Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Boston 104, Phoenix 87

Shaq played, but it didn't matter. This one wasn't even this close; the second team played the entire fourth quarter, and while they played well earlier in the game, they didn't move the ball well in the last 12 minutes and the Phoenix's reserves cut into what was a 31-point lead after three quarters.

[recap] [box score] [highlights]

Everyone played well, but special consideration should go to Brian Scalabrine for the way he shut down Suns star power forward Amare Stoudemire. Scal actually outscore Amare 4-3, and consistently pushed Stoudemire away from the block, causing him to post up much farther from the bucket than he would have liked. Stoudemire missed all seven of his shots from the field. Credit to Ray Allen, too, for by and large shutting down Jason Richardson, something he had trouble doing when Richardson played for the Charlotte Bobcats.

Perhaps the highlight of the evening was a postgame interview with Rajon Rondo, in which TNT sideline reporter Cheryl asked the Celtics point guard about his "impactualness" on the game (she actually said that; I rewound my Tivo to check). That's a new one. And speaking of Miller, does she not have the exact same voice as her brother, former Indiana Pacer star and current TNT analyst Reggie? A little eerie having them on the same broadcast.

This is a good start to a tough week for the Cs, as they take a road trip to Florida. There's no national TV for Wednesday's game against the Miami Heat, but Thursday's showdown against Orlando will be broadcast on TNT at 8 p.m. Eastern.