Celts Stomp on Barnies:Boston 122-Toronto 109

[wfcooper@tiac.com (Bill Cooper)]

	What should have been a complete demolition of the Toronto
Raptors was slightly marred, as the Celtics were under the impression
that the game was being played under the 1946-47 throwback rows (in
that season , as I'm sure you all remember, all games played in Canada
had 5 minute 4th quarters, for game that lasted a total of 41
minutes).  Indeed with 7:10 to go in the game the Celts were up
107-82.  The C's decided the game was over, but the Raptors kept
playing and outscored the Celts 23-6 to pull to within 8 points with
1:14 left. Pitino had to call timeout to get the guys back into the
game, long enough to finish it out.  This shouldn't take our minds
off, what had been a complete triumph.  The C's were especially good
in the first quarter, where they outscored the Raptors, 28-8 over a 6
minute stretch, where the Celts played about as well as they could
have if Rick P. had scripted the performance of both teams.  Travis
Knight was sick, and missed big portions of the game, while Ron Mercer
did play, for the first time since the big spill against the Raptors
last week.

	The C's actually did not get off to a great start, in the
first quarter.    In fact, the Raptors held a brief lead at 8-7 with
about 8:00 to go in the quarter.  About 1:30 seconds into the quarter,
Pitino called timeout, and replaced Travis Knight with Pervis Ellison.
Apparently Knight was sick and had to leave the game.  Behind great
shooting from Dee Brown and all around play from Walter McCarty the
C's went on a 13-0 run to take a 20-10 lead.  Ron Mercer replaced Dee
Brown and was just as hot.  The Celts finished off the quarter by gong
on another 9-2 run to take a 35-16 lead into the 2nd quarter.  The
Celts caused 10 first quarter turnovers by the Raptors.

	Behind John Wallace the Raptors closed the gap slightly at the
onset of the 2nd period.  Toronto pulled to with 16 at 44-28.  The
Celts began to pull away again and after 9-4 run to take a 21 point
lead at 53-32.  The Celts got nice efforts off the bench form Andrew
DeClercq and Greg Minor (among others) and led at the half 59-38.
One of the most remarkable things about the C's play in the first half
was that they played superb defense and only committed a total of 8
fouls over both quarters.

	The Celts starting 5 was back for the start of the second
half, and Travis Knight hit a three to give the C's their largest lead
of the game at 66-40.  The two teams traded baskets for most of the
third, and the Celts led by 25 (88-63) with 2:30 to go.  The Raptors
put together a brief stretch of good ball to pull to within 18 at
91-73 at the end of the quarter.  In distinction form the first half,
the Celts got into the penalty early, and the Raptors took advantage
often, perhaps signaling a slight decrease in intensity.

	That aside, though, the Celts continued to play well in the
early portions of the 4th quarter.  Walker scored 7 of the C's first
10, as the C's pushed their lead back out to 25 at 101-76.  As I noted
earlier, with just over 7:00 to go the Celts led 107-82, and I know
that I certainly thought that the Raptors would settle for playing out
the string.  Darrell Walker kept his starters in the game, whether out
of pique or a real belief that they could still win, I don't know.
The Celts got very sloppy on offense, committing numerous turnovers,
and continuing to send the Raptors to the line frequently.  All of a
sudden the score was 113-105.  But Knight put back an offensive
rebound to break the momentum, and the Raptors had to foul.  the Celts
did a nice job, in the closing moments from the free throw line, and
the Celts went home with the win 122-109.

	Statistically the big difference in this game was that the
Celts attempted more shots, and made a higher percentage (profound,
eh).  The Celts shot .511 (46-90), while the Raptors hit at a .475
clip (38-80).  The C's also did a good job again from 3 point range
hitting 7-14.  The Raptors managed to make up part of that difference
by hitting on 32-35 on free throw attempts (with a normal performance
the Celts probably win by 20).  Early in the game the Celts had a
remarkable advantage in turnovers, and I think they only had 7 for the
game heading into the 4th quarter.   The C's didn't take care of the
ball in the 4th, and ended up its 14 to the Raptors 18.  Rebounding
was a slight edge for the Raptors.

