Globe - Springer in the Winter

[Eggcentric@xxxxxxx]

< Before a sellout crowd (18,624) that often sounded more like 
a couple thousand...>   - Springer 

WHY?  The Celts are doing well, so why are they losing overall
fan interest along with poster board interest?  Strangely, the 
more games we win, the less enthused our fans seem. 

Do we just not understand how so many wrongs can make a right?

Egg

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CELTICS 91, KNICKS 80
Early-bird special

Celtics take away all suspense, coast home

By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 12/7/2002

When the Knicks cut the Celtics' lead to 14 points late in the fourth 
quarter, coach Jim O'Brien walked down the sideline, turned to his 
players, and told them, ''Don't get too comfortable yet, guys.''

But last night at the FleetCenter, it was an unnecessary warning. 
The Celtics appeared to learn their lesson after a spate of close 
games. Apparently, they had played in their fill of games that 
came down to the final few possessions. They had squandered 
enough early double-digit leads.

Before a sellout crowd (18,624) that often sounded more like a 
couple thousand, Boston turned a 10-point halftime advantage 
into an 18-point lead at the end of the third quarter. It proved 
enough of a cushion.  After using players not in the normal rotation 
for much of the fourth, the Celtics secured a 91-80 victory with 
relative ease. There would be no repeat of the collapse that stung 
the Celtics in their most recent loss at Philadelphia.

''We came into the half and said, `We can't let up,''' said Paul Pierce 
(19 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists). ''We had the momentum going into 
the half, so we wanted to just try to come out and put a little bit 
more pressure on them, get into running, take advantages of the 
mismatches, and not let up.''

In the third quarter, the Celtics set the tone for a second half in 
which the Knicks would never have a chance to rally. Boston held 
New York to 27.8 percent from the floor (5 for 18). While Allan 
Houston scored all 7 of his points in the third, Latrell Sprewell 
(15 points) was held to a single field goal. The Celtics also 
outrebounded the Knicks, 14-5, during the decisive third and 
saw Pierce pick up his scoring.

Boston extended its halftime lead with an 11-2 run in which Tony 
Battie, Antoine Walker, Pierce, Tony Delk, and Shammond Williams 
contributed. The spurt started with a dunk from Battie (11 points) 
off a nice feed from Pierce. Then, Walker (25 points) followed 
with a hook shot and Pierce hit an 11-footer. Delk continued to be 
hot from outside, hitting a 20-footer. By the end of the run, Boston 
held a 19-point lead (66-47). The Celtics went ahead by as many 
as 22 points (75-53) after Baker hit a pair of free throws with 33.1 
seconds remaining in the third.

''It was a great third quarter for us,'' said O'Brien. ''It was a great 
end of the second quarter and then we came out and really shut them 
down defensively with our best defensive effort of the game in the 
third quarter.''

With an overwhelming Boston advantage heading into the fourth, 
O'Brien had his first chance to play Kedrick Brown. It was the first 
time the swingman had seen action since Oct. 10, when he sprained 
his ankle in an exhibition game. Brown clearly wanted to make a 
contribution early, fighting for a rebound after the Knicks missed 
their first shot of the quarter.

Other than Brown, Bruno Sundov, and J.R. Bremer getting minutes, 
the fourth quarter was unremarkable and sloppy. By the time O'Brien 
huddled his team for a timeout with 5 minutes 48 seconds remaining 
and a 21-point advantage (87-66), the Celtics were largely a 
distracted bunch.

''Putting teams away is something that we emphasized that we 
need to do,'' said Delk (20 points, 6 rebounds). ''We wanted to leave 
Philly as a learning experience, you want to learn a lesson. Obviously, 
at the end of the season you hope that game doesn't come back and 
hurt you because this division is so tough that it's going to come 
down to one or two games to get home-court advantage. So, we 
definitely have to bounce back, and when we get in big games we 
have to learn how to put people away.''

The crowd grew increasingly restless and frustrated as the first 
half progressed. New York may be a different team since the 
return of Sprewell from a broken right hand. The Knicks may have 
arrived in Boston having won three of their last four. But local 
fans still expected a relatively easy win. Instead, Sprewell and 
friends proved pesky opponents early on.

The Celtics did not start to separate themselves from the Knicks 
until the final two minutes of the second quarter. Boston closed 
the first half with a 6-0 run to enter the break with a 48-38 lead 
and momentum. The spurt started with a Walker free throw, 
continued with a layup from Baker, and concluded with a Delk 
3-pointer.

''This is a disappointing loss because of the lack of energy, effort, 
and concentration,'' said Houston. ''We just gave in at some point.''

This story ran on page C1 of the Boston Globe on 12/7/2002.
) Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.