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THAT's the team!
This is the team we all know and love. FINALLY, they've gotten rid of the
imposters posing as Celtics players. AW says "we" in the quote below, but
it just as easily could be "I" because he is learning to lead this team
(along with Kenny) in ways other than scoring. If he can keep it up and
Pierce can be Fierce, Ron can hit the J's off the screens and Kenny can do
what Kenny did....oh yeah and Battie (my favorite bench player) and Vitaly
can play their part....the Celtics should humm through the rest of the
year. I expect some bumps, but I hope that the really rough stuf is behind
them.
I don't know why, but I had a funny feeling that the Celtics were inspired
by the NCAA chamionship game. Maybe watching that game reminded them about
all out hustle, playing your role, team ball, and love for the game. Pierce
in particular.
TJL
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - The Charlotte Hornets had their best
shooting performance of the season Tuesday night. But the Boston
Celtics were even better.
"It's hardly ever you see a whole team get in a zone, but that
team was in a zone," Charlotte's Eddie Jones said after the
Celtics shot 69 percent in the first half and finished at 59
percent in a 109-99 victory over the Hornets.
Kenny Anderson scored 13 of his 22 points in the first half and
Paul Pierce had 18 of his 19 before the break, helping the
Celtics snap Charlotte's eight-game home winning streak.
"What a big win for us," said Antoine Walker, who added 15
points, six rebounds and five assists. "We were playing
unselfish. We had seven guys score in double figures. We're
learning game by game. We're starting to make the right
decisions."
The Celtics' accuracy helped them overcome Charlotte's 58-percent
shooting, and they built their lead as high as 18 on the way to
winning for just the second time in 11 road games. Boston's best
shooting game of the year made the Celtics the first team to
shoot better than 50 percent against Charlotte this season.
"They were hitting everything, even when we had a hand in their
face," said Charlotte coach Paul Silas, whose team defeated the
Celtics by 18 points earlier this month. "They came in with a
good game plan and executed it well. They're playing a lot better
than they were."
The Hornets, using almost exclusively reserves in the fourth
quarter, cut their deficit to 98-94 on a free throw by Ricky
Davis with 2:08 remaining. But the Hornets turned it over on
their next three possessions, clearing the way for Boston to push
its lead back to double digits and snap a five-game losing skid
in Charlotte dating to November 1995.
The Hornets got 17 points and seven rebounds from Elden Campbell.
Jones was held to seven points, the first time he has failed to
reach double figures in 11 games since he and Campbell joined the
Hornets in a trade with the Lakers earlier this month.
Boston, which six days earlier was held to 68 points in a loss at
home to Minnesota, had 63 by halftime against the Hornets. The
Celtics hit 25 of their 36 field-goal attempts in the half,
including 7-of-9 by Pierce and 6-of-8 by Anderson. The Celtics
cooled off to 48 percent shooting in the third quarter, but they
held Charlotte to 43 percent and increased their lead to 16
before the Hornets rallied.
Boston Celtics 109, CHARLOTTE HORNETS 99
BOSTON (109)
FG FT Reb
Min M-A M-A O-T A F Pts
--- --- --- --- - - ---
Walker 44 5-11 2-2 3-6 5 3 15
Pierce 36 7-12 4-5 3-4 3 3 19
Potapenko 32 7-10 0-0 2-6 2 3 14
Mercer 31 6-10 2-2 0-1 1 4 14
Anderson 34 9-13 3-4 0-4 7 0 22
Minor 18 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 2 2
Battie 18 5-6 2-4 1-5 1 0 12
Barros 15 1-3 8-9 0-1 2 1 11
Bowen 12 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Totals 240 41-70 21-26 9-27 23 17 109
Percentages: FG .586, FT .808. 3-Point Goals: 6-13, .462 (Walker
3-5, Barros 1-2, Anderson 1-2, Pierce 1-4). Team Rebounds: 7.
Blocked Shots: 3 (Anderson, Mercer, Potapenko). Turnovers: 12
(Walker 3, Potapenko 3, Mercer 2, Pierce 2, Barros, Minor).
Steals: 7 (Battie 2, Walker, Barros, Anderson, Mercer,
Potapenko). Technical Fouls: None. Illegal Defense: 1.
CHARLOTTE (99)
FG FT Reb
Min M-A M-A O-T A F Pts
--- --- --- --- - - ---
Coleman 23 3-6 5-6 1-3 4 1 11
Person 25 3-6 0-0 0-2 2 2 7
Campbell 29 8-10 1-2 3-7 0 4 17
Wesley 27 4-10 0-0 0-1 5 1 8
EJones 28 3-5 0-0 0-0 5 5 7
Davis 31 6-9 1-2 2-4 4 3 13
Brown 25 7-12 0-0 1-2 1 3 15
Recasner 21 4-9 0-0 1-2 5 3 8
Miller 19 4-5 3-4 1-3 2 1 11
Beck 12 1-2 0-0 0-2 0 0 2
Totals 240 43-74 10-14 9-26 28 23 99
Percentages: FG .581, FT .714. 3-Point Goals: 3-13, .231 (Person
1-2, Brown 1-2, E.Jones 1-2, Coleman 0-1, Davis 0-1, Wesley 0-2,
Recasner 0-3). Team Rebounds: 9. Blocked Shots: 2 (Coleman,
Beck). Turnovers: 12 (Davis 3, Recasner 3, Wesley 2, Campbell 2,
Miller, E.Jones). Steals: 7 (Wesley 3, Person 2, Davis, E.Jones).
Technical Fouls: Campbell, 7:04 third. Illegal Defense: None.