Philly Steals One: 76ers 85, Celtics 83

[Dan Parker <drparker@bestweb.net>]

The dreaded back-to-back problem reared it's head and despite a decent effort
from the C's the 76ers and their three friends managed to deny them
the win.

The C's started the game with Walker, Potapenko, Pierce up front, and Herren
and Stith in the backcourt.

Herren started the game covering Snow, leaving Iverson to Brian Stith who
did a great job in the first quarter.  A tight defense helped the C's off
to a 7-0 start with Antoine hitting a fifteen footer and a three pointer early.
Vitale got off to a rough start but broke the ice with a hook in the lane.
Pitino immediately subbed in Battie, who played well and helped keep the defensive
pressure on the 76ers.  The Sixers started getting open looks but their shots
weren't dropping.  The C's offense cooled off and the teams raced up and down
the floor but generating little offense.  The quarter ended with the C's up
19-12.

The second quarter started with the C's scoring, then the refs went to work
to try and balance things out.  Battie got called for a 3 second violation
on a posession that only lasted three seconds -- it was like they had it marked
from the moment the C's inbounded the ball.  The Rick Brunson was called for
a phantom foul on defense and it helped break the C's momentum (what little
they had).  Tony was swatting away Sixer shots and keeping them from getting
easy buckets, but then Philly had a small burst and pulled to 23-18.  Battie
picked up a third foul and V came back in.  The C's hit a rough spot on offense
with Antoine missing a bunny, Pierce missing a three, and 'Toine missing a
jumper.  Vitale started to assert himself and hit a jumper in the lane, following
that with a drive around MacCulloch getting the hoop and the foul (but
missing the free throw).  Philly had another burst getting to 39-35, but Pierce
was fouled at the end of the quarter and hit 1-2 to make the score at the
half 40-35.  Eric Snow had 10 of the Sixers points.

Chris Herren started the second half by missing a pair of jumpers.  His shot
just wasn't there and he didn't help himself by taking (and missing) a total
of 5 three pointers.  Neither team generated much offense although the C's
had one nice sequence where they got three offensive rebounds and got V a
layup to make the score 44-36.  Pierce was called for an offensive foul shortly
after, which was particularly galling since the Sixers spent the entire first
half charging into bodies and either getting a no-call or the block called
on the defender.  The C's continued to maintain a 8-10 point lead until Walter
McCarty entered the game and was given the responsibility of bringing the
ball up the floor.  That led to an 8-0 run by Philly (Walter had at least
two turnovers, I believe another poster mentioned he had three, which was probably
correct -- regardless, he single-handedly killed the C's) and the 3rd quarter
ended with the score tied 56-56.

Vitale hit a couple of shots early in the fourth to keep the C's tied up,
but then it fell apart with Ratliff, Iverson, and Snow all hitting to generate
a 70-64 lead.  Herren got called for a phantom offensive foul and nothing
was going right for the C's.  McKie hit a three to put the 76ers up by nine
and 'Toine picked up an offensive foul of his own.  At this point the C's
looked cooked but to their credit they battled back and wouldn't give up.
 They systematically chipped away at the lead and had it down to 3 with a
few seconds on the clock and Pierce at the line for his second free throw.
Pierce missed it intentionally (well done, by the way -- it's harder than
it looks, since it's not something you typically work on in practice) and
the ball bounced around the rim and Pierce got his own rebound.  He tried
to go up strong but Snow raked him across the face and shoulder going for
the steal and the ball went out of bounds.  A jump ball was called with 1.5
seconds left and things went perfectly for the C's -- it was immediately tipped
to Brunson who turned around and shot it but the buzzer went off when the
ball was still in his hand (someone at Philly had a quick clock finger --
no way the buzzer should have gone off so quickly, but Brunson missed anyway,
making it less of a controversy).

Players
-------

Walker: I was surprised to see how poorly he shot because he really didn't
force anything during the game.  All those missed shots just kind of sneaked
up on him.  Brought the ball up a fair amount which is useful to take pressure
of the point guard but I think he overdid it tonight.  Had a couple of big
time shots when the C's were struggling to help their confidence and settle
the ship.  His stats really didn't do him justice tonight.  Drifted away from
the boards at the end of the game.  1-4 from the line.

Pierce:  Pretty solid effort in a back-to-back game.  Got mugged at the end
and although the convention wisdom is that referees don't call fouls at the
end of games they have to draw a line somewhere.  Was a force on the boards,
leading the C's with 9.  6-10 from the line hurt.

Herren: Got the start and pushed the ball up the floor and ran the show well,
but his shot just wasn't there as he went 3-10 and 0-5 on three pointers.
 Would do well to come in a step or two on some of those open jumpers.  Played
with reckless abandon but only got one assist.  Need to stay tighter on
Snow, especally after Eric knocked down a few jumpers.

Stith: Another guy where stats don't do him justice.  I'd play Stith 48+ minutes
before I'd ever let Walter in a game.  Clamped down on Iverson in the first
quarter, limiting him to 1-4 shooting.  Just a smart, smooth, unselfish player.
If he stays healthy he'll be a big plus.

Potapenko:  Played well.  Seems to be getting some confidence back.  Although
he's critized for bad hands, the people feeding him the ball don't do him
any favors by tossing it all over the place.  Robert Parish couldn't catch
some of the stuff he's had to field.  When he gets it in his spot he's got
a good touch.  Used his left hand some and looked good doing it.  A real force
on the boards although he only got 7 rebounds himself.  Is often trying to
box out two or three guys himself, which doesn't say much for his teammates.

Battie:  Played really well.  Does anyone know why he lost his starting spot?
 Kept the Sixers out of the lane.  Was credited with three blocks, seemed
like twice that.  Fouled out in 19 minutes.

Brunson:  Has really been holding the fort considering the short time he's
been with the C's.  Should have stayed with Snow more when Eric started getting
hot.  Moved the ball around well but couldn't hit any of his shots (0-3).

Williams:  Did his thing -- a couple of post moves, got to the line, crippled
ball movement as once he gets the ball everyone else just stands and watches.

McCarty:  Reason 1b the C's lost -- Rick had Walter bringing up the floor
and watch the Sixers turn on a 8-0 run as a result.  I'd like to think that'll
never happen again but no one on this team seems to learn quickly.

Carr: Got spot duty, hit a three from the same corner he tied the game against
New York.

Blount:  Just three minutes, didn't really help or hurt but he picked up a
foul.

The Celtics are now 2-4.  They next play Washington on Wednesday at home.

Dan

P.S.  I will not be able to do these summaries on a regular basis, although
I'll chip in when I can.  Has anyone heard from Bill?