POST GAME GOLDEN STATE

GAME STATS

REBOUNDS - CELTICS 44 /GSW 54.....Offensive - CELTICS 2 /GSW 13 ......Defensive - CELTICS 42/GSW 41
POINTS IN THE PAINT - CELTICS 38 /GSW 38
FAST BREAK POINTS - CELTICS 20 / GSW 12
FG - CELTICS - 36/75 (48 %) GSW 32/94 (34%)
3PM - CELTICS 3/15 ( 20 %) GSW 5/23 (21.7 %)
FTM - CELTICS 19/28 ( 67.9%) GSW 17/22 (77.3 %)
TO - CELTICS 17 / GSW 11
ASSISTS - CELTICS 24 / GSW 17
STL - CELTICS 6/ GSW 6
BLK - CELTICS 5 / GSW 1
PF - CELTICS 20 / GSW 24
BENCH POINTS - CELTICS 37 / GSW 20
TOTAL TEAM TURNOVERS (Points off turnovers) – CELTICS 17 (11) /GSW 12 (9)

NEXT GAME TUESDAY - AWAY - AT PHILLY - 7:00PM - CSNE/TNT


POST GAME RECAP

ESPNBOSTON.COM

Rapid Reaction: Celtics 94, Warriors 86

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

BOSTON -- Rapid reaction after the Boston Celtics defeated the Golden State Warriors 94-86 on Friday night at TD Garden:

THE NITTY GRITTY
While all the pregame hype surrounded Golden State's 24-year-old scorer Stephen Curry, it was 35-year-old Paul Pierce who stole the show, scoring a game-high 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting to go along with eight rebounds and four assists over 36½ minutes. Jeff Green overcame a hard fall on his left elbow in the third quarter to score 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting (Boston's only other player in double digits) to go along with five rebounds, three blocks and two assists. Curry scored 25 points, but on 6-of-22 shooting, missing eight of the 11 3-pointers he hoisted (he did make all 10 of his free throws), while finishing with six assists and four turnovers. David Lee added 10 points and a game-high 19 rebounds for the Warriors.

TURNING POINT
The game was knotted at 60 with under three minutes to play in the third quarter, but Chris Wilcox ignited a little 9-0 burst with a dunk. The run also featured a Jason Terry 3-pointer (his first points of the night) and two jumpers from Green. During third-quarter play, Green hit the floor hard and needed to ice a bruised left elbow before returning with a protective sleeve. He proceeded to make 6-of-8 shots while scoring 12 points over the final 14 minutes.

SPOTLIGHT: BRADLEY VS. CURRY
The much-ballyhooed Avery Bradley vs. Curry matchup saw Boston's defensive-minded guard dominate early. When Bradley checked out with under two minutes to play in the first quarter, Curry had one point and two turnovers while missing his only shot of the night. Curry feasted on backup Jordan Crawford a bit, helping him pile up 16 points on 3-of-9 shooting over 20:41 in the first half. But the matchup fizzled when Bradley picked up two fouls in the first four minutes of the second half -- giving him five for the night -- and forcing him to the bench. Curry went 0-for-2 with no points over the final eight minutes of the frame, however. Bradley returned to guard Curry in the final minute to prevent any late rally.

KG LEAPFROGS OLAJUWON
With a team-high 13 rebounds in Friday's game, Garnett leapfrogged Hakeem Olajuwon into 11th place all-time for most career rebounds. Garnett now has 13,758 and will soon enter the top 10, with Wes Unseld (13,769) in his sights.

WHAT IT MEANS
The Celtics (31-27) have now won two in a row to move back to a season-best four games above .500. Boston, playing on three days' rest, gets three more days off now. The Celtics don't play again until Tuesday night in Philadelphia as part of another road back-to-back that takes them to Indiana on Wednesday. Four of Boston's next five games are on the road (stopping back at the Garden for next Friday's visit from the Atlanta Hawks).
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CSNE

Back home, C's come away with solid win over Warriors
March 1, 2013, 10:15 pm
SHARE THIS POST

Cheer
0

Boo
0


Email

Paul Pierce (left) led the offense and Avery Bradley the defense Friday night against the Warriors.
(Associated Press)


BOSTON — The last time the Celtics had a slew of days off - the All-Star break - it took them a couple games to play in before they rediscovered their rhythm.

The C's bounce-back wasn't nearly as long this time around as the Celtics put together a solid performance in their first game since Monday to defeat Golden State, 94-86.

