Boston Holds Off Orlando 95-92 in ECF Game 2
The Celtics defeat the Magic 95-92 and go up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals best of 7.
There’s a reason why our parents implored us to respect our elders. Those experienced know more about navigating the odds and ends of life and with that experience comes a sense of wisdom in anything involving making decisions in times where cooler heads must prevail.
I picked the Magic but after two games it appears the Magic are getting a whuppin’ by those who hold the NBA keys to wisdom seemingly in winning away from the friendly confines of the Boston Garden. The Magic crowd were into probably the best game since the Lakers vs. Thunder series and the Celtics did what they had to do to ensure victory.
The Boston Celtics won their 5th straight playoff game and won consecutive road games to start a playoffs series for the first time in their storied history.
The Magic hadn’t lost two straight in six weeks and lost for the first time at home in consecutive games for the first time all season.
Paul Pierce had 28, 5 and 5. Rajon Rondo had 25, 8 rebounds and 5 assists and held Jameer Nelson to 10 points on 4-12 shooting. Kevin Garnett does what he does and while he was limited to 10 points he had 9 rebounds and played stellar defense throughout.
The Celtics hit 45 percent of their shots (5-15 from the arc) and held the Magic to 39% (7-18 from three point range).
Orlando was led by Dwight Howard’s 30 points and 8 rips. He had a good game but still needs to be more assertive…especially at home.
J. J. Redick had 16 off the bench, Vince Carter also had 16 but needed 15 shots and missed two huge free throws late. Nelson’s desperation three to tie in the closing seconds was online, but fell just short and glanced the net.
The Magic lost in part because Rashard Lewis had a abysmal 5 points in 41 minutes of burn. He shot 2-6. Unacceptable no matter who is guarding him.
Game 3 Saturday in Boston. If the Magic do not win in front of what will be a raucous Garden crowd, they will be in danger of getting swept.
| Boston | |||||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FGM-FGA | FTM-FTA | 3M-3A | +/- | OR | Reb | A | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts | |
| P. Pierce | F | 39:36 | 8-16 | 9-11 | 3-7 | +7 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 28 | |
| K. Garnett | F | 35:01 | 5-16 | 0-2 | 0-0 | +7 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 10 | |
| K. Perkins | C | 15:03 | 3-5 | 4-4 | 0-0 | +3 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 10 | |
| R. Rondo | G | 45:30 | 10-16 | 5-6 | 0-0 | +3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 25 | |
| R. Allen | G | 38:49 | 1-6 | 2-3 | 0-5 | +7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| G. Davis | 28:16 | 3-4 | 2-2 | 0-0 | +2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| R. Wallace | 17:37 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 2-3 | -6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | ||
| T. Allen | 15:19 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | -7 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| M. Finley | 4:50 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | -1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| M. Daniels | DNP — COACH’S DECISION | ||||||||||||||
| N. Robinson | DNP — COACH’S DECISION | ||||||||||||||
| B. Scalabrine | DNP — COACH’S DECISION | ||||||||||||||
| T. Gaffney | DNP — INACTIVE | ||||||||||||||
| O. Lafayette | DNP — INACTIVE | ||||||||||||||
| S. Williams | DNP — INACTIVE | ||||||||||||||
| Totals | 240 | 34-74 (.459) |
22-28 (.786) |
5-15 (.333) |
- | 9 | 38 | 20 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 29 | 95 | ||
| Orlando | |||||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FGM-FGA | FTM-FTA | 3M-3A | +/- | OR | Reb | A | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts | |
| R. Lewis | F | 41:03 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 1-3 | -7 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | |
| M. Barnes | F | 20:39 | 2-9 | 1-2 | 1-3 | -6 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | |
| D. Howard | C | 39:42 | 9-13 | 12-17 | 0-0 | +4 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 30 | |
| J. Nelson | G | 37:33 | 4-12 | 0-0 | 1-5 | +2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 | |
| V. Carter | G | 25:39 | 5-15 | 5-7 | 1-2 | -4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 16 | |
| J. Redick | 34:08 | 3-9 | 8-8 | 2-3 | +5 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 16 | ||
| M. Pietrus | 15:34 | 1-3 | 3-4 | 0-1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| M. Gortat | 15:15 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | -3 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | ||
| J. Williams | 10:27 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-1 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| R. Anderson | DNP — COACH’S DECISION | ||||||||||||||
| B. Bass | DNP — COACH’S DECISION | ||||||||||||||
| A. Johnson | DNP — COACH’S DECISION | ||||||||||||||
| A. Foyle | DNP — INACTIVE | ||||||||||||||
| Totals | 240 | 28-71 (.394) |
29-38 (.763) |
7-18 (.389) |
- | 10 | 36 | 18 | 2 | 9 | 14 | 25 | 92 | ||
|
Officials: Joe DeRosa, Marc Davis, Bill Kennedy
Attendance: 17,461 Time of Game: 2:59 |
Technicals Orlando - Team (8:31 – 2nd Qtr) - V. Carter (5:12 – 2nd Qtr) |
No contest. Boston’s taking it.
