Cassell and Celtics Fly Over Hawks

By KC Downey in Celtics, Featured ⋅ April 13, 2008 at 11:38am ⋅ Post a comment

The Celtics officially now have 40 more wins than all of last season (64 this year, 24 last year) after they downed he Hawks Saturday night by a final score of 99-89. Sam Cassell had 15 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Celts outscored the Hawks 25-15 after the score was tied entering the final frame.

Kevin Garnett had a game-high 24 points along with six rebounds. He did all that in only the first three quarters (29 minutes in all) as Doc Rivers continues to rest his starters. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen each finished with 14 points in limited action.

Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis had a nice game off the bench, scoring eight points and grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds. He’s been alright lately, but Leon Powe has really stolen the spotlight for the big men off the bench these last few months. He’ll probably not play that much in the playoffs either as he’ll give up minutes to Powe and P.J. Brown.

The Hawks gave a nice effort at home as they continue to fight for a playoffs. Josh Smith finished with 17 points and four blocks. Joe Johnson led the charge with 21 points and eight assists, but it wasn’t enough down the stretch as the Hawks faded. Mike Bibby did all he could from point guard position, finishing with 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists.

This could still be first round playoff preview between the Celts and Hawks, which would be exciting to watch. I bet they’d take a game in the series, but I’d still expect to see the Celtics come out on top, probably winning the series in five games.

Next up for the Celtics: On the road against the New York Knicks. I always expect an easy victory against any Isiah-led squad, but I’ve been wrong before. I’d say the Knicks could keep it close in the first half but get blown away in the second half.