Boston (31-27) has won two in a row and four of its last five games while handing the Warriors (33-26) a third straight loss.

Paul Pierce led the way for Boston with a game-high 26 points, eight rebounds and four assists while shooting 9-for-15 from the field.

Much of the talk leading up to Friday's game centered around Golden State guard Stephen Curry, who came in averaging 46 points in the Warriors past two games.

Prior to the game, Courtney Lee didn't hesitate in stating that Curry wasn't going to score 54 against the Celtics.

True to his word, Lee along with Avery Bradley kept Curry in check for most of the night as Curry led all Golden State players with 25 points on 6-for-22 shooting from the field.

Although Boston led most of the game, the Warriors came out in the third quarter in comeback mode as they scored the quarter's first six points to take their first lead of the game, 52-50.

Moments later, Pierce drained a three-pointer to put the C's back on top. Golden State would lead on three more occasions in the quarter before Boston broke open a 60-all tie with a 9-2 run to end the quarter.

Boston spent most of the third quarter with Bradley on the bench after he picked up his fifth personal foul with 8:01 to play in the quarter, while guarding Curry.

Even with Bradley on the bench, the C's still managed to keep Curry from being an efficient scorer.

He went into the fourth quarter with 18 points, but needed 13 shots from the field (he made just three of them) to do so.

There were signs dating back to the first quarter that Curry's prolific scoring of late was on the verge of ending.

Curry had six points in the first quarter which was two more than he had in the first quarter of his career-high 54 point game against New York on Wednesday.

Leading the way for the Celtics in the first besides their defense against Curry, was the efficient play offensively of Pierce.

The Captain had 13 points in the first on 5-for-8 shooting, to go with three rebounds and three assists as the C's led, 31-20.

Boston spent the entire second quarter playing with the lead, although Golden State managed to keep it within single digits most of the way.

Harrison Barnes was instrumental in keeping the Warriors within striking distance in the second quarter, which included a breakaway dunk that cut Boston's lead to 39-36. He finished with 16 points.

Following a pair of missed free throws by Boston's Chris Wilcox, Barnes brought the Warriors within a point following a lay-up.

But the C's responded with five straight points - a three by Bradley and a jumper by Brandon Bass - to push their lead up to 44-38 with 2:45 to play in the second quarter.

Boston failed to push its lead back to double digits in the quarter which ended with the Celtics ahead, 50-46.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

WEEI 93.7 FM

FAST BREAK: PAUL PIERCE IN A GOLDEN STATE IN WIN OVER WARRIORS 03.01.13 at 10:07 pm ET

By Ben Rohrbach

Paul Pierce (26 points) and Jeff Green (18 points) were the only Celtics in double figures, but they earned payback for a 101-83 loss to the Warriors to months ago, holding off Golden State for a 94-86 victory.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Bradley vs. Curry: Avery Bradley set the tone against Warriors counterpart Stephen Curry, coming off his 54-point effort against the Knicks. Bradley limited Curry to 0-for-1 shooting and forced a pair of turnovers in the opening 10:12. The C’s pit bull was so far up in Curry’s grill he must’ve known what the Warriors guard ate pregame. Of course, Curry found ways to get his points (25), particularly at the free throw line, and forced Bradley into five fouls in 21 minutes, but the message was sent in a game that saw the Warriors shoot 34 percent.

Old man Pierce: The Celtics captain broke out just about every move in his bag of veteran tricks, baiting defenders into fouling him on jumpers and carving through defenders in slow motion. Pinched nerve be damned, Pierce contorted his way into a handful of improbable layups. He finished the first half with a game-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go along with four assists and three rebounds. Needless to say, the C’s led 50-46 at the break.

Mean Jeff Green: After falling hard on his left arm and remaining on the floor during a few scary minutes midway through the third quarter, Green climbed to his feet and walked to the Celtics bench, where he shook off the pain and covered it in a padded sleeve. He proceeded to convert his next four shots, including three jumpers, to help turn a 60-60 game late in the third into a double-digit lead early in the fourth.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Everything Crawford: The only air Jordan Crawford got was the breeze he felt when Stephen Curry blew past his saloon-door defense. He played three feet off Harrison Barnes five feet from the basket. In other words, Crawford’s defense came as advertised: Practically non-existent. And his offense wasn’t much better, as he finished 2-of-6 in 17 minutes, including a couple ill-advised pull-up jumpers in transition.

Terry-ble: As soon as it appears Jason Terry might be getting comfortable in the Celtics offense, he submits a game like Friday night, when he missed 9-of-11 attempts in 30 minutes. When Rajon Rondo suffered his season-ending ACL injury, Terry insinuated he might benefit from a less Rondominated offense. Not so much.

KG’s shot: A week ago, when he rested Kevin Garnett against the Suns, Celtics coach Doc Rivers claimed KG hasn’t been the same since the triple-overtime Nemo blizzard victory against the Nuggets. After solid performances against the Blazers and Jazz, Garnett grabbed his share of rebounds and met his quota for profanity-laced outbursts against the Warriors, but his shot wasn’t falling. Garnett finished 2-for-10 from the floor.

112288

Hello everyone,

Sorry I have been in and out lately. But it's good to get back to this great site with true Celtic fans. After being disappointed in Memphis's coming up short against Miami, (and by the way, I've softened some from my past rants on LeBron. Actually I can watch him and like him now. I'd go as far to say if he leaves Miami, I'd much rather have him come to Boston than go to LA. But that's another thread) I went to ESPN for the box score for this game and was surprised to see with all the reporting above, there was no mention of the across the board, even distribution of assists and still showing a very high assist/baskets made ratio and all of this sans Rondo.(67%)

While it's not much of a surprise to Celtic fans,but trying to defend a whole team that can assist and move the ball around like that setting their teammates up for scoring after having our assist leader out for the rest of the year is quite amazing and has to be a nightmare for any opponent. They have in essence re-invented themselves in very short order, pretty much without missing a beat. I'm liking what I am seeing.

I hope everyone has been doing well. I have been trying to get my life back together after separation and divorce, but things are improving every day. I look forward to getting back into the flow here with everyone.

David

Celts dodged a bullet tonight with Curry having a sub par shooting night. Combination of poor shooting and good defense. I was concerned with Bradley picking up fouls 4 & 5 in rapid succession in the 3rd quarter. I was even more concerned when Green hit the deck driving to the hoop several minutes later. The Philly/Indiana back 2 back will not be a piece of cake. C's need to make good use of weekend practice to incorporate the newbies.

MD!

P S Welcome back dbrown4

I thought AB's defense on Curry was stellar, just great, he can get beat, but then he has great closing speed and can still block the shot from a side angle. The 2 foul calls he received in 3rd were bogus, first one should have been an offensive foul as Curry was using his off hand to clear AB's pressure, initiating the contact, on the 2nd, he didn't touch Curry, just contesting his shot. AB defends the point better than anyone in the league, the opposing PG's shooting percentage is always routinely terrible.

Pierce was great, so much guile, still has alot left. The good Jeff Green showed up tonite and with KG and Jet off, we obviously needed his versatile game, his post up game was really good tonite. Like seeing KG and Wilcox playing together for stretches, would like to see more of T Will.

I wish Doc and DA would send some video of AB's defense to the league. The calls that are going against him. While he does get away with some fouls everyone does, but when a guy plays outstanding defense the way he does he should get the star treatment. The last two fouls on him were horrible and normally this happens to him every game.

I get sick of the officiating now days. KG gets called for traveling, which it was and was so close to non traveling it could have been ignored. The same trip up the floor, Curry goes into his move and slides his pivot foot 3 ft and there is no call. Curry was also sticking his legs out on 3's late in the game and the officials flat ignored them as well.

dBrown,

Welcome back. Glad to see you posting. To feel better if you are in Boston on March 16, come to dinner and the Celtic game with Sam and most of the other board members.

See post for St Paddy's Day weekend.

Best 112288

MD,

Curry did not have a sub par night, it's called good defense and everyone contested his shot. He did nothing when AB was in the game . He was 6/22 FG and 3/11 from 3 pt. What saved his night were the ref's calling bogus fouls so he shot 10/10 from the uncontested FT line.

112288

tardust wrote:I wish Doc and DA would send some video of AB's defense to the league. The calls that are going against him. While he does get away with some fouls everyone does, but when a guy plays outstanding defense the way he does he should get the star treatment. The last two fouls on him were horrible and normally this happens to him every game.

I get sick of the officiating now days. KG gets called for traveling, which it was and was so close to non traveling it could have been ignored. The same trip up the floor, Curry goes into his move and slides his pivot foot 3 ft and there is no call. Curry was also sticking his legs out on 3's late in the game and the officials flat ignored them as well.