Great coaching by tom thibodeau. I am just amazed how he has been able to single handedly carry this team to these wins.
Doc, KG, Allen, Wallace, Rondo, Pierce and etc have been riding his coat tail for the last 3 years.
I mean what would Doc do without him.
*End Sarcasm*
Orlando is done. That was a heartbreaking loss last night. Dwight played big, got 30 and they still lost. AT HOME. Rashard is pulling a Mo Williams before our very eyes. No reason JJ Redick has had more impact than him.
I see no reason to believe they play any better on the road. Boston should sweep.
What really kils me is that Boston is NOT the clearly superior team. Orlando can’t dictate the style of play. They can’t beat Boston playing halfcourt ball. Yet that’s what’s they are playing. Dwight doesn’t have to score to dominate. If he gets 20/20 with 7 assists and 5 blocks, that means he’s controlling the glass, facilitating offense and playing volleyball in the defensive paint. That’s dominant to me!!!
Ok I’m done.
It’s not just about him fam, when his team ain’t stepping up, he’s got to dominate just like any other superstar that’s come through this league. I’m hard on dude because he’s capable of numbers we haven’t seen since Wilt simply because he has no peer. He frees up Rashard if he is able to dominate the paint when the C’s are defensing him with one man
The Magic would be better off with HEDO doin’ what he do instead of Vince doin’what he do.
Yup. At this point, that cannot be denied. Rashard and Hedo feeding the post presented match up problems because of their range. That’s why Redick played so much. SVG is searching for something. He’s a good coach. We’ll see what he draws up for Game 3.
That move that Pierce put on Vince on the baseline was pure Old School magic. Vince looked like he wanted to say, “Damn, I haven’t had to defend anyone with this much game since…”
The Magic do not seem to recognize their opponent. With Perkins and Pierce on the bench, the opportunity was there. Orlando’s struggles last night illustrate just how many variables go into closing games out correctly.
The Celtics and Lakers are better at closing than any other teams in the league. If Kevin Garnett was healthy last season, we’d be on the brink of the 3rd consecutive matchup between the Celtics and Lakers.
We talked about it before the season. Garnett is proving his actually underrated or is it the young teams just suck?
“The Celtics and Lakers are better at closing than any other teams in the league. If Kevin Garnett was healthy last season, we’d be on the brink of the 3rd consecutive matchup between the Celtics and Lakers.”
True Temple.
The Celtics Defense is just locking down the Magic. And Rondo, Pierce and Allen are putting on a clinic on Offense. And garnett, Perkins and Rasheed are locking down the paint.
They are playing howard straight up and daring VC, Nelson, Lewis and the Magic bench to hit shots.
And they are not able to hit the shots. See in the first 2 rounds teams were doubling Howard and they were getting open shots. But there are no open shots in this series.
Also good adjustment from howard last night. He and pat realized that the Celtics were running an extra man at Howard on the dribble (like the Bulls teams did to Ewing back in the day). So last night howard would get position and go straight up with a hook. Instead of catching the pass and dribbling before going up with the shot like he did in game 1.
Temple that was a tight move………..but that MJ/Kobe spin move, then fade away off of one leg was amazing.
I mean Pierce was putting on a show. Finally he and Garnett are healthy………they were beat up during the regular season.
Man coach Doc is coaching his behind off.
And the Celtics would have won by more if they had Sheldon Williams (another big body) available. They started to run out of bodies for Howard the last 5 minutes of the game.
Miz
D12 isn’t anymore capable of being a truly dominant player than his performances indicate. He’s a great weakside blocker and rebounder and he can dunk. His offensive game is truly pathetic. He doesn’t have any Go-To moves, nor any counters. He looks like a child playing next to Gasol.
The Celtics team is impressive. it’s competitive nature and uncaring about idividual statistics are what makes then great
But they will lose in the Finals because at the end of the day, the Lakers will have the two best players on the court in Kobe/Gasol and their competitive nature is just as strong as that of the Celts.
