fab Melo was recalled from Maine of the Development League, but it was to get treatment for a concussion he received when he ran into a hotel door. Melo missed the Red Claws’ Dec. 31 win over Springfield and is questionable for Friday’s game with Erie.

Melo said he still feels concussion symptoms and is unsure when he can return.

“I still have a little headache sometimes. I can only focus on things for a certain time,” he said.

Melo, a first-round pick from Syracuse, has been making headlines, blocking 23 shots over a two-game period, including a league-record 14 Dec. 22 against Erie. In 12 games, the 7-footer is averaging 10.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.8 blocks.

— Reported by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe

Chris Wilcox will not need surgery

Backup center Chris Wilcox is unsure when he will return from a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb and he will be reexamined next week. Wilcox has been wearing a brace on his hand since sustaining the injury Dec. 18 at Chicago.

He said doctors have informed him he will not need surgery.

“The doc told me I need to take some time off. I gotta let it heal; it’ll be a while,” he said. “Yesterday I got good news; they told me I didn’t have to have the surgery. Now I’m just trying to see what I’m comfortable with.”

Wilcox, who last season underwent surgery to repair an enlarged aorta, said he considers this injury a minor setback.

“It’s been tough for me,” he said. “But this is minor compared to what’s happened to me in the past. Anything other than that is nothing.”

— Reported by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe

Mike Conley, Grizzlies hold off Celtics

Tony Allen scored a season-high 15 points to help his current team beat his old one. Then he went down the sideline trading fist-bumps and hugs with his former teammates and coaches.

Mike Conley had 23 points and nine assists, and Allen had nine points and four of his five rebounds in the second half on Wednesday night to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 93-83 victory over the Boston Celtics. It was the fourth consecutive loss for Boston, which won its 17th NBA title with Allen in 2008…

Rudy Gay scored 19 points for Memphis, which shot 61 percent from the floor – and 62.5 percent from 3-point range – in the first half. The Grizzlies led by 18 early in the fourth quarter, then made 8 of 11 free throws down the stretch after the Celtics made it a five-point game…

Paul Pierce scored 17 for Boston, but he had just one basket in the third quarter and none in the fourth while missing seven of his last eight shots.

Rajon Rondo had 11 points and 10 assists for the Celtics, who trailed by 79-61 after the opening basket of the fourth quarter but closed the gap to 83-78 with under 5 minutes to play on back-to-back 3-pointers from Jason Terry. Boston began fouling and the Grizzlies made their shots.

— Reported by Jimmy Golen of the Associated Press

Boston Celtics recall Fab Melo from D-League again

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have recalled center Fab Melo from their NBA Development League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws.

Melo, a 7’0” center, has appeared in 12 games for the Red Claws this season averaging 10.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.83 blocks per game which ranks second in the D-League. Melo recorded a triple-double against Erie on December 22 when he recorded 15 points, 16 rebounds and a D-League record 14 blocks. Melo followed that up the next game by recording 32 points, nine rebounds and nine blocks against Idaho on December 26.

Avery Bradley set to return for Celtics

Plus one, minus one.

During practice Tuesday, Celtics coach Doc Rivers said the team will be graced with the return of Avery Bradley, who hasn’t played in seven months and is coming off surgery on both his shoulders, for Wednesday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

But the Celtics may be without point guard Rajon Rondo, who has been dealing with a bruised hip that caused him to miss the Dec. 29 game against Golden State and hindered him in Sunday’s disappointing loss to Sacramento, when he had just two points.

“When you’re getting beat down the court by a big, it’s frustrating,” Rondo said. “I’m OK. I’ll be fine. It’s not like I need surgery or anything. It’s just a bruise.”

— Reported by Jason Mastrodonato, correspondent for the Boston Globe (Blog)

Isaiah Thomas leads Kings past Celtics 118-96

Isaiah Thomas scored 27 points and made one of Sacramento’s two four-point plays in the second half as the Kings handed the Boston Celtics their third straight lopsided loss on a California road swing, 118-96 on Sunday night.

John Salmons added 23 points off the bench, Jason Thompson scored 20 and DeMarcus Cousins had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double for the Kings, who ended the calendar year by winning their sixth home game out of the last seven.

The Celtics are going in the other direction after handily beating Brooklyn on Christmas Day. They followed that win with a trip to California to face the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State and Sacramento and got outscored by 69 points in losing all three.

The Kings were in control for most of this game and then pulled away with their long-range shooting in the fourth quarter. James Johnson and Jimmer Fredette made 3-pointers early in the fourth and then Salmons’ 3-pointer midway through the quarter gave the Kings a 100-84 lead…

Pierce scored 20 points to give him 23,189 in his career, passing Adrian Dantley for 23rd place all-time. Jason Terry also had 20 for Boston…

Sacramento G Aaron Brooks was sidelined by a sore left ankle.

— Reported by Josh Dubow of the Associated Press