The San Antonio Spurs (44-28) played like a team fighting for a playoff berth as they cruised past the Boston Celtics (47-26) 94-73 in front of a sellout crowd at the TD Garden on Sunday night.

The Celtics, who have played well against Western Conference teams as of late, played a solid first quarter against the Spurs, before putting forth an uninspired effort the rest of the way. The C’s led 23-19 through the first 12 minutes, but were outscored in each of the final three quarters, including 33-17 in the third.

Manu Ginobli, plagued by injuries for most of this season, led the visitors with 28 points on 9-19 shooting, and he also chipped in seven assists. The Argentine shooting guard, filling in for the injured Tony Parker (broken hand), headed for the locker room with three minutes remaining to ice his injured foot, before catching a flight to New Jersey for the final game of his team’s east coast road trip. Richard Jefferson added 16 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio.

The Celtics had won six of seven games heading into Sunday night’s contest, but were playing without an injured Kendrick Perkins (knee tendinitis). Perkins’ absence was felt as Boston struggled to establish themselves inside on both ends of the floor. They were out-rebounded by the Spurs 48-37, and outscored in the paint 40-36.

For reasons unclear to me, or anyone attending/watching the game, the C’s stopped working the ball inside to KG, Rasheed Wallace, and Glen Davis in the second half, and they paid for it. The home team shot a lowly 37.0 % from the field, and were 1/14 from beyond the arc.

“It was one of those nights we were awful,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said. “Ginobili dominated this game. He single-handedly was the will of the game.”

Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 18 points on 4-11 shooting. KG recorded his third consecutive double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Sheldon Williams shot a perfect 5-5 scoring 11 points in the loss.

Even with the loss, the Celtics still have possession of the third seed in the Eastern Conference because they are a division leader, and Atlanta is not. However, they need to finish strong because the Hawks could pass them with a superior winning percentage. Both teams currently sit at 47-26. The Milwaukee Bucks (40-32) are currently 6.5 games behind both Boston and Atlanta.

“This does not change our progress,” said Ray Allen, who scored seven points on 2-for-9 shooting. “You trip up a little here, but it doesn’t change the mission we’re on or the direction we’re heading.”

Game Notes

• Tony Parker missed his 12th consecutive game with a broken hand.
• It was Michael Finley’s first game against his former team since they released him March 1
• Manu Ginobli hit a running, one-handed, 25-foot bank shot at the buzzer to give the Spurs a 77-60 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
• Paul Pierce tweaked his right shoulder and neck colliding with Ginobli in the third quarter, but finished the game.

© Andrew Kipp for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | No comment
Filed under: Celtics, Featured, Top Story.

The game itself was another night for the bench. However, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen did see less than 20 minutes each of game play. Rajon Rondo and James Posey did not play tonight though, so they could rest more the playoffs. With Rondo out for the night, Sam Cassell was able to make the start at point guard. The real talent in the game would all come off the bench in this one.

Leon Powe had a very good night off the bench racking up 27 point and 11 rebounds in 34 minutes of playing time. Powe looks to be a good go-to guy off the bench throughout the playoffs. He’ll be able to get under the basket and put up some points while the starters take a breather. Tony Allen also added 18 points in 32 minutes off the bench. On the other end of the court, Richard Jefferson had 24 points for New Jersey and Nenad Krstic had 13 points and 12 rebounds.

It was a good sign to see the Celtics bench once more come out for this game determined to win. They knew they were the first seed in the playoffs and they knew that this game did not really mean much to them, but still played to get a win. This attitude about playing that the entire team has is really going to help make the difference in the playoffs. If the Celtics go out and play to win every game just like they have done this entire month (They lost one game in April) then the playoffs should roll smoothly for them.

Other Notes:

• Rajon Rondo won the Sullivan Tire 6th Star Award, for being the player who exceeded expectations the most this season, and who best represented Celtic Pride

© Geoff for Sports of Boston, 2008. | Permalink | One comment
Filed under: Celtics, Featured.