And let’s just put away a couple of things right now. Kobe, NOT LeBron is the games best player and Gasol, NOT Howard is the games best Big.
Lakers in 6.
I might have to disagree with your Finals assertion Doc but we’ll see. I do agree with your points on Kobe/Gasol.
Hold UP!! Wait a minute.
Kobe/Gasol will be potent but I’ll take a healthy Garnett over Pau. Impacts the game at both ends. Facilitates offense and defense. KG (and Sheed) can check Pau, but I’m not sure El Gasol wants any parts of the Big Ticket.
Gasol is NOT the games best big. He’s very, very skilled but skill is not the be all end all. Gasol isn’t soft. I think he dispelled that notion but he is NOT gonna battle for 6, 7 games. The Cs are gonna take the fight to him. Foul him hard. Battle him for position. He couldnt handle it two years ago. Whats changed? A healthy Bynum would tip the scales in his favor, then he wouldnt have to do the heavy lifting in the low hole. As it stands now, he does and he just isnt that guy.
Pierce and Allen are going to eat the Lakers backcourt up AGAIN. The emergence of Rondo makes them harder to guard than in ’08. Whoever Fisher/Brown/Vajacic has to guard is gonna get abused.
then theres Kobe.
i cant wait
He said skilled fam. Gasol is the truth with both hands around the basket and that makes him tough to guard. That being said, I’d still take Black Pharaoh because of what he does on the defensive end.
I think the Lakers have more, better bigs than the Celtics — on paper and in games against OTHER opponents.
What Gasol and Odom do against short, fancy and cute teams in the West has been a poor predictor of their performance once the elbows from the East initiate the chin check. We won’t know till we know.
What remains to be seen is whether or not Baby Pau and Little Lamar really want to tussle for two weeks with Perkins, Davis, Garnett and Wallace. It’s not a question of footwork or agility…it’s a question of fire (engaging in the battle) and ice (keeping one’s head in the midst of battle).
The only Lakers who need not submit to gut checks at the door are Bryant, Fisher and Artest. Every one else is SUSPECT until proven otherwise.
I hear what all ya’ll are sayin’. And given the debacle of 2 years ago, I see why you need to be convinced.
But I’ve seen every Laker game for years and I’m tellin’ you. The LO, Bynum and Gasol you saw of 2 years ago ain’t the same dudes.
Lakers’ll win because they are the better team and Boston won’t win because the only team in the league they can’t bully is the Lakers.
Lakers in 6.
And yeah, bookmark this and pull it up when the LOB is given out. If I’m wrong, I’ll come on and admit it, but WHEN I’m proved right, I know you all will do the same.
I owe you a Vegas beer anyway Doc and if it goes down the way you say, I’ll pay up this summer. I think you are simply seeing KG and his veteran frame. The way he adapts to a game defensively is simply something to behold. I think both teams are strong and it once again (if it happens of course) will be an epic series I would love to cover.
You gonna need to come on down to Bloomington Indiana to pay up Miz. We’re moving there next month.
Whoa. I just saw the ghost of Bobby Knight. Not cool. Good luck with the move Doc. Work related?
@Kev – here come my Celts again! And the result will be the same! @Origin- they have an “available” Sheldon Williams – he just hasn’t been able to crack the rotation for the last 4 months!
Miz
A variety of reasons. I really don’t want to raise my girls in Vegas, my step son is now 12 and doesn’t need this cesspool to turn him bad, the Jacobs school of music is up there with Julliard and the new job is an incredible opportunity to teach, practice emergency medicine and have the time to see my family.
Vegas is cool if you’re single, but it’s no place to raise a family.
Mark-Joke’s gone be on you THIS time. I’m calling it here and now, your team has absolutely no chance to beat the Lakers 4 times out of 7. Absolutely NO CHANCE!
I tell you waht Mizzo if the Celtics beat the Lakers in the finals that will be the greatest run since the 1995 Houston Rockets team.
That would be amazing to beat the 3 teams with the top 3 records in the league (Cavs, Magic and Lakers).
Wow!!!
And great points Temple…………but as I said this year and many times before. Its all about Bynums health………..if Bynum is healthy they can beat the Celtics in 6 or 7. No Bynum and its a repeat of 2008.
No doubt O. Don’t be surprised fam. You are correct that Lakers hopes rest on a healthy Bynum vs. Celtics.
