Shamrock roundup: Celtics lose two of three
The Celtics went one for three this week with games against the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs.
On Wednesday the Celtics took on the Mavericks at home. Paul Pierce had a season high of 34 points. Going into the fourth quarter, the Celtics were up by 8, but the Mavs came out strong and tied it up. The game went into double overtime and the Celtics finally won it 117-115.
“This is a good win, especially with the huge road trip coming up.” said Pierce. “We allowed them to shoot a high percentage, it says a lot about how this team has grown when you can win games like this.”
The Celtics traveled to Houston on Friday to take on the Rockets. Despite the thrilling win days before, the Celtics just couldn’t keep up against the Rockets. With five minutes left in the fourth, it looked as if the Celtics could still pull off a win after closing the score gap to 88-83, but the Rockets ran away with the ball, defeating the Celtics, 101-89. It was clear that the Celtics defense was not at its best.
“In the third quarter, I don’t think we stopped them any time they came down the court,” explained Kevin Garnett. “We needed to create some kind of defensive consistency, and we just weren’t able to do that. In the second half, Houston got into a rhythm that was undeniable.”
It was an emotional end to the night for Garnett and Rockets’ coach Kevin McHale, who have known each other for quite some time. Rather than a handshake, the two shared a tearful hug sparked by the passing of McHale’s daughter just a few weeks ago. The rest of the team followed in Garnett’s footsteps, hugging the coach rather than shaking hands.
At this point, the Celtics had lost the last five out of six road games.
Trying to break that streak, the Celtics went to San Antonio on Saturday to take on the Spurs. Again, the Celtics just couldn’t seem to hold their own. The score was reflective of the night before: the Spurs won 103-88. Jason Terry and Pierce led the Celtics with 18 points apiece. Garnett also added 13 and six rebounds.
The Celtics dropped to 12-11 after this week. The Celtics will remain on the road to take on the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night.
