Celtics crown lifeless Kings

Wally Szczerbiak walked into Doc Rivers's office with sneakers in hand 14 minutes before tipoff last night and told his new coach, ''Hey, I'm ready to go." At that point, Rivers figured it was best to be honest with Szczerbiak, so he told the recent trade acquisition he probably wouldn't play against the Sacramento Kings. But during every timeout Szczerbiak stared at Rivers, so much so that sometime late in the second quarter, Rivers turned to one of his assistants and said, ''We've got to put this guy in or he's going to drive me nuts."

With 3 minutes 30 seconds remaining in the first half, Szczerbiak entered the game to a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 18,624, ultimately more interested in cheering the Celtics' newcomer than booing the Kings' most recent addition, Ron Artest. Although Artest started strong and did not miss from the field as he scored 7 of his 15 points in the first quarter, the second half belonged to Szczerbiak and the Celtics, particularly the fourth quarter. In a marked change from the recent past, Boston built a significant lead in the final period and never looked back on its way to an 84-74 victory.

''My stomach's absolutely in knots," said Szczerbiak, after a restless night, and a day that included a 6 a.m. wakeup call for the flight to Boston, a lengthy physical, with two hours spent in an MRI tube, and the game. ''I'm going to have to go get a good meal. You know, I haven't even been able to stop to grab a bite to eat, just grabbed a turkey sandwich earlier today. But I felt good out there. My teammates made it easy for me. They helped me through the plays. Coach put me in the right spots. I just played basketball like the way I've always played it, like I was playing back home on Long Island with my buddies. I just had a lot of fun and I'm really proud of the win."

That fun and enthusiasm proved contagious with Szczerbiak on the court. In 24 minutes 21 seconds of playing time, Szczerbiak (10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists) provided an essential spark in the third quarter and a steadying veteran presence for much of the fourth. Michael Olowokandi, who was acquired from Minnesota with Szczerbiak Thursday night, dressed but did not play, and may not see much time as the Celtics go with Kendrick Perkins (13 points, 11 rebounds, career-high 5 blocks) and Al Jefferson (13 points, 5 rebounds). The young big men, plus Raef LaFrentz (12 points, 10 rebounds), helped Boston establish a 53-31 rebounding advantage. Meanwhile, Szczerbiak started the second half and played the entire third quarter as Boston gathered momentum. Chants of ''Wal-ly, Wal-ly, Wal-ly" filled the Garden during the third. It was a rousing reception for Szczerbiak, who quickly made fans forget the loss of Ricky Davis.

Szczerbiak nailed a 3-pointer with 8:44 left in the third for his first basket as a Celtic, after a pair of misses in the second, pushing Boston back ahead, 50-48. Then, with 6:50 remaining in the quarter, he hit another 3-pointer off a pass from LaFrentz that again returned the lead to the Celtics, 55-53. A 20-footer from Szczerbiak stretched the Celtics' advantage to 57-53. The consecutive field goals set the stage for an 8-0 Boston run. Paul Pierce capped the spurt with a dunk as the Celtics went ahead, 65-55, with 2:58 left in the third. Boston finished the quarter ahead, 65-62, after trailing by 2 (43-41) at halftime.

''We played Minnesota two weeks ago and we called three plays out and [Szczerbiak] knew them from the scouting report," said Rivers. ''He kept yelling, 'Let's run fist.' He loves that play and he told us that. He was kind of telling us what he knew about us. So, that allowed us to at least run something that looked normal offensively."

The same could not be said for the Kings in the fourth quarter as the Sacramento offense ceased functioning properly. In the first nine minutes, the Kings went 1 for 12 from the floor with seven turnovers. That cleared the way for the Celtics to take a 12-point lead (79-67) with 3:20 remaining. Fittingly, Szczerbiak scored Boston's final basket, a 12-foot fadeaway for an 84-69 advantage.

''We just tried to feed off his energy," said Pierce (18 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists). ''You saw that from when they announced him in the game. The crowd accepted him with a warm welcome and he brought that energy to the court. Like I've said, a new trade, a new shake-up, can reenergize your ball club, and it did tonight."

No one looked or sounded more energized than Pierce in his postgame remarks. He was smiling, joking. Before he spoke, Pierce went over to Szczerbiak and the two embraced. It looked like the beginning of a productive partnership.

''I'm turning the page," said Szczerbiak. ''I had a lot of good times in Minnesota, seven great years. But this opportunity is something I'm really going to relish. I'm going to take advantage of it and have fun with it."

Rivers said the Celtics probably exchanged more high fives last night than they had all season. That was due to Szczerbiak. Now, Boston (18-25) wouldn't mind collecting more wins in the coming months than they have all season.