Suns/Lakers recap will come with the notes a little later on. Short interviews with Jrue Holiday, Kiki Vandeweghe, J. J. Redick and Vince Carter will be posted individually throughout the day. Dropping talks with journalists Shannon Owens and Andre Aldridge tomorrow.
I like what a healthy Bynum brings to the table. He was an impressive 5-5 last night. I know that people in LA are waiting for him to break out.
I shared with Mizzo a few days ago that I see this series in football terms.
Imagine, if you will, that you’re an offensive lineman for Tennessee. You go on a road trip and you’re opponent pops you in the mouth a couple of times and you’re impressed, but unfazed. After the second or third pop in the mouth, you smile at your opponent and say, “Yeah, but you’re still VANDERBILT.”
I think that’s the look the Lakers are giving to Phoenix and Utah and OKC. At the end of the day, there is confidence that they prevail because they always have.
Imagine again that you’re that lineman at Tennessee and this time, you’re at home but you’re opponent is Miami. When you get popped in the lip or nose or groin THIS TIME — you know it’s for real and you know it’s gonna be ALL DAY. And after the second or third pop, you DARE NOT, DO NOT, CANNOT say, “Yeah, you’re still Miami.”
And that’s the difference.
Gasol, Odom and Bynum do not play the Lakers 82 games each season. All we have is what we have…one team with a history of intimidating the other, and another team with a history of garnering its courage and intestinal fortitude from a 6’6″ guard. I don’t know how much any of this matters, but the proving ground begins next week.
It’s not about those other 82 matchups from November through April…it’s about these matchups, now…when whistles are swallowed and nuts shrivel up.
We shall see what we shall see.
Pardon me…Celtics.
T3
You are seriously underestimating how tough these Lakers are and overestimating the ability of the Celtics to beat a team that is simply better than they are.
But as you say, we shall see.
But I’ll tell you this. The difference last time was that Paul Pierce was guarded by Vlad and Trev. He’s gonna be punked big time by Artest and also, Now, Pau is better in every facet of the game than KG. Trust me, there is bo way the Celts win 3 let alone 4 games.
@KD I love your drive for the Lakers. I hope they bring it.
As for LA being better in every facet, I must respectfully disagree.
Boston is a better defensive unit than LA. Having a 7 ft power forward that plays the P/R better than any other big in the game has alot to do with that.
I also like Tony Allen/Big Baby/Sheed off the bench more than I like LO/Brown/Farmar.
2010 Artest cant check Pierce. Stop it. Paul Pierce is going to give Ron Ron the blues. Pierce is a bull. All that grabbing and clutching he does with guys like Brandon Roy/ Kevin Durant isnt going to work on PP.
What about Ray Allen? Whos chasing him off screens? Kobe? Not on those knees. More importantly what about Rondo?!?!?! The emergence of Rondo is paramount in this series. Derek Fisher better enjoy getting his rocks off against Nash because Rondo may send him to an early retirement.
Team defense, PG, and bench are CLEAR BOSTON ADVANTAGES.
While SG, team offense (mostly bc of the SG. lol) and coaching are clear LA advantages.
It’ll be a helluva series. I can see it going 7, OT in the final game.
KevDog:
We’re not debating skills. I think the Lakers advantage from a skills perspective is crystal clear. I’ve already said that…but I thought they had a clear skills advantage in 2008, as well.
And, they also had the advantage of the wise, venerable and sage all-knowing Phil Jackson. It didn’t amount to much then and may not amount to much in 2 weeks, but, that’s why they play the games.
If talent equals rings, LA could knock off Boston in 5. They’re younger, stronger, bigger, and deeper (depending on where you look).
KevDog:
If I am underestimating anything, it’s the capacity of anyone to measure these supremely talented Lakers based on their exploits against short teams with defensive donuts.
I remain unconvinced because the Lakers seldom face teams that play great team defense. The Nuggets, for all their athletic prowess, don’t play great team defense on a consistent basis. The last time the Lakers faced a team with SOME size (and not much at that) that played consistent defense, they went 7 games against the likes of Artest, Luis Scola and Carl Landry.
In a weeks time, Scola and Landry will be replaced by Garnett, Wallace, Perkins, and Davis. I hope it doesn’t take more than 7 games for the Lakers to figure them out.
T3. I remember when the Showtime Lakers faced the Celtics the first time in the 80′s and everyone said they were haunted by the ghosts of the 60′s.
They lost, Magic became “Tragic,” and everyone figured that the team from LA was soft and that the 80′s would be the 60′s redux.
