Shamrock roundup: Celtics struggling to win
The Celtics have been having a hard time holding their own in the past few games, only winning two out of their last five games.
On Feb. 10 the Celtics stayed at home to host the Denver Nuggets in a very intense game that went into triple overtime. Boston came out on top with a score of 118-114. This was the seventh straight win for the Celtics.
Paul Pierce nearly tied a career-high by playing 54 minutes, scoring 27 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists. Jason Terry had a season-high 26 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer in triple overtime.
Coach Doc Rivers knew this game was important to both teams, since they each had their own winning streaks going.
You know, it was a clear case of two teams that have been playing great; one had won nine [in a row], one had won six [in a row], and neither team wanted to lose the game,” said Rivers.
Pierce was very happy with the team’s victory as well.
“This was a great game to be a part of,” said Pierce. “It was a great win against a quality ball club, not to say the other teams weren’t quality teams we played, but you know, this is the type of win that can give us confidence to move forward.”
After coming off a huge victory, the Celtics traveled to Charlotte to take on the Bobcats on Feb. 11. Unfortunately, the Celtics could not keep their winning streak going and lost 94-91.
During the game, Rondo’s replacement, Leandro Barbosa was injured and is most likely out for the season.
Jeff Green had 18 points and Kevin Garnett added 16 points and 13 rebounds
Bobcats forward Byron Mullins was excited by their win, especially since it was against a team he considers to be good competition.
“This was a very good win for us, especially with the Celtics coming in with a very good win streak. For us to buckle down and come up with the win reminded me of the first 10 or 15 games of the season, when we were winning games that were decided by four or six points. We are just getting back to that. Hopefully we can keep it up.”
Celtics guard Courtney Lee was upset with their loss to the Bobcats.
“We had a win streak going and we had momentum going. We wanted finish out the rest of these games going into the (All-Star) break. So it’s definitely a letdown. This one hurts more because we had the lead with one minute to go.”
On Feb. 13 the Celtics went back to Boston to beat the Chicago Bulls in a very low-scoring game. The final score was 71-69.
Brandon Bass had a game-high 14 points and nine rebounds. Garnett added a double-double . This was the eighth out of nine games that the Celtics have won without Rondo.
“I mean, you’ve got to love this team. You really do. This group of guys. And we just keep talking about we choose to live. We’re not going to just roll over,” said Rivers about Rondo not playing.
On Feb. 19, the Celtics traveled to Denver to take on the Nuggets for the second time in nine days. Unfortunately for the Celtics, the outcome was not as desirable as their previous triple overtime win. The Shamrocks fell to the Nuggets 97-90.
Green and Avery Bradley each had season highs with 20 and 17 points, respectively.
Pierce said they just couldn’t do what they needed to do in order to win.
“Every crucial possession that we needed a stop we didn’t get the stop that we needed and they were able to pull away,” said Pierce.
The Celtics losing streak continued when they traveled to Los Angeles on Feb. 20, losing to the Lakers 113-99. This game was important to the Lakers as they paid tribute to the loss of their long-time owner Jerry Buss.
While the Celtics were up a few points in the first quarter, they never again held the lead. They came within five points of the Lakers a few times, but they were stuck behind, unable to catch up.
Next, the Celtics will travel to take on the Phoenix Suns tonight at 9pm. Catch all the action on CSN-NE or listen live on WEEI 93.7FM.