Lineups:
Celts: Billups, Brown, McCarty, Walker, Knight
Raptors: Stoudamire, Christie, Williams, Slater, Tabak

Players:
McCarty: another impressive effort, especially in the first half.
shot 7-11, including a 3, had 3 boards (a continuing weakness), 5
assists and 3 steals.  He has taken to passing the ball instead of
taking wild shots, and this has improved his assist total and his
field goal percentage.  Since his teammates are generally doing the
same, he is actually scoring more points on fewer shots.  (this is
just another way of saying that the Celt's offensive performance has
picked up).

Brown: Brilliant shooting in the first half as Dee hit his first 4
three point attempts.  Ended the game with 16 points on 6-10 shooting.

Billups: Very impressive up until the 4th quarter.  He scored 15, had
8 assists, 2 steals and 3 turnovers.  Did a solid job on Stoudamire,
up until the end.  At the end of the game when the Celtics fortunes
appeared to be sinking he took too much on himself, and committed
several foolish turnovers.

Walker: About the only Celt who didn't shoot the ball well as he was
5-13 for 14 points, 10 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals in 34 minutes.
Walker's floor game was excellent.  He is the one player on the team
who seems to be hurt by the general commitment to ball movement on
offense, as it results in him getting more outside shots than low post
opportunities.

Knight: Only played for 16 minutes, as he was quite ill during the
first half.  Played pretty well in the second, though as he piled up 9
points, 6 boards and 3 blocks in short minutes.  In fact, the Celt's
center by committee combined for 21 points, 17 boards and 3 blocks
(albeit in 55 minutes of playing time).

Pervis: saw  a lot of early action and was on the court for most of
the C's big first quarter run.  Scored 4 points and had 5 boards in 16
minutes.

DeClercq: I can't believe I'm going to say this, but Andrew might be
the most dependable of the Celts at scoring if he gets the ball down
low close to the basket.  He does a really good job of receiving the
ball in an awkward position, and then getting himself into a position
where he can use his soft touch around the basket.  Sort of a poor
man's Kenny Gattling.  Scored 8 points and had 6 boards in 23 minutes
tonight.

Mercer: shot very well early in the game, but then played rather
poorly in the second half.  Perhaps he was a little juiced by the
prospect of playing against the Raptors, but couldn't sustain it.  he
scored 11 on 4-10 shooting and committed 3 turnovers
(uncharacteristic) in 25 minutes.

Edney: Had 10 points and 5 assists in just 13 minutes of playing time.
Drove to the basket with impunity against Stoudamire and ran the break
quite well.  Needs (demands) more playing time: at least against the
short guys.

Minor: Another strong game as he was really hitting the short J
tonight.  7-13 from 17 points in 21 minutes,as he played small
forwards for most of the night.  Had a very easy time popping up into
the open spaces in the Toronto defense.

Dana: Really the only Celtics not to play well.  Perhaps not recovered
from his twisted ankle.

Coaching: I can buy that if you get a bunch of young, quick guys
together and you drill them relentlessly, that they can improve on
defense very quickly.  maybe you can improve their shooting almost as
easily (though I doubt it).  But passing?  Is it really possible that
Pitino can teach guys to become excellent passers, in a couple of
weeks of practice sandwiched in between a grueling NBA schedule?
The improvement in the Celtics ball movement and shot selection is
nothing short of astonishing.

Opposition Players of Note: John Wallace: If I had a little more time
I would rave about Wallace, who had 30 points and 12 boards tonight.
Seemed unstoppable for a while.  Just what were the Knicks thinking?

The Celts are now 5-5 (Hosannah!).  They play again Wednesday night in
the Swamplands.

Bill C.
wfcooper@tiac.com=20

=09