Perkins comes up big vs. Oden

Same building. Same fans. Same wildly talented, widely adored player.

Much different reception.

The same Celtics fans who two years ago chanted, "We want Oden," in the hopes of landing the draft rights to Greg Oden, last night rained mocking "OOO-Den" chants on the Portland rookie big man during a 93-78 Boston demolition at TD Banknorth Garden.

In a turn of events that would have been unimaginable two years ago, Oden finished the game on the bench, having picked up his sixth foul with 3:46 remaining. And when he sat down, the player who deserved most of the credit for sidelining the would-be Celtics savior, Kendrick Perkins, stood on the court and held one finger in the air for a second or two, relishing a hard night's work.

"He did a good job," Oden said. "He's a good rebounder and he does what he's supposed to do. That's all you can ask for."

The battle of the big men began on the Trail Blazers' first offensive possession when Oden threw down a hook shot over Perkins. But playing with a chip on his shoulder, Perkins seemed intent on challenging Oden for the rest of the night. The Celtics center drew a foul on Oden less than three minutes into the game, and Perkins forced the Blazers big man to the bench with two fouls just over halfway through the first quarter.

By halftime, Perkins had attempted six free throws and collected eight rebounds, while Oden was a spectator for much of the first half because of foul trouble.

"Those two guys are pretty physical," Celtics guard Ray Allen said. "But Oden's just young. I think [Perkins] got the best of him in terms of foul trouble, knowing when to go and when not to. Perkins did his work early."

That early work helped stake the Celtics to a 28-16 first-half advantage on points in the paint, and prompted a fan to turn to his buddy and say, "He's getting more KG in him."

A little Kevin Garnett, of course, means a lot of defense, and that's exactly what Perkins provided. Oden came into the game averaging 8 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks in 21 minutes per game. Perkins held him below those numbers in each category (5 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block) and, more important, drew three of Oden's six fouls.

The most aggressive of those plays came at 11:07 of the third quarter, when Perkins took it right to the rim for a dunk attempt on Oden and drew the foul. Two minutes later, Oden caught the ball on the left block against Perkins, but Perkins's defense was so tight that Oden threw up an airball.

"[Perkins] understands his role, and he just does it," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "He does it to the fullest."

Perkins (12 points, 12 rebounds) finished with his third double-double of the season.

"I thought the matchup was pretty good," Garnett said. "[Oden] is powerful, very strong. He does finish at the basket. I thought [Perkins] did a good job of being subtle, knew when to take his fouls. I thought he did a good job of taking it to him on the offensive end."

Despite the result, Celtics fans likely wouldn't balk at an Oden-for-Perkins trade. It's important to remember that this is the sixth NBA season for Perkins, who came to the league directly from high school. When Perkins was 20 (Oden's age), he was averaging 2.5 points and 2.9 rebounds and playing behind Raef LaFrentz and Mark Blount.

"[Oden is] going to be terrific," said Rivers. "He's going to be a dominant player in this league sooner than people think. I believe that. I think it's difficult when you sit out a year [as Oden did last season because of knee surgery] and then you play one game and get injured and now you're starting off behind again. But you can see each game he's catching up quickly."