CBW review: Celtics vs. New Jersey Nets, or "AAAAAAUUUGGGHHHH!"

[Snoopy the Celtics Beagle <snoopy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Celtics vs. New Jersey Nets Tue March 18, 2003 7:00pm

NOTE:  NBAtv.com screws those of us with cable once again.  Bleah.


This was a major game for both teams, as the Nets wanted to make hay for 
the top of the division, and the C's wanted to clamb back into the top four 
in the Conference and get home court.  Say what you will about the Nets 
play lately, they tend to have big games against the Good Guys.

First Quarter:

Walker made a fade away shot to put the C's up 2-0 as the game began.  Then 
Eric Williams committed a shooting foul and sent the Nets to the 
line.  Richard Jefferson went 1-2.  Pierce rebounded the missed free throw 
and handed off to Battie for a slammer.  Williams then committed his second 
foul before a minute had elapsed in the game, and sat in favor of Walter 
McCarty.

Jason Kidd put the Nets 2 points closer, and then Kerry Kittles stole the 
ball from Walker and put it in for two more.  That put the Nets ahead, 5-4, 
with 10:06 left.

Then Kidd rebounded a Pierce miss and dished off to Jefferson for two more 
on a reverse layup.  The teams traded several possessions with no points 
scored until Antoine hit a layup.  Then Waltah! rebounded a Kidd miss and 
sent the ball to Pierce who put it in for two more.  Waltah!, more lovable 
by the minute, then rebounded Jefferson's miss, this time handing off to 
Walker who nailed the three, prompting a New Jersey timeout with 7:46 left 
in the quarter, and Boston leading it, 11-7.

Following the timeout, Battie sent Kenyon Martin to the line for two, 
whereupon Justice prevailed as he missed one.  Waltah! was a little less 
lovable as he lost the ball on a turnover.  Jefferson and Pierce then 
traded jump shots, and the following possessions for both teams were 
uneventful.  Kidd proved annoying on the boards, rebounding his own 
miss.  Kenyon Martin scored the only points during this time.  The C's were 
having trouble holding on to the ball, as several passes were picked off in 
the early going.

Then Brian Scalabrine made his first points of the game, a layup from his 
offensive rebound.  J.R. Bremer got the ball to Pierce, who answered 
back.  The C's were also crashing the boards, always a positive 
sign.  Kenyon made two more free throws as time ran short in the quarter, 
and Aaron Williams put up a hook shot for two more as the Good Guys called 
timeout with 2:26 to go, and the Nets leading once more, 18-15.

After play resumed, Walker was back in the game after a brief rest.  The 
C's got some of their own back as Tony Delk stole the ball, and the Nets 
gave the foul.  Grant Long rebounded a Blount miss and got two for the Good 
Guys.  Pierce went to the line at long last and made both.  Jefferson and 
Pierce then traded baskets.  Then Martin and Long did likewise as the first 
quarter ended with the C's leading it, 23-22.

The quarter was played VERY close, and the Celtics looked sharp to open the 
game.  The FGP favored the C's only slightly, as the Nets were 9-22 for 
40.9%, while Boston went 10-22 for 45.5%.  The three point shot wasn't 
really a factor, as New Jersey was 0-3 for a goosegg, whilst the Celtics 
weren't much better, shooting 1-6 at the arc for 16.7%.  The free throws 
were slightly in favor of the Nets, who went 4-6 for 66.7%.  Boston's 100% 
at the line came from Pierce's two made free throws.  Turnovers were a 
definite problem, as the C's had a 5-1 edge, due largely to the wandering 
hands of the Nets.  New Jersey also held a 10-8 edge in paint 
points.  However, it was gratifying to see the Celtics with a 15-10 lead in 
rebounding.

But the C's still had three quarters to play.  Could they sustain the 
intensity?
Second quarter:

Martin traveled to open it up, and Grant Long got it to Walker for a 
layup.  Grant continued to make himself useful by dishing off to Pierce for 
the slam.  Aaron Williams tried to stop him unsuccessfully, though Pierce 
missed the free throw.  A couple of possessions later, Pierce redeemed 
himself at the line by making 2-2.

