Cleveland Account of game

["Dave Wickerham" <wickerhd@govt.co.saratoga.ny.us>]

Thought you might like this account of Wednesday's game from the Cleveland
Plain Dealer.

>    Rookie upends Cavs
>
>    Griffin sparks Celtics to win
>
>    Thursday, November 18, 1999
>
>    By MARY SCHMITT BOYER
>    PLAIN DEALER REPORTER
>
>    BOSTON - Boston rookie Adrian Griffin made Shawn Kemp sit up and take
>    notice last night.
>
>    "I don't guard small forwards too often, so I don't pay too much
>    attention to them," Kemp said. "But I knew he was a hustler and very
>    active. That's what I had heard, and that's exactly what he did out
>    there tonight."
>
>    Griffin, a former Seton Hall star who was the most valuable player in
>    the CBA last season with the Connecticut Pride, had a career high 23
>    points and 11 rebounds to help the Celtics knock off the Cavaliers,
>    114-103, in FleetCenter. Unlike most players on both teams, Griffin
>    played just as hard in the first half, when he had 12 points and five
>    rebounds, as he did in the second.
>
>    "I take my hat off to the kid because he was outworking guys to get to
>    the boards, keeping the ball alive," said Kemp, who led the Cavs with
>    27 points and eight rebounds but played just four minutes in the
>    fourth quarter after picking up his fifth foul with 7:45 left. "He got
>    more tip-ins than probably anybody all season long. That's what it's
>    all about when a guy is trying to make the league or stay in the
>    league. Those are the guys you can appreciate. He busted his butt
>    tonight at every opportunity. He had to create something for his team.
>
>    "He was the difference in the game. What he did rubbed off on their
>    team."
>
>    After taking the first half off, the Celtics did seem to emulate
>    Griffin's toughness in improving to 5-3. Paul Pierce came back with 23
>    of his 30 points in the second half, and former Cav Vitaly Potapenko
>    had 10 of his 12 after halftime to lead the Celtic revival. Boston
>    shot 51.2 percent in the second half, compared to 35 percent in the
>    first half and cut its turnovers from 13 to five.
>
>    "We relaxed," said Cavaliers coach Randy Wittman, whose team has
>    followed a similar pattern in its three losses. "Our defensive effort
>    went down. We took the easy way out. In the first half, we had them
>    really struggling, but in the second half we allowed too many easy
>    baskets and they really got going. Pierce rallied the team around him.
>    In the first half, [Potapenko- didn't even touch the ball. We did a
>    good job fronting him and keeping him out of his game. In the second
>    half, we just stood behind him and it cost us."
>
>    The Cavaliers led by as many as 15 points in the first half and were
>    up, 57-47, at halftime. But the Celtics used a 7-2 run at the start of
>    the third quarter to get back into the game. Cleveland still led,
>    83-76, at the start of the fourth quarter, but a 9-1 run by Boston
>    gave the Celtics an 85-84 lead with 9:39 left.
>
>    The Cavs were still within 105-102 after a 3-pointer by Cedric
>    Henderson with 1:50 left. Henderson came off the bench behind Danny
>    Ferry for the second straight game. But after a bad pass by Henderson,
>    Griffin hit a 3-pointer from the right wing with 36.9 seconds left to
>    give the Celtics all the room they needed.
>
>    "I knew it was a shot I had to take," Griffin said. "The shot clock
>    was running down, and I knew I wasn't going to get a better look.
>    Fortunately, the shot fell."
>
>    Said Boston coach Rick Pitino of Griffin, "He never ceases to amaze
>    me, this young man. You know, sooner or later you're going to say,
>    "OK, something's going to happen, he's going to have an average game.'
>    But he doesn't."
>
>    The Celtics finished out the quarter with six free throws and wound up
>    outscoring the Cavs in the period, 38-20. Griffin had nine points and
>    four rebounds in the period.
>
>    "He's definitely not the most skilled guy out there, but he's tough
>    and he works hard," said Bob Sura, who had 14 points, five assists,
>    four rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot for the Cavs. "His
>    toughness brings something to their team. They out-toughed us
>    tonight."
>