Be careful Tar.....TJ is bound to be out here any minute, crying about you making mention of the PISS POOR officiating last night.

Great game all around.....glad to see Jordan Crawford hit a few big shots as well.

Hope they make good use of the rest and practice days to come.

Well I could have went even further with JG getting clobbered by 2 Warriors, nothing called, the ball bouncing off a Warrior foot and given to them but then I would be whining.

When Paul plays so great o often, why are fans still wanting to trade him? I don't get it. The guy should retire a Celtic. Period.

Hi,
First, welcome back, Dbrown.

I saw pictures of CL and AB where they were called pitbulls waiting for Curry. I think they proved to be such 100%, especially AB. Curry couldn't shake AB the Velcro off. Most of his FGs came from shooting off multiple screens.
I agree - the 2 calls on AB were totally bogus. In general, the officiating last night was very poor.
Last night Mike Gorman mentioned that KG should be in consideration for DPOY. I couldn't agree more. Sure, he doesn't do 10 block and 20 rebounds a night but he does do all those small things that disrupts the opponent's offense and prevent them from scoring. BTW, on the funny side: CW was +20, KG was -11 last night.

AK

Worcester,

It's like a bad tooth. You need some temp relief so you get over the counter medicine which makes it better for a few hours only to get worse. Eventually you need to pull the tooth.

Much like the tooth, Pierce may give you some temp relief with a good game here and there, but because of the teams injuries and age, the chances of winning #18 are slim at best. Next year Pierce is another year older and another year of declining athleticism. We should have gotten assets (players & draft picks) for him this year to begin the rebuilding process.

2 things are happening with Pierce's game NOW, his FG shooting % is dropping as well as his FT at the foul line, and his TO are increasing, last night 7.

Pierce, love him as a Celtic fan, but from a business standpoint at this stage of his career, he needs to go unless you want to stand and cheer a .500 or less team next year when you will have no cap room to rebuild because you are paying Pierce $15million.

That was a stupid contract Danny signed. Even a buy out at $5million costs us $5million in cap space.

I worry about all Celtic fans and not waiting 22 years to win again.

It's time to pull the tooth unless you consider the additions of Williams, White and Randolph rebuilding!

112288

worcester wrote:When Paul plays so great o often, why are fans still wanting to trade him? I don't get it. The guy should retire a Celtic. Period.

my sentiments exactly worse, its amazing how much he has left, especially when you consider other players a few years younger than him that are completely shot....Richard Jefferson, Cory Magette, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Manu Ginoblli, all pretty much shot or carrying a much lesser load. Then look at these other kids that just never developed, Wes Johnson, Marvin Williams, Tyrus Thomas, Michael Beasley etc so many can't name them all. Last night he had 3 or 4 vintage moves to the rim, hope he can get some good treatments from a guy like you on his neck.

112288 wrote:Worcester,

It's like a bad tooth. You need some temp relief so you get over the counter medicine which makes it better for a few hours only to get worse. Eventually you need to pull the tooth.

Much like the tooth, Pierce may give you some temp relief with a good game here and there, but because of the teams injuries and age, the chances of winning #18 are slim at best. Next year Pierce is another year older and another year of declining athleticism. We should have gotten assets (players & draft picks) for him this year to begin the rebuilding process.

2 things are happening with Pierce's game NOW, his FG shooting % is dropping as well as his FT at the foul line, and his TO are increasing, last night 7.

Pierce, love him as a Celtic fan, but from a business standpoint at this stage of his career, he needs to go unless you want to stand and cheer a .500 or less team next year when you will have no cap room to rebuild because you are paying Pierce $15million.

That was a stupid contract Danny signed. Even a buy out at $5million costs us $5million in cap space.

I worry about all Celtic fans and not waiting 22 years to win again.

It's time to pull the tooth unless you consider the additions of Williams, White and Randolph rebuilding!

112288

I beg to differ, he can still play at an all star level and to just give him away isn't the answer either. With a declining Pierce, with improved all around play from AB, Green and Sully right around the corner and Rondo getting his head right, defending and not overdominating the ball or as trade bait for a legit big we can still win and contend.....Rondo being a better chip to get something dramatic back than Pierce.

Right now I look forward to a match up with Miami come playoff time, they are not big, we have 2 possibly 3 guys that can defend Lebron and 4 guys we can throw at Wade, if we had Sully and Rondo I would be even more confident, but even now our depth is better than theirs. We can run with them, see me in April, its gonna be a dogfight.

