March 19 -- Boston, the best team in the NBA, survived a torrid time before overturning a 22-point deficit to beat San Antonio on Monday, a day before it faces the league's hottest team.
The Celtics' dramatic 93-91 win over the Spurs on St. Patrick's Day was their second victory on a five-game road trip but they now travel to Houston who won their 22nd consecutive game on Sunday.
"It's a huge game for us," Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, who scored 21 points on Monday, told reporters when asked about the meeting between Eastern Conference-leading Boston and Houston, the Western Conference's top team.
"We want to bring the energy from tonight to (the Rockets') game," he added. "We have to start the game better because we can't spot teams on the road or else it's an uphill battle."
The Celtics fell behind 11-33 in the second quarter before Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Sam Cassell inspired their comeback.
Pierce, who sparked a fourth-quarter rally, finished with 22 points. Rondo had 20 and new signing Cassell 17.
Cassell hit a clutch three-pointer with 46 seconds to play to give the Celtics a lead they never relinquished.
"I'm really proud of our guys," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "San Antonio came out and just attacked us and went after us," he added. "We didn't respond to it well as the lesson is on the road you can't ease into a basketball game against an angry great team. They had lost three in a row and you could see that they had a purpose."
Manu Ginobili scored 32 for the Spurs but received little support.
Last season's NBA champions still made it interesting, however, and even had a chance to win.
A Boston turnout gave San Antonio the ball with two seconds left and Robert Horry launched a three-pointer that would have won the game.
"I thought it was in," Rivers said. "We got lucky."
In Orlando, Dwight Howard notched 23 points and 13 rebounds, Rashard Lewis scored 21 and the Orlando Magic beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-90.
LeBron James had 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists for Cleveland. Delonte West had 16 points and Sasha Pavlovic added 14.
The Magic made their mark from long range, including five 3-pointers in a four-minute stretch of the third quarter. Orlando was 14-for-32 on 3s, compared with 6-for-19 for the Cavaliers, and got 20 points off 15 Cleveland turnovers in its fifth straight win.
In Washington, Mike Bibby scored 23 points and Joe Johnson added 18 points and 10 assists to lead Atlanta 105-96 over the Wizards for its third straight win and move Hawks one-half game ahead of idle New Jersey for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Atlanta rookie center Al Horford added 12 points, 15 rebounds and a career-high six assists.
Washington, which had its three-game winning streak end, had won 12 of 15 games against the Hawks. Antawn Jamison led the Wizards with 25 points.
In other action it was: Pacers 110, Knicks 98; Grizzlies 98, Bobcats 80; Hornets 108, Bulls 97; Timberwolves 99, Clippers 90; and Jazz 96, Raptors 79.
In Indianapolis, Mike Dunleavy tied his career high with 36 points, Danny Granger had 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Troy Murphy added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Indiana, which snapped a two-game losing streak.
Zach Randolph had 21 points and 14 rebounds for New York, which has lost nine of 10.
In Memphis, Tennessee, Mike Miller had 18 points and 13 rebounds, helping Memphis snap a four-game losing streak. Juan Carlos Navarro led Memphis with 21 points and Darko Milicic added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment