POST GAME HOUSTON

CONGRADS EDDIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lacerte receives O'Toole Award

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

Celtics trainer Ed Lacerte tends to Courtney Lee earlier this season.

BOSTON -- Boston Celtics trainer Ed Lacerte received the 2011-12 Joe O'Toole Athletic Trainer of the Year award presented by the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association during halftime of Wednesday's double-overtime win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Lacerte, now in his 26th season with the Celtics, is Doc Rivers' right-hand man when it comes to injuries (Rivers loves to joke that "Doc" is just a nickname), and Lacerte's efforts are not lost on Boston's head coach.

"Eddie is probably the hardest-working man in the league right now with some of our guys," said Rivers. "He’s here all night. So I’m very proud of him."

Lacerte is an integral part of keeping Boston's players upright, including Kevin Garnett, who goes through lengthy pregame and postgame treatment sessions.

"Eddie's good people, man," said Garnett. "He's been in this league countless years and it's good to see. With the vets and some guys like [media relations czar] Jeff Twiss and [team massage therapist] Vladimir Schulman and Ed Lacerte, it's good to see those guys get some recognition. Because those are the guys who have helped build this league, been in this league, and you never hear about the old-timers who help create some of the foundation in an organization, so it's good to get some recognition for that. Congrats to Ed Lacerte, man."

This is the second time Lacerte, a trainer on the original Dream Team, has won the O'Toole award. Celtics captain Paul Pierce suggested he was well on his way to being in the mix again this season.

"Ed is one of the better trainers in all of sports," said Pierce. "The way he comes in, he’s here night in and night out. He’s done a great job this year, we haven’t had that many injuries, so he deserves it."

Rivers joked that one of the perks of Lacerte's job is being a fly on the wall, particularly the way Boston players gravitate toward the trainer's room before and after games.

"I think if you got all of the trainers in the league to write a book, if they changed the names, it would be terrific," said Rivers.


NEXT GAME - SATURDAY - 8:30PM - AWAY - S.A. SPURS

POST GAME RECAP

ESPNBOSTON.COM

Rapid reaction: Rockets 101, Celtics 89

By Greg Payne | ESPNBoston.com

Courtney Lee started against his former team in Houston on Friday night.
Rapid reaction after the Houston Rockets defeated the Boston Celtics 101-89 on Friday night at the Toyota Center:

HOW THE GAME WAS WON
Second-year power forward Greg Smith came through with 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting in 22 minutes off the bench for the Rockets, and he was joined in double figures by James Harden (21 points), Chandler Parsons (15 points, nine rebounds, eight assists), and Toney Douglas (11 points). Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Rajon Rondo added 15 points and 13 assists.

TURNING POINT
A messy third quarter on the defensive end from the Celtics undermined the two-point halftime lead they gained after crawling out of an early 13-point hole. Houston dropped 32 points in the third quarter to Boston's 25, and carried a 75-70 edge into the fourth quarter. The Rockets' lead bounced between five and eight points for the first half of the fourth quarter, but a 3-pointer from Toney Douglas with 2:52 to play put Houston up 96-85. C's head coach Doc Rivers waived the white flag shortly after, electing to get his key guys a few extra minutes of rest with the second game of a back-to-back coming up Saturday night in San Antonio.

LEE GETS THE START
Rivers elected to re-insert Courtney Lee into the starting lineup, placing Jason Terry back into his more customary bench role. It was Lee's first start since December 1 when he filled in for a suspended Rondo. Lee said earlier in the week that a return to Houston -- where he played last season -- wouldn't be personal to him, but he seemed to play with a considerable edge. He came through on both ends of the floor, playing solid defense on Harden at times to go along with eight points, three rebounds, two steals, and a block.

BOLD PLAY OF THE GAME
Jeff Green delivered another of his highlight-worthy dunks midway through the second quarter. This time, Rondo came up with the steal and patiently waited just outside the lane as his teammates streaked back up the floor. As Green hurried forward, Rondo slid him a pass and Green skied up just inside the painted area and delivered a thunderous right-handed slam.

UNSUNG HERO
Terry, coming off the bench for the first time in weeks, found himself in a steady shooting groove from long range for the entire game. He scored all 12 of his points on 3-pointers, knocking down four of his eight looks. Most of Terry's threes came at a point when Boston desperately needed a bucket, though he couldn't help to stop Houston's late run.

WHAT IT MEANS
Even though Boston fought back out of an early first quarter hole, it couldn't string together a consistent level of effort, and as such, suffered another frustrating loss. It's possible the Celtics were still recovering from their double-overtime victory over the Mavericks on Wednesday, which saw most of the team log heavier minutes than usual. Without question, the Celtics wanted to kick off this three-game road trip with a win, on top of already searching for a longer winning streak, but they couldn't dictate the game defensively. For better or worse, the C's won't have long to think about their latest back-and-forth effort, with a date with the Spurs set for Saturday night. Boston will just have to accept the loss and move on and hope to deliver a more spirited effort in San Antonio.

112288

This game was there for the taking. Now they have to beat a much better team in SA to get a Texas split. Oh well.

I can't believe that the only action I watched, while racing through the Miami airport, was in the second quarter, in which the Celts ran off 9 unanswered points to tie the game. I had visions of sugar plums dancing in my head, especially since virtually all of those points were scored in persistent transition. Maybe someone can tell me whether they kept the pace up throughout the rest of the game.

I'd love to have a ± stat when they're in sustained transition vs. a ± stat when they're in slowed-down mode.

Sam