Jefferson did his part for the Nets by scoring on two consecutive 
possessions for New Jersey, the second on a slam after stealing the ball 
from Grant Long.  He added insult to injury, and tied the score at 29, by 
scoring again after Pierce turned the ball over on a traveling 
violation.  After Grant was called for an offensive foul, timeout was taken 
with 8:53 left in the half, and the score tied at 29 points each.

Kenyon Martin came out of the timeout by going in for a layup off a pass 
from Jefferson.  Then, Williams (NJ) fouled our Williams, who made both at 
the line.  It's always an adventure for Eric at the line, but I was glad he 
made both this trip!! That gave Boston the lead at 31-30.

The teams traded a few misses before Bremer fouled Harris, who went to the 
line, making both.  Then Kerry Kittles returned the favor, sending Antoine 
to the line.  Sadly, Walker broke the string of made free throws, missing 
one.  The game was now tied at 32 each with 7:17 to go in the half.

The Nets forged ahead on a shot by Jefferson and a trip to the line by 
Kenyon.  Then Kidd passed off to Martin for a hook shot, prompting a 
Celtics timeout with 6:01 left, and the Nets now leading it, 38-32.

After the timeout, Eric Williams poured the ball gently into the net for 
two, only to have Kidd feed Kenyon for the alley-oop dunk at the other 
end.  Walker and Jefferson then traded layups, before Martin made another 
steal of the ballwill someone please put glue on the Celtics' 
hands???  Fortunately, Eric rebounded the miss by Harris.  That led to a 
conventional three-point play from Pierce as he made the free throw.  The 
teams traded misses until Pierce was called for a foul going up for a 
rebound, sending the Nets to the line once more.  Jefferson made both, and 
the Nets were up 44-39 with 3:30 left in the half.

Mark Blount made a slam dunk, only to have to seethe as Kidd stole the ball 
from Bremer.  I was seething, too.  Williams committed a foul, and the Nets 
called timeout with 2:37 to go in the half and the Nets holding a 44-41 lead.

Following the timeout, Harris made both free throws, and Pierce passed to 
Blount for two.  Unfortunately, Tony Delk announced his return to the game 
by getting called for a foul.  Kenyon made both, and then Harris made a 
jumper to boot.  The teams traded misses, crashing the boards at both ends 
before Kidd made a three-pointer to boost the Net lead.  Harris closed out 
the half with another basket, as the Nets went to the halftime with a 55-43 
lead.

The Nets were indeed ahead, but not oppressively so.  The shots from the 
field overall were still fairly close, with the Nets going 20-41 for 48.8%, 
and Boston 17-39 for 43.6%.  It would definitely be necessary for the C's 
to not only avoid the dreaded third quarter drought, but to cut down on the 
Nets' scoring.  The threes weren't falling for either team tonight, with 
New Jersey making the only successful attempt in the quarter, now 1-7 for 
14.3%, while Boston was 1-11 for 9.1%.  Definitely not a night for the deep 
stuff.  So far, anyway.

The Nets took full advantage of the free throw line, going 14-16 for 87.5%, 
as Boston followed suit at 8-11 for 72.7%.  Turnovers were alarming, as 
both teams doubled their totals from the first halfmeaning it was now 10-2 
with Boston unfortunately holding the edge.  On the plus side, the C's had 
a 24-22 edge in paint points, and a 24-21 rebounding edge.  Would that they 
held the lead in points!!

This was the part I worried most about, as the third quarter started.  The 
game could be won or lost in the next 12 minutes.  I was hoping for a 
Celtics defensive stand of legendary proportions.  At the least, I was 
hoping that Celtics fans in New Jersey wouldn't get laughed at and poked 
with sticks tomorrow.


Third Quarter:

The teams traded misses to open the quarter.  Then Jefferson nailed a 
jumper to extend the New Jersey lead.  Another Boston miss resulted in a 
Kittles jumper.  This was followed by Walker getting called for a foul 
while going up for the rebound followed this.  Kenyon made both at the 
line.  Pierce got the ball to Battie for a jump shot, but Kidd responded 
with a jump shot at the other end.  Several possessions later, Kenyon went 
1-2 at the line.  Pierce then stole the ball from Kidd, but his shot was 
stuffed by Kittles, and the rebound came back to Kidd.  Jefferson then 
fouled Bremer, who went 1-2 at the line.

