Friday, January 22, 2010

Boston 98, Portland 95 (Overtime)

We'll take it.

[recap] [box score]

Friday's win was not the kind of win after which you'd say that things were back to normal. Not against a Blazers team that was without it's two best players: Brandon Roy (out for four games with a hamstring injury) and Greg Oden (gone for at least the regular season with a busted kneecap). Not when Portland lost Roy's replacement in the starting lineup, dynamic second-year guard Jerryd Bayless, to a sprained ankle in the third quarter. Given those injuries, a three-point win, in overtime, at home, doesn't seem all that impressive. But there are sayings like "you make your own luck," and if you believe in them, and you're a Celtics fan, the way the final few possessions of the extra period unfolded portend well for the team's fortunes:
  • With a minute remaining in overtime and the Blazers leading by two, Juwan Howard corralled his team's 15th offensive rebound of the game. Portland had a fresh shotclock and a chance to all but ice the game with a bucket. But Howard subsequently made a play NBA players don't generally make; triple-teamed in the corner, he weakly tried to kick the ball out to the perimeter. The pass went into the arms of Kendrick Perkins. (I haven't seen a replay to confirm, but watching live, it appeared to me that Rajon Rondo dislodged the ball from behind as Howard started to pass.)
  • On the ensuing Celtics possession, Ray Allen -- who to that point had made just two of 12 shots and missed several looks that are usually automatic for him -- knocked down a three-pointer. It was a good time for Ray, who shot just 3-for-10 on Wednesday against Detroit -- to break out of his slump.
  • After Allen's three, 41 seconds remained, plenty of time for a two for one. After advancing the ball with a timeout, Portland isolated LaMarcus Aldridge in the post, working against Kendrick Perkins. Just as Aldridge made his move, Perkins swatted the ball away. He was whistled for a foul, and while Perk was upset about it, Boston had one to give. The subsequent time it took to inbound the ball again probably cost the Blazers the opportunity for the two for one.
  • The Blazers managed only a long jumper by Aldridge as the shot clock ran down, but after a scramble, it looked as though Portland would grab yet another offensive rebound -- and with it, another shot to win the game. Aldridge and Tony Allen raced after the ball on the far sideline near midcourt, and Aldridge looked like he was going to reach it first. But Tony closed very quickly, and his presence spooked Aldridge, who did the worst thing he could do -- blindly flip the ball over his shoulder. It went directly to Ray Allen, who found Tony streaking toward the bucket on the other end. Tony caught the pass in stride, and despite my fears, managed to lay the ball in without traveling or kicking it out of bounds.
  • Portland got two very difficult looks from deep from Rudy Fernandez (on the first of which he may have been fouled by Ray Allen). Both missed, and Boston survived.

Far from a perfect victory. But a win nonetheless. Even better, Kevin Garnett returned and showed no real ill effects from the knee injury that kept him out for ten games. KG turned in a modest stat line (13 points, four rebounds, three assists in 30 foul-plagued minutes) but he ran the floor well and went up for a couple of dunks without any problem. He looked much better than he did during the season's first few games, returning from the injury to the same knee that kept him out of last spring's playoffs. I feel confident in saying that it appears that the team was telling us the truth this time; this most recent injury was just a minor setback.

More good injury news, courtesy of Greg Dickerson: Marquis Daniels got his cast off and may return to action before the All-Star break.

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