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.
So will they hug, exchange pleasantries or even lock eyes before tonight’s game? “I’ve got nothing to say to him,” Davis said on Wednesday. This was in the visitors’ dressing room at Oklahoma City, not long after the Clippers beat the Thunder by 20 points. The mention of Brand quickly wiped away Davis’ smile, especially because he just had been talking about Oklahoma City’s Earl Watson, saying he regards Watson like “a brother.” Davis hasn’t spoken to Brand, and said he doesn’t plan to do so, because the former Clipper recruited Davis to come join him in Los Angeles and then Brand did a quick cut and run, heading East for a bigger bag of money, a five-year deal worth almost $80 million… Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy has rehashed the turn of events last summer — and is still wanting for answers. “Elton had a great five years here. I loved him,” he said. “There’s a disappointment because you just don’t understand. He and I text messaged and called and never went, either one of us, usually 10 to 15 minutes without calling or returning a text. And then next thing I know it went silent.”
The Spurs seem to have followed the lead of Bruce Bowen, who started the first four games of the season — and the first 555 of his Spurs’ career — before being transformed into a reserve. He comes off the bench now, without complaint. “It’s a matter of priorities,” Bowen said. “So what if you’re only playing eight minutes? There are a lot of people out there who would love to play in the NBA, for just those eight minutes.” For Bonner, any amount of NBA minutes is a blessing. In the span of three games earlier this month, he played a grand total of 42 seconds. In the past four, he’s gotten an early call from Popovich, and made the most of it, averaging a shade more than nine points and making 7 of 14 3-pointers.
The final result was familiar — a loss — but the look and feel were different for the Wizards on Wednesday night against the Atlanta Hawks, and that is something Coach Eddie Jordan believes his team can build upon. Jordan typically gives his a team a day off after playing on back-to-back nights, but he held a practice yesterday. Jordan said he was leaning toward sticking with a starting lineup that includes Dee Brown at point guard and rookie JaVale McGee at center when the Wizards (1-8) host the Houston Rockets (7-5) tonight at Verizon Center. Brown and McGee started in place of Juan Dixon and Etan Thomas, respectively.