Boston 118, New Jersey 86

Easy win.

[recap] [box score] [highlights]

Not too much to say here -- the starters sat the entire fourth period -- so I'll explain a couple oddities from the box score.

-Glen Davis went 1-1 from three-point range. The three-pointer, his first, came at the end of the first quarter.

-Bill Walker played 12 minutes and scored six points. Walker -- a second-round pick of the Washington Wizards in last June's draft who Boston bought soon thereafter -- had been playing in the D-League, but injuries to Kendrick Perkins and Tony Allen left us with 11 active players, one shy of the maximum of 12 allowed. So Walker got the call, got in during garbage time, and acquitted himself well. He looks much more comfortable than he did at the beginning of the season (before he got sent down); it seems like he could contribute if pressed into service, and I like his prospects for future years. The end of the highlight reel has him executing a 360 in midair on a Gabe Pruitt alley-oop.

To mark the midway point of the season, Tommy and Mike had Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck on the broadcast during the second quarter for a "State of the Celtics" discussion. The highlight of that came when the Nets' Vince Carter went down with an ankle injury (he later returned). After a few minutes, Grousbeck made a crack about how loud Carter was after he injured himself (mocking him a little bit for acting like the injury was more serious than it was) then threw out this gem: "We had Paul's wheelchair ready for him." That is, of course, a reference to game one of last year's Finals, when Pierce went down with a knee injury, was carried off the court, was seen sitting in a wheelchair in the tunnel, and then came back to hit two huge threes and lead Boston to victory -- something he's taken a bit of flack for since.

Next game is Saturday night in New Jersey against these very same Nets. No national TV.