Celtics can't climb over Jersey barrier
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Doc Rivers is an unabashed fan of back-to-back games against the same team. He loves the intensity. He loves the mental challenge of facing the same players on consecutive nights. He loves the playoff-like atmosphere such scheduling creates. Or so Rivers said before Boston played New Jersey last night at the
The second of their back-to-back games was never close as the Nets led wire to wire on their way to a 103-83 victory. New Jersey held a 61-43 advantage at halftime and a 91-62 lead after three. The Nets reached the 100-point mark midway through the fourth.
Boston avoided the embarrassment of suffering its worst loss of the season. The Celtics fell to the Bulls by 32 Dec. 17 at Chicago. But in the second half of that game, Rivers still thought Boston had a chance to win. Not the case last night, when Marcus Banks, Mark Blount, and Justin Reed logged relatively substantial minutes in the second half.
''They really came prepared and we didn't," said Rivers. ''I always figure it's the coach's fault when you get beat like that. It's a great lesson for our team. If you beat a team and you play them the next night, that team is going to come attack you. They did that and we played as soft as a team could.
''We didn't have an answer for anyone that wore the other jersey. Every loose ball they got, every hard play they made. They took charges. They pushed us. They grabbed us. They did everything you want to do and we never responded . . . We had no extra ball movement on offense. They were tougher, mentally and physically tougher than us. There was no way possible we were going to win that game. Give them credit. I thought [New Jersey coach] Lawrence [Frank] did a great job of preparing them for this game. I thought I did a horrible job of preparing our team for this game."
With the loss, Boston (16-24) also failed in its second attempt this season to string together more than two victories.
In many ways, the rout provided Boston with a reality check after wins over Minnesota Wednesday and New Jersey Friday. The Celtics may have reached something of a turning point in recent games as Kendrick Perkins (10 points, 5 rebounds) and Al Jefferson (11 points, 3 rebounds) continued to play well last night. But the Celtics are still a young, inconsistent, turnover-prone, seemingly lottery-destined team guilty of overdependence on Paul Pierce.
''We have to be able to raise our intensity to the next level," said Pierce (20 points, 5 rebounds). ''Teams aren't going to let you come in and do the same things you did the first night to win. Vince Carter got it going and they played off him very well, plain and simple. They knew what they had to do as a veteran team in a back-to-back at home, as a team leading the Atlantic Division, as one of the top teams in the East and they did it."
The Celtics held Carter to 20 points (6 for 19) Friday, but he started fast last night. He scored 14 of his 25 points in the first quarter and added 4 more in the second, sparking the Nets to their 18-point halftime lead.
The Nets set a quick pace from the start and scored 19 of their 26 fast-break points in the first half. New Jersey also finished with a 49-33 rebounding advantage. Nenad Krstic (14 of 16 points in the first half, 9 rebounds) made his presence felt with hustle around the basket. Jacque Vaughn (season-high 13 points and 5 rebounds and 4 assists) provided valuable energy off the bench. Kidd (7 points, 7 assists, and 8 rebounds in the first half) looked well on his way to a triple-double, though he didn't reach the milestone since Frank wisely elected to keep his captain and the rest of the New Jersey starters on the bench in the fourth quarter. With the exception of Perkins, the Celtics' starters also stayed on the bench for the final 12 minutes.
''We kept building the lead, so that in the fourth, it was in our control," said Kidd. ''That's how the league goes. You have to show up."
The Celtics, at least the team that won two in a row before last night, was nowhere to be found.
