KG Comes Up Big; Boston Wins 76-72
Aaron Gettings
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There a a ton of storylines for tonight's game, but the biggest, and most important, revolves around LeBron James. LeBron nearly had a quadrupal-double tonight, putting up 12-9-9-10... that's 12 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists and 10 turnovers. Oh yeah, he also only made 2 field goals (on 18 attempts) and missed the potential game-tying layup with a few seconds left. To understand just how masterful the Celtics defense was tonight, try to let this little fact sink in: LeBron scored the first field goal of the game, and he didn't score another until there was only 5 minutes left in the 4th. James was shut out (from the field) for 3 whole quarters of basketball. You don't need to be a rabid NBA fan to know that as LeBron goes, the Cavs go.
OK, enough LeBron talk... the last thing I want to do is get that man all riled up. On the flip-side, Boston's main cog, Kevin Garnett, was absolutely dominating. He finished with 28 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. He made two clutch baskets down the stretch to help seal the win. He busted out of the gates, scoring 12 first quarter points, attempting to set the tone for Boston. In the first half, he was an offensive juggernaut down-low. Cleveland (like most other teams) couldn't handle him in the post. Unfortunately, in the second half he reverted back to hanging out by the 3 point line... although one of his big, down-the-stretch shots was a 20+ foot jumper, so I'm not complaining.
Rondo was excellent at home, once again, notching 15 points (5-8 FG), 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Rondo
came out just as hot as KG and rattled off 8 of Boston's first 12 points. He and KG were literally the only Celtics contributing on offense for the majority of the first half. At one point, KG had 16 points, Rondo had 10, and the rest of the team had 9 combined. The confidence and swagger were back for Rondo... now only if he can keep that up on the road.
Pierce and Ray Allen were a completely different story. Ray was held scoreless for the first time in 11 years, shooting 0-4, committing 4 turnovers and didn't get to the free-throw line once. Pierce struggled even more, putting up a LeBron-like 2-14, with 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 turnovers. He also didn't attempt a single free-throw. You can't complain about a win, and Pierce was lights-out guarding LeBron, but these two need to come with something more in Game 2. Perkins, on the other hand, picked up right where he left off in Game 7. 12 boards, 2 blocked shots and 7 points.
Off the bench, Posey was tremendous and Sam Cassell (yes, THAT Sam Cassell) came up huge. Posey did all the great James Posey things we've seen him do all year long... except he did them to LeBron. Pierce go into early foul trouble and Posey stepped in and put the clamp on James. Posey logged 25 minutes of PT, with nearly all of it guarding LeBron -- and you can attribute the King's terrible play on the defensive stylings of Posey. He never let LeBron get into any kind of rhythm, and if you want the key statistic for the game, just look at Posey's +/-: 17+, the next highest player was KG with +7. Posey was lights-out, and he had himself a pretty impressive offensive game as well, with 8 points and 2 three's.
Cassell on the other hand, still has a bit of that gunslinger mentality, but tonight his shots fell. He hoisted 8 shots in his 18 minutes, but made half (including 2 three's), and had 9 huge points in the 4th quarter alone. As much as it terrifies me to admit, we may need Sam on the court late in games to hit some big shots for us.
On the other side of the ball, Zydrunas had his way with us once more -- 22 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Ben Wallace was a non-factor, Delonte had a solid game but only managed 4 points on 2-10 shooting, and Wally hit some open shots, made a couple hustle plays, but came away with only 13 points with two 3's.
MVC: Kevin Garnett. He played 39 minutes of inspired basketball, dominating on both ends of the court. Finally, FINALLY, a Celtic told the rest of the team to get on his back. He made big shots at the end of the game, locked down on D, and didn't let his team lose tonight.
Lastly, the low score can be attributed to some sloppy play and some missed open shots, but both teams played stellar defense. This series is going to be a dogfight. Doc kept screaming all night that we were playing into Cleveland's hands by slowing the ball down and getting stuck in a half-court basketball game. Luckily, our defense was able to keep LeBron in check and come up with just enough baskets to win. Next time, I fear we won't be that lucky. LeBron can't be shutdown forever, but neither can Ray and Paul. I am ready for Game 2.
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