Tough defense put stop to slide

LaFrentz saw the Kings at their best in his days in Dallas and Denver. He saw them put on a clinic in the first four minutes last night, when Sacramento opened a 15-2 lead and was on pace to score 82 points before the end of the first half. He saw the cuts, the screens, the open looks, the makes, and, he must have thought to himself, "This could be a long night." As he later put it, "That was classic Sacramento Kings basketball."

But something happened to the Kings on their way to what looked like an easy victory. Their offense went into vapor lock. They rushed their shots. The Celtics' defense ratcheted things up and held the supposedly unstoppable Kings to a mere 37 points on 30.4 percent shooting in the second half. And won, going away.

It's probably safe to say the Kings won't have too many games like this. It's also safe to say the Kings' offensive seizure wasn't totally self-inflicted, although the coaches might disagree as to the extent: Jim O'Brien -- not much; Rick Adelman -- a lot. It is safe to say this was a huge win over a quality opponent for the Celtics, who snapped a three-game losing streak and managed to finally finish off a team.

They held the Kings to season lows in points and field goal percentage (35.6), which is especially newsworthy given that Sacramento entered the game averaging 106 points, second best in the NBA, and shooting 47.8 percent, tops in the league. The Kings also entered the game averaging a league-best 28.4 assists per game (and still managed 26, all but 2 in the first three quarters). They have no excuses; they did not play Saturday, they were coming off a loss in New York Friday, and they've been around long enough to know the drill. They still got whacked. How does 4-of-22 shooting in the fourth quarter sound?

Suffice it to say the Celtics turned in an across-the-board effort at both ends, which is what it's going to take, especially against the elite teams. They played terrific defense, particularly in the second half, and were still going strong at the end. They'd have won by 20 if the game lasted another five minutes.

And they got a much better balance on offense than last Friday's Pierce-apalooza, with four players in double figures, the shots more evenly distributed and -- this is huge -- 50 points in the paint.

There were heroes galore for the Celtics, which is why O'Brien was a most happy fella. LaFrentz played his best game as a Celtic, according to the coach. He had 9 points, 9 rebounds, and a block in 23 minutes. Vin Baker (18 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks) turned in another solid effort; his turnaround continues to be one of the more remarkable stories of the season. Paul Pierce was much more discriminating when he had the ball. Mike James had four steals. Old reliable Eric Williams returned after a three-game absence and energized everyone.

But, for O'Brien, the defense never rests and always comes first. And what his team did to Sacramento bears noting, because the Kings, as LaFrentz noted, almost never have games like this. Adelman was careful to credit the Celtics' defense and their upgraded intensity in the second half, but, at the same time, he noted, "We knew what they were going to do. And we knew how we were going to play against them. And then we didn't do it."

OK, how about some more numbers. The Kings' 3-point shooting percentage of 42.9 entering the game was better than the field goal percentage of 16 other teams. In their first five games, they had shot less than 50 percent in only one of them (a blowout loss in Denver) and they are shooting 51 percent in Arco Arena. They'd scored 100 points in four of their first five games. Peja Stojakovic entered the game averaging 27.8 points on 53.3 percent shooting. (Hounded by Kedrick Brown, Stojakovic finished with 13 points).

They may not be the omnipotent Kings of a couple of years ago, but they still boast a powerhouse lineup. (The defensive numbers, meanwhile, are horrific, which is one reason they're only 3-3.) In a seven-game series against the Celtics, you'd still take the Kings and spend the winnings before you even saw them, even without Chris Webber.

But, for one night, the Celtics were clearly the better team. They haven't been able to say that the last six times they played the Kings -- and they may not get to say it again for a while. But the way they won last night, rendering a potent team almost impotent, is a tremendously encouraging sign.

It drives home the message -- defense uber alles -- that O'Brien has been preaching for three years. And it made LaFrentz one very surprised guy when he picked up the final box score.