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| Dwight Howard was no match for Kevin Garnett on this night. |
Boy, these games always live up to the hype.
The Celtics (26-23) snap their four-game home losing streak against the Lakers (23-27) by demolishing them by a final of 116-95.
After the Lakers got the Celtics into the penalty at the 9:38 mark of the first quarter -- and with Dwight Howard drawing six fouls in the first 8:05 of the game -- one would've thought the Celtics were in for a long night. The Celtics bigs got themselves in early foul trouble, as Kevin Garnett picked up 2 quick fouls, and his replacements (Chris Wilcox with 2, and Jason Collins with 3) didn't fare so well either.
Fortunately, the Lakers hit only 5 of their 12 free throws in the first. Even when L.A. had an opportunity to succeed, they couldn't capitalize. And the Celtics made them pay. Big time.
The Celtics built themselves a 30-point lead, the first time they've had one of those since last March, which was a span of 76 games. From there, they never looked back.
In their last 18 games, Boston has won 6 in a row, lost 6 in a row, and now have won 6 in a row.
Here's a recap:
The good:
* I loved Boston's intensity tonight. I know the Celtics are notorious for knowing when to push down on the gas pedal and when to let their foot off it, but they were ready for this one tonight. The fact that they were coming off a hard-fought victory on the road the night before shows the heart of this team. They played aggressive for 48 minutes. They made plays, were active in passing lanes -- Boston edged L.A. in steals, 10-2 -- and simply wanted it more. The Lakers should take a page out of the Celtics' book, and they should find the chapter on how to play as a team with multiple All-Stars and how to do it well.
* With his turnaround jumper at the 8:08 mark of the second quarter, Kevin Garnett became the 16th player in NBA history to score 25,000 points. Garnett is now the only player in league history with 25,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 5,000 assists, 1,500 steals and 1,500 blocks. When all is said and done, Garnett will go down as one of the best all-around players in league history. But back to tonight, where Garnett finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in 23 minutes.
* After a tough night last night, Paul Pierce came ready to play. The captain finished with a team-high 24 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Pierce was an efficient 10-of-17 from the floor, something we haven't been able to say about Pierce very often this season. Since Rondo went down, Pierce is averaging 9.5 rebounds a game. Talk about stepping up.
* How about Jeff Green with 19 points off the bench. He was no match for Antawn Jamison and Metta World Peace. Green and Lee played great defense on Kobe Bryant. I know Bryant scored a game-high 27 points, but none of those paints came easy. Lee and Green forced Bryant into contested fall-away jumpers for the majority of the night, and, to his credit, Bryant knocked them down. That's what all-time greats do.
* Fab Melo scored his first NBA basket with 1:22 to go in the game. The basket got the entire Celtics' bench off their feet. It was great to see the entire team show their support for Melo.
* The end of the third quarter was flat out awesome. The Celtics ended the quarter by outscoring L.A. 14-3, including an 8-0 run to finish the quarter. It was sparked by an Avery Bradley steal off an inbounds pass from Bryant off a Brandon Bass jumper, and Bradley converted on a layup. From there, it was all down hill for the Lakers.
* The Celtics dominated in the paint, outscoring Los Angeles 58-36.
* The Celtics' biggest lead was 32. The Lakers biggest lead? One.
The bad:
* To their credit, the Celtics did a nice job on the offensive glass, pulling down 12 to the Lakers' 13. However, the Celtics gave L.A. too many extra chances on the offensive glass. At one point near the end of the first half, the Lakers had 4 offensive rebounds from the 1:18 mark to the 48.6 second mark. Boston recovered nicely in the second half, only allowing 5 offensive rebounds by the Lakers.
Boston will look to extend their winning streak to seven on Sunday night when the Denver Nuggets come to town.
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