Cowen,

I appreciate your fan loyalty of Pierce but you have not answered how we are gaining youth and talent in next years team with Pierce's heavy contract $15M on the books. Please tell me how we are rebuilding next year?

Assets are important to have, just ask Danny if he could have pulled off the KG & RA deal if he did not have assets. We could have accumulated assets to be used in trades moving forward and reduce our salary cap by acquiring expiring contracts as well.

In terms of Miami being thin. Hey the Celtics are thin in many, many areas including center, guard and forward position with key players being old (PP & KG).

We first have to get by some difficult teams first without home court advantage. We are sitting in the 7th seed today so look to Indy, Chicago, and NYK as potential teams.

112288

The difference between Celtic fans and GSW fans? Well, last night in Clooney's, I was standing for the entire game except for free throws. When the game got close, and they took the lead, I started pacing and muttering words I will not repeat in this forum. The GSW fans in the bar, which is to say everybody else, sat the whole game, laughed at me and told me to relax. Don't I know they're playing GSW? The Warriors are having a pretty good year, albeit a horrible post-all star game so far, but the mentality of expecting to lose is one I have trouble with. To be fair, when you get 54 from Curry in NY and still lose, that's mentally bruising.

A long, long road trip for GSW. The good news for them, as I was informed by a GSW fan last night, is that 16 of their last 22 games are at home. Some people might not call Oakland friendly turf, but they do.

There was a period, during the 2nd and I think 3rd period, where we were trading jumpshots with them. I was not happy with that. You do not want to trade jumpshots with GSW. That is their forte.

This game should not have been close. We shot 48% and they shot 34%. Our 17 TOs and 68% ft shooting kept breathing life into them.

1. Bradley was glue. I not only watched the game, but watched the Warrior's post-game analyis show (with former GSW GM and coach and former head coach of Sacto Garry St. Jean) and he talked a lot about AB. They ran a lot of video that highlighted Bradley's defense on Curry. They put up Courtney Lee's quote, pre-game, when he said "where's my pitbull? Where's Bradley?" As you saw, it takes NO time for Curry to launch a shot, an extremely quick release. Remember when Crawford was guarding him, he caught the ball, did a spin left and then hit a 3 before Crawford could recover? Bradley completely smothered him. You gotta admit, though, that was one beautiful bounce pass by Curry to Harrison Barnes on the pick-and-roll. Yeah, they showed that play more than a few times too.

2. Fortunately, Jarrett Jack has been in a slump. Last night, shooting 1-9, he couldn't hit jack.

3. Pierce had a great night. He also had 7 TOs, all by himself. His defense was also up-and-down. How about that layup by Harrison Barnes, where Barnes was in the low block, all by himself waiting for a pass for a couple of seconds and by the time Pierce got there he was already on the way up for the shot? Pierce was double-teaming somebody on the weak side of the floor and nowhere near the ball. I don't think Pierce has lost much physically, but he has made some very strange mental errors over the past month or so.

4. This is the best game I have seen Harrison Barnes play. He played with energy and played well against Pierce.

5. David Lee, somehow, got 19 rebounds. Fortunately, he didn't kill us with scoring like he did in NY. Maybe that's because this time he had KG on him.

6. Speaking of KG, he's a candidate for DPOY again. One second he's out on top doubling the ball and, once it gets reversed, he still makes it back to his man to steal the ball. Couldn't throw the ball in Boston Harbor last night, but his other contributions are so unquantifiable as to defy belief. Compare him to Andres Biedrins and "Uncle" Festus Ezeli and you realize how truly blessed we are to have him AND for him to live and die green.

7. During that period when we were trading jumpshots, our offense looked like complete shit. No flow. Still, we hit a couple of big shots, including a number at the buzzer, to maintain our lead. Who hit them? Jeff Green. Some BIG shots by our new Mr. Big Shot. Five rebounds for him is really good too. I wish I didn't always have to point out when decent rebounding for a 6'9" player is "good for him". Someday, I hope, it will become so normal I won't notice it. Not a LOUD game by Jeff, none of those monster jams, but very effective. It took 3 months or so, but he looks like a $9M man now. Who is a better 6th man? I'm sure some names can bubble to the surface, but not many.

8. Jordan Crawford showed us what he is about last night. NOT a good first half, with Crawford making a couple of bad decisions. The second half he hit a couple of "Are you shitting me!?" shots. That's his rep, a great shooter who lacks scoring discipline, and it looks like it is well-deserved.

9. We had 20 fast break points. Excellent, absolutely excellent. Give me that every game and we're going to win a lot of games. A lot.

10. Our bench outscored their bench 37-20. 18 of those were from Green, but Wilcox contributed 8 too. Very nice game by Wilcox. Played pretty good D and moved on offense. We all know his offense is strictly 4' and in, but somehow he manages to get the ball 4' and in and that's a talent in and of itself. 7 rebounds, 2 offensive, is a big contribution from him too. JET had a mediocre night. His 2-11 shooting is ameliorated a bit by his 4 assists and 0 TOs.

My #1 team beat my #2 team. I'm quite ok with that and quite glad they only play 2x/year. I hope you all saw why they can be exciting, though. Their backcourt can score like crazy. When Jack is on, they rain 3s on you like a hurricane. I didn't take the time to single out Klay Thompson, but he can drop 25 on you like it's nothing too.


Only 2 games in the loss column separate us from Chicago and Brooklyn and 3 separate us from Atlanta.


bob


.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/celtics-slow-down-curry-warriors-043020951--nba.html


Celtics slow down Curry, Warriors
By Mike Shalin, The Sports Xchange | The SportsXchange – 11 hours ago


BOSTON -- Stephen Curry sat slumped against the back of his stall in the visitors' locker room at TD Garden after Friday night's game. It was one of the few times all night there was no Boston Celtic around him.

Returning from their longest road trip of the season, the aggressive Celtics put the shackles on Curry, who was coming of a 54-point game and 92 points in the last two games, and also got 26 points and eight rebounds from Paul Pierce in a 94-86 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Right from the start, Curry was hounded by Avery Bradley (full-court), Courtney Lee and whoever else was anywhere near him. After going 32 for 48 from the floor, 18 for 23 from 3-point range in the last two games, Curry scored 25 points but was just 6 for 22 from the floor, 3 for 11 from behind the 3-point line. He did go 10 for 10 from the foul line.

"That's his reputation. That's what he does, That's how he helps his team," Curry said of Bradley, who played only 21 minutes because of foul trouble connected to his hounding defense. "He's a great defender and you have to give him credit for what he's able to do out there. I knew that coming in. I was prepared for it."

Prepared? Perhaps. Successful? No.

Things got so bad for Curry that he air-balled (long) a 3-pointer from the left corner while wide open in the fourth quarter.
"I knew right away as soon as I let it go, I took my time and everything," he said. "It was just a weird feeling to be that open and seeing it go that far off. I hope that won't happen again.

"Obviously my shot wasn't falling and I was kind of out of rhythm all night."

The whole Golden State offense was out of rhythm as the visitors shot 34 percent from the field and went just 5 for 23 from 3-point range.
It was all a result of the Celtics playing defense, against Curry and everyone else.

"I told our guys, 'If Steph has 54 and we win, I'm taking that tonight. We have to guard everyone else, that's the key,' " said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "And other than (Harrison) Barnes, who got loose in the first half, I thought we did better in the second, we accomplished that."

The win was the eighth straight at home for Boston, which improved to 11-3 since Rajon Rondo was lost for the season to a knee injury. The Warriors lost their third straight on a five-game road trip that started with a win and have dropped nine of their last 12 games overall.

Jeff Green added 18 points for the Celtics. Barnes scored 16 and Klay Thompson had 15 for Golden State, which got 19 points and 10 rebounds from David Lee, who returned from a one-game league suspension for being involved in a fight.

The Celtics used a 9-0 run to go up by nine with 3:39 left in the first quarter and ballooned the lead to 13 later in the quarter. The Warriors knocked the deficit down to one with 3:33 left in the half.

Golden State pulled in front in the third quarter but never by more than two points and the game was tied 60-60 when the Celtics had another 9-0 run -- this one over a 1:50 span. Green hit two jumpers in the run.

Earlier in the quarter, Green hit the floor hard during a charge and he stayed down for several minutes. But he was fine.
"He came back in and played great," Rivers said of Green, who was 8 for 13 from the floor, grabbed five rebounds and blocked three shots.

