[recap] [box score]
I only caught the last nine minutes or so, but it seemed typical of a Celtics-Warriors matchup -- we had trouble defending them but got just about anything we wanted on our end. Kevin Garnett had a great game and a great fourth quarter, hitting the go-ahead 20-footer with five seconds left on a smart feed from Paul Pierce. That basket followed an ugly defensive possession where Brandon Bass and Rajon R-ndo miscommunicated on a high screen, allowing old friend Nate Robinson to drive for the tying layup. Robinson took an off-balance three-pointer on the possession following Garnett's clutch shot -- that sure seemed familiar -- and when it missed badly off the iron, short and left, Boston had a big win.
A big win, you say? A BIG win? Against Golden State? Without Monta Ellis (traded on Tuesday to Milwaukee for Andrew Bogut) or Stephen Curry (all sorts of random foot injuries that may lead the team to shut him down for the year)? Well, yeah.
First of all, it's the third game of an eight-game roadie, a trip on which we are currently 2-1. With roughly two-thirds of our remaining games on the road, we can't afford to drop games we should win, no matter where they're played. Secondly, I think it was important to carry over the momentum from Monday's hard-fought, emotional win over the Clippers. Finally, we've had a lot of problems in Golden State in recent years; last season's comfortable victory snapped a six-game losing streak in Oakland. So I wasn't taking this one for granted, even with the Warriors so shorthanded (though they did beat Sacramento by 26 Tuesday night with the same depleted lineup).
Speaking of Sacramento, they're next up, on Friday. With Denver looming on Saturday, the Kings game is a great opportunity to ensure a winning record on the West Coast portion of the trip (we head to Milwaukee, Atlanta, and Philly next week).
I'll be focusing on the NCAA tournament over the weekend, but will update with scores, at least.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment