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Celtics coach Doc Rivers disagrees with a first-half call. (Tami Chappell /Reuters) |
Celtics notebook
Rivers confirms team's interest in Mutombo
By
Frank Dell'Apa and Marc J. Spears
Globe Staff
/
December 18, 2008
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ATLANTA - Coach Doc Rivers confirmed yesterday the Celtics were interested in free agent center Dikembe Mutombo.
But he predicted Mutombo would return to Houston.
Asked if he had talked with Mutombo, Rivers replied, "Always. He's a good friend. He's going to come back. I talked to him last week - he will come back.
"We're over the [salary] cap so it's tough for us to do a lot of stuff, but we're looking at everybody."
Yesterday, Mutombo attended a United Nations presentation of a Ben Affleck-directed film about refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mutombo's home country.
"I told [Affleck] that I might play in his hometown," Mutombo said in a telephone interview. "He said, 'Come, we'd love to have you.' He's a really nice guy."
Mutombo said he plans to sign with a team after Christmas.
"My agent, David Falk, has talked to the Celtics," he said. "I'm also getting interest from other teams to contribute on [the floor] and on the bench as a mentor."
Pierce up to speed
Paul Pierce said he was less than full speed during the Celtics' 88-85 win over the Atlanta Hawks last night. Pierce sustained a left knee contusion and bruise in a clash with Utah's Mehmet Okur Monday. Pierce's status for tomorrow's game against Chicago was not known."If we had played [Tuesday], I probably wouldn't have played," Pierce said. "I was tired in the third quarter and it was a little sore, and that was evident on some shots I took in the lane. So, we'll see how it feels."
Pierce scored 18 points, converting two key shots in the lane on mismatches against Mike Bibby. As Pierce went to the Celtics' bench during a late timeout, he drew his hand across his throat, indicating the result had been clinched.
"Not tonight," Pierce said of the gesture. "We're not losing tonight. The last time we were in this building we lost. This was an emotional game. When we play Atlanta here, the crowd comes out. This was a good win for us - they had been talking about this game for a while."
Home advantage?
The Hawks took an 83-79 win over Charlotte Monday before an announced crowd of a little more than 10,000. "It's hard to generate energy because there's no one in the stands at the start of the game," the Hawks' Josh Smith said.Last night's late-arriving crowd, announced as a sellout, was treated to a halftime appearance by Ludacris. It was the third game of an eight-game Hawks homestand, which opened with a victory over Cleveland, snapping the Cavaliers' 11-game winning streak.
"Regardless of what they do when we are not in town, I expect the crowd to be here when we are," Pierce said. "The crowd plays a factor, that's why most teams play well at home. It's sort of like an energy-booster. When you have the crowd behind you, you play a little bit better.
"We've played in hostile buildings. It's about keeping our composure. It's not like we haven't been there before - Utah, Detroit, they have hostile environments. We know what we have to do to win the game and it's about not getting caught up into it."
Gaining ground
The Celtics' 16-game winning streak tied the 1964-65 team for the third longest in franchise history, behind only the teams from 1981-82 (18) and 1959-60 (17). The Celtics (24-2) are among four NBA teams that started the season with 23 wins in their first 25 games: the 1969-70 New York Knicks, the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers, and the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls."Every game is a big game for someone and in some ways it's made every game a big game for us, too," Rivers said. "It's helped us. The next game we have they'll be excited, too, and the next game after that; every road game is sold out. In a crazy way I think it's benefited us, where we would have that early-season lull, that midseason lull, you can't, because the place is sold out and they want to beat you really bad, and no more than here. And, so, in a lot of ways it's probably a good thing for us.
"In some ways this has to help us late [in the season]. Being attacked every night can't be a bad thing. But it's exhausting at times. Our practices now are tough because of that, because they are exuding a lot, every night."
Twiss gets assist
On Tuesday, Celtics public relations director Jeff Twiss delivered the game ball commemorating Gary Payton's 8,000th NBA assist to a Turner Broadcasting Systems building security official, who in turn delivered it to Payton - three years after Payton received it during a presentation as a Celtic. Payton had left the ball in Boston, Twiss taking it to his home, awaiting an opportunity to return it.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