Of course that didn’t happen that way
You sound as if teams can’t grow and learn to become tough and learn to win. I am very confident that the Lakers have the necessary toughness to give back to the Celtics back everything they give.
Since that 2008 Finals, the Lakers have played the Celts 4 times and won 3 of them and all of them were played at playoff intensity and in each game, the Celts tried to bully us and we bullied right back.
Seriously, if you think the Key to the Celts winning the series is going to be bullying the Lakers you’re gonna be on here admitting how surprised and wrong you were.
They can’t beat the Lakers in a 7 game series, seriously, they just can’t.
Man, I’m sorry I missed this discussion.
Unlike some of you, I’m not convinced who will the Finals, both teams have advantages and interesting matchups. It will all depend on who can impose their will on who.
I still remember KG punking Pau. Maybe that won’t happen anymore, but I need to see.
And, I do think Artest gives Pierce fits on defense.
And Rondo is way better so Kobe can’t hide on him.
I can’t believe that some of y’all are so sure who is going to win.
Doc is a tried and true Lakers fan, you gotta admire that fam. Because of the Lakers success recently, he’s pretty much been right.
I do think Boston will adapt. Can’t wait to see it play out. The series will most likely be epic.
KevDog:
Let’s back this up just a bit.
I think the Lakers have a more talented team.
I am not certain that the heart of key players (Gasol, Odom, Bynum) is commensurate with the challenge.
There are several Lakers of whom I have ZERO questions (Bryant, Artest, Fisher).
That’s all.
I’m not suggesting folks don’t change.
I’m not suggesting LA won’t play tough.
—————————-
My Time Machine Reflection….
The Showtime Lakers won in ’85 because they proved they were willing to give hard fouls and punch the Celtics right in the mouth. But let’s go deeper for a minute — the guys who needed to prove they could go there were not Kareem and Magic and Michael Cooper…it was the young guns: James Worthy, Byron Scott, and even Kurt Rambis. Those were the guys were the focal point of the Celtics assault in the previous year.
Magic’s play was largely the result, to my mind, of Boston being able to throw an elite defender at him (Dennis Johnson) while taking away options that had been reliable throughout the year.
So, here we are again. Kobe’s reliable options have been guys who have a history of suffering from congestive heart failure. It is entirely possible that they’ll play better. If Rambis could do it, so can they — right?
But — if they don’t…
———————————————-
Either way, I won’t have to come on TSF and admit my surprise. As I said up top — if talent rules, the Lakers win. If the Celtics can punk a few of these guys, the Celtics win. I have no idea who is going to win.
If I was a Lakers fan who believed in the intestinal fortitude of Gasol and Odom and Bynum based on regular season games played with playoff intensity, I’d be all in.
But I ain’t.
Help me out here.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2010_games.html
Are you telling me that your belief in Gasol and company is based on the fact that the Celtics beat the Lakers by 1 point and lost to the Lakers by 1 point this season? You cannot be serious.
I think it’s going to be an EPIC series and I haven’t the foggiest notion of who will win…and I’m glad.
T3
I get your point and understand your concerns about the Lakers willingness to be physical. As a matter of fact, I told everyone I knew who thought the Magic would beat the Celts, that the Celts would prevail because the Celts would bully them and completely disrupt them. I understand one of the 2 great strengths of this team which is why I picked them to be in the finals before the playoffs began.
But Where we disagree is that I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that the Lakers you are worried about, Gasol, Bynum and Odom, as well as Farmar and Brown, will give as good, probably, IMO, more than the Celtics will.
Gasol, Bynum and Odom were punked in the finals 2 years ago and it embarrased them. That experience changed them and they’ll be looking for revenge big time. Those same soft guys are now hardened with the stench of that series and also from learning last year exactly how hard you have to play to become NBA champions. So yeah, I have no, I mean NONE whatsoever, doubt that we will win the series in at most 6 games. Maybe 5.
As to the regular season games I referenced. I am looking at the 4 meetings the teams have had since those finals.
They have met 4 times and the Lakers won 3 of those, only losing the one when Kobe didn’t play and then by 1 point. In all of those games, Those you question played hard, didn’t back down and generally did what it took to win.
Gasol-4 games
39 min, 19 ppg, 9 rpg
Odom-4 games
28 min, 13 ppg, 8 rgp
Bynum-3 games
31 min, 14 ppg, 9 rpg,
We get that type of production out of those guys and we’ll win easily.
Cool. Thanks for spelling it out.
If you’re right, it will be an easy win. 5 or 6 and done.