Celtics bottle Rockets
Sixth straight win has Boston sky-high
HOUSTON -- If anyone doubted the Celtics deserve mention among the league's elite teams, any debate ended last night at the
The Boston juggernaut put together its most complete game of the season, cooling off Houston, 103-92, before a shocked sellout crowd. The Celtics led by 21 points in the third quarter and kept their composure on both ends, fending off a pair of rallies by the Rockets.
With the victory, Boston stretched its winning streak to six games and ended Houston's at six.
The Celtics succeeded by running pick-and-rolls that pushed Yao Ming away from the basket and by sustaining a solid defensive effort. They moved the ball well (24 assists) and kept their turnovers down (12).
According to coach Doc Rivers, ball movement won the game. By finding the open man, the Celtics shot 49 percent, 53 percent (8 for 15) from 3-point range. The beneficiary of the unselfish offense was Mark Blount, who tied his season high with 22 points and returned to the defensive form that made him a coveted free agent last summer.
"Before the game, we talked to them and said, `We're not going to win this game with our offense,' " said Rivers. "We're going to win this game by playing defense, sliding our feet, contesting shots, and running them off the 3-point line. A lot like Detroit in a way, we felt if you play defense against [the Pistons and Rockets], you give your team a chance to win. If you don't and let them score, they're a great defensive team and they're going to hold them down."
A recent double-overtime win over Eastern Conference rival Detroit was a confidence builder, but defeating Houston on the road may be the biggest win of the Celtics' winning streak. Rivers considers the Rockets one of the top three teams in the West, with the Suns and the Spurs. Although the Celtics won in Phoenix, the Suns were without star guard Steve Nash. Last night, both Tracy McGrady (22 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds) and Yao (18 points, 6 rebounds) took the floor far from top form.
"This and the Phoenix game, since I've been here, are probably the best two road wins that we've had," said Antoine Walker (18 points, five rebounds). "We're just trying to keep rolling. This is a big statement game for us. We felt like as a team we wanted to come out here and play well on the road. We still have to play a lot of games on the road so we have to prove that we can do that."
Houston had been one of the hottest teams in the NBA entering the game, but the Rockets looked far from it in the first half. The Celtics starters and reserves dominated early play and entered halftime ahead, 56-42, leaving the crowd stunned. Chants of "de-fense" often fell on deaf ears as Boston shot 48 percent from the floor, 55 percent from 3-point range. By the time Walker knocked the ball away from Yao in the paint and notched a fast-break layup on the other end, there was a smattering of boos.
The Celtics frustrated Yao on defense, even though Raef LaFrentz picked up a pair of quick fouls and Blount was saddled with two personals early in the second. The defensive highlight of the first half came with Yao poised to turn an offensive rebound into an easy putback. But the 7-foot-6-inch center brought the ball down to chest level before he went back up with it. The ball was just low enough for Marcus Banks to knock it loose and Delonte West quickly converted the steal into a fast-break layup.
The basket pushed Boston ahead, 50-33, with 4:30 remaining in the half. With a free throw from Al Jefferson moments later, the Celtics established their largest lead (18 points) of the half. The Jefferson foul shot capped a 16-3 run that featured an impressive array of dunks and 3-pointers. When Jefferson wasn't finishing dunks with authority beyond his years, Ricky Davis (6 of 10 shooting, 15 points) pulled one from his repertoire that had the bench hollering.
But the Celtics entered dangerous territory with a substantial lead -- they began to relax. The Rockets seized the opening, closing within 13 points (51-38). It wasn't much of a run, but it was enough to snap the Celtics to attention. With a steal and layup from Walker and a 3-pointer by Gary Payton, the Celtics carried some momentum into the break.
In the fourth quarter, the Rockets had one more rally left, closing within 9, but the confident Celtics never let the game become close down the stretch.
"In order to be a good team, in order to take the next step to the playoffs, when you have a team on the ropes, we can't have those small mental lapses where they cut the lead and give them a little bit of confidence," said Paul Pierce (12 points, seven assists). "We're just going to continue to work on it."
It's hard to believe how far the Celtics have come since the Feb. 24 trading deadline, compiling a 10-1 record. It's downright frightening to think how much they may improve between now and the start of the postseason.