Notes: The Warriors, 15-19 on the road, have a heavy home schedule down the stretch. ... The teams combined to go 8 for 38 from 3-point range. ... The Celtics had a different roster than they had for their previous home game prior to the five-game trip. Swingman Terrence Williams, whose 10-day contract was ending, signed for the rest of the season, with a non-guaranteed year also reportedly part of the deal, while frontcourt men D.J. White (signed during the trip) and Shavlik Randolph were both in a Celtics uniform for the first time and guard Jordan Crawford, acquired from the Wizards, also made his home debut, hitting two baskets in the fourth quarter. Williams, White and Randolph all came back from China, Williams debuting on the road trip. Asked about throwing the frontcourt players right in there, coach Doc Rivers said, "I would rather put Kevin (Garnett) and Brandon Bass and Jeff Green out there." ... Williams said he found out he'd agreed to a new deal on Twitter. ... The Celtics opened roster spots by shipping Jason Collins and the injured Leandro Barbosa to Washington and sending rookie Fab Melo back to the D-League. ... Both teams' next games are at Philadelphia, the Warriors there Saturday and the Celtics Tuesday. ... Rivers was nominated as the Eastern Conference coach of the month for January but lost out to Miami's Erik Spoelstra. ... The injury prone Andrew Bogut missed his fifth straight game for Golden State with back spasms.



bob


.

112288

Paul Pierce is the only consistent player on this roster at the moment. Feb was his best month of rebounding since 2006, and his best month of assists EVER. Guy is still playing at a very high level.....so unless you are suggesting the Celtics throw in the towel and head for the lottery - I think your feeling about dumping Pierce are way off base.

If DA could have gotten another go to player - in exchange for Pierce, that is one thing. But to make a move simply for the sake of a move is nonsensical. Next season, I think it is clear that Jeff Green needs to be the starter - with PP coming off the bench.

But if the game is one the line - next year, the year after of in 5 years - and Paul Pierce is still on this team AND is still the best option for you to win (which is exactly what he is now) - then he should be getting the shot.

112288

We have alot of young pieces already in place, we obviously need a center, since Pierce at this stage will not get us a Nene, might as well keep him. Danny has actually done a great job getting good young pieces that going forward I'm sure we both like. Either way we have to wait for the offseason, Jazz seem to have an abundence of big men and can't keep them all, I'd be thrilled if we could get Kantor or Favors, I like both their upside. I'd do a Nene trade for Rondo in a heartbeat. I'm sure you agree to give Pierce away just to get younger isn't the answer either, as there is alot of young junk in the league too.

I wonder what it would take to get Dwight Howard? I'm sure he'd love playing with the pitbulls and JG and Sully, the pieces in LA sure aren't getting any younger.

MrK

I hear what you are saying....but please answer the question...how do we reload next year with great talent with Pierce on the books.

I root hard no matter. You'll see me in action at the game....I am a wild man.... but this team is not winning #18 this year .......so when do we reload/rebuild? Do we go through this sentimental journey period for the next 2 years and then rebuild?

I'll still be a BIG FAN no matter what.....but I just want to get closer to #18 not stuck in neutral. Again I look at it from a corporate view point, not from my heart.

112288

bob 112288

I never saw Crawford play or if did never noticed him, last night he showed me something. Kid has a reputation as a scorer, showed a good stroke and hes willing to work on defense, hes taking baby steps, but we might have added another weapon moving forward, hopefully by playoff time. If any coach can figure out a way to get the best out of him, its gotta be Doc, we also need to figure out how to put T Will's athletic big guard game into the mix with AB, Lee and Jet and Crawford, suddenly we have a very deep young backcourt with alot of talent.....we should be able to attack teams and attack them with depth.

112288 the rebuilding process started when we did the Perk trade, we are getting younger on the fly all the time....you don't just give valuable pieces away.

http://bostonherald.com/sports/celtics_nba/boston_celtics/2013/03/bulpett_avery_bradley_at_his_best


If you want to go simply by the numbers on the far right of the stat sheet, Stephen Curry came into last night’s game averaging 21.9 points for the Warriors, and he went for 25 against the Celtics.

But his body language was telling a different story. Slumped back against the wall of his dressing area and still in uniform well after the game had ended, he looked very much the guy who had been hounded into 6-for-22 shooting and a 94-86 loss.

Avery Bradley had played a little more than half Curry’s 42 minutes, but it seemed like he was still guarding the Golden State shootist after the clubs left the parquet floor.


“He’s tough,” said Curry, a marked man after scoring 38 in Indiana on Tuesday and 54 the next night in New York. “That’s how he helps his team, just being able to pick up 94 feet. You prepare for it, but in the game when you’re trying to stay fresh and get the ball down the floor, he does try to take you out of your rhythm a little bit.”

Curry pointed to Bradley’s defensive consistency as different from others.
“That’s the thing,” he said. “He knows how he can help his team. Obviously he has an offensive game, but how many point guards will pick up that much and try to stay in you the whole game?”

The Celtics threw a lot at Curry, even going to a zone after Bradley sat early in the third quarter with five fouls. By then, the Green dye had been cast.

“He was doing a great job on him, and honestly when Avery went out is when he started getting going,” said Doc Rivers. “And he missed some open shots, too. I think maybe the wear-down effect from the whole game of getting up into him got him to take some tough shots, too. But he did miss shots that Steph makes. I think he’s the best shooter in our league, and he missed some open ones. But I thought he pushed it quick; he was trying to get it out of his hands.

“I told our guys if Steph has 54 and we win, I’m taking that tonight. We have to guard everyone else. That’s the key. And other than (Harrison) Barnes, who got loose in the first half, we accomplished that.”

The C’s may have come into this one thinking about how Curry went off at Madison Square Garden, but the focus on that end of the floor spilled outward. The Warriors arrived as the seventh-highest scoring team in the NBA at 101.2 points per game, but they were held to just 34 percent from the floor.

“We talked a lot about Steph, but they have a lot of really good players,” said Paul Pierce, who led all scorers with 26. “David Lee obviously is an All-Star and Klay Thompson is coming into his own as a 2-guard in this league, starting to establish a name for himself. So I thought we did a good job of focusing in not only on Curry but everybody — really getting into them, making it hard.”

Playing his third game in four nights, Curry was far from fresh, but he never got much breathing room, either, with Courtney Lee and Jeff Green getting out to him, as well.

“I felt like I did OK,” said Bradley, who had eight points and two steals in 21:20. “I just tried to tire him down like I try to do every night on everybody. I feel like he started to get a little tired. But he’s a great player.

“That’s just how I play. I don’t back down. I know that’s what my team needs me to do, so I’m ready to do it every single night. Doc put an emphasis on not letting anybody score that many points on us, but every single game we try to execute our game plan.”

And they didn’t mind talking about it before this one, though Warriors coach Mark Jackson seemed to have mistaken Courtney Lee for Bradley when he said: “I see Avery Bradley went out on a limb and said he wouldn’t get 54 on him. Well, welcome to everybody else other than the New York Knicks the other night, because he didn’t get 54 on them neither.

“So that being said, they played great defense, they battled and they won a ballgame. They’re playing much better than they were playing earlier on.”

Indeed, the Warriors had shoved the Celtics up against a dressing room wall in Oakland on Dec. 29, winning by an easy 18. But Avery Bradley had yet to come back from his shoulder surgeries, a difference that factored heavily in last night’s re-arranging of tables.





bob



.

112288,
We are not stuck in neutral. How can you say that? You have yet to answer the question of exactly how this team will improve if we dump Pierce. We don't need to reload next year. What makes you think so? You have ignored repeated examples of how this team will be better next year when Rondo and Sully return. I understand your concern but I think it is greatly misplaced. There is virtually no chance of improving next year without the Captain. What needs to happen is his role will change. He will eventually come off the bench. He will be replaced by Green who is a younger player with upside. Just what you want, right? Look, pass that pipe over here right now. We are not getting great talent via trade for Pierce. No one else thinks so. We may not win #18 this year but we will next year. We may even win it this year. Why not? You are a big fan! but you need to lead with your heart. Your business acumen is really questionable.

Couple other notes on PP. He was only in the game during 10 of Harrison Barnes points for the nite. Yes he missed a play and left someone open. Pretty sure everyone does that occasionally. His turnovers may be going up slightly since he is running the offense more with RR out, but his career total is 2.9 per game and this season he is 2.7 so I would have to argue his turnovers are going up. I have seen LBJ, Kobe, Wade, Rondo, and on and on have 7 turnovers in a game. Not uncommon for guys that make plays.

Every player has a season where his shooting goes down some, that doesn't mean they are done. Lets also not forget he has been playing with a pinched nerve. Free throws- right at career average.

Would also like to point out that we are a relatively young team now with some nice young players. I am pretty sure Sully, AB, RR, Lee, and now probably Green would be in high demand for another team wanting to trade.