The C's crashed the offensive boards trying to score, only to see the Nets 
end up with the ball and another basket.  Timeout was called with 7:07 left 
in the third quarter and the Nets now opening up a 66-46 lead.

Following the timeout, Pierce stole the ball from Jason Collins.  A jump 
ball was called between Mark Blount and Kenyon Martin, with the ball ending 
up in the hands of Walker, who sank the basket.  Unfortunately, Blount then 
fouled Kenyon, and one trip to the free throw line later; the Nets had 
added two more points to their lead.  Walker then got the ball to Pierce 
for two.  Kidd then replied with a pass to Kittles for another alley-oop 
dunk.  Blount then committed his third foul, sending Jefferson to the line 
for two more.  Kenyon returned the favor by sending Delk to the line at the 
other end.  This brought the lead back down to 20 points.

The teams, apparently a little winded, traded successive turnovers over the 
next 5 seconds of play, giving the C's hope that the Nets might be too 
tired after scoring all those points to hold onto the lead.  This continued 
until timeout was called with 3:51 left in the third quarter and the score 
still favoring the Nets, 72-52.

Following the timeout, the teams traded misses, before Pierce offset his 
layup by sending Harris to the line.  At least he missed both.  The teams 
then committed another series of turnovers; apparently, the ball is a tad 
slippery tonight.  This went on until Williams got two more for the Nets.

The Celtics were, as they had been all night, working the boards, but what 
they needed were points, not rebounds.  They got two as Battie went to the 
line.  Harris rebounded a Pierce miss and passed to Kidd for two 
more.  Harris made up for this by fouling Pierce.  He made both, but lost 
the ball on yet another steal as Jefferson went in close for another 
layup.  The third ended with the Nets leading 78-58.

This was not good, to say the least.  The Celtics struggled to score in 
double digits in the quarter.  By this stage of the game, the FGP still 
favored the Nets, who were now 28-58 for 48.3%, only dropping .3% from the 
halftime; while Boston had sunk to 21-61 and 334.4% shooting. That meant 
they were 3-22 in the third quarter.  Eep.  No one made a three in the 
quarter, though they triedthe Nets were now 1-7for 14.3% and Boston was 
1-19 for 5.3%.  New Jersey was slightly less productive at the free throw 
line, now 21-26 for 80.8% as the C's went 15-19 for 78.9%.  Both teams were 
still careless with the ball, but Boston held the turnover edge at 
15-9.  Both teams had 30 paint points.  The Good Guys took solace from a 
36-35 rebounding edge.

Now, they had to somehow climb out of this deep hole.  They'd done it 
before, including against the Nets.  But it was going to be tough.
Fourth quarter:

Boston started where they finished, with Bremer missing a shot and 
Jefferson getting the rebound.  At least Harris' shot missed.  The C's 
couldn't score at the other end, but Aaron Williams was called for his 
fourth foul.  This sent Battie to the line for 2 more points.  Good thing 
the free throws were going better than the threes were!!  Then Aaron 
Williams went to the line, making 1-2.  Eric rebounded the miss, and Bimbo 
Coles got the pumpkin to Battie for two more.  Sad to say, though, Battie 
soon got the ball stolen from him by Jefferson.  This led to Rodney Rogers 
hitting a three.  Battie got two of those points back on the next 
possession.  A couple of empty possessions went by before timeout was 
called with 8:09 left in the game and the Nets now leading it 81-64.

After the timeout, the teams traded some more misses.  This was not good if 
the C's wanted to make inroads on the New Jersey lead.  Over two minutes 
went by with neither team able to put up any points before Boston called 
timeout with 5:48 left in the game, and the score still 81-64.

After the game resumed, a basket was finally scored with 5:04 
left.  Unfortunately, it was by Anthony Johnson of the Nets.  Harris and 
Coles then traded jump shots.  The teams then traded another series of 
missed shots, as time grew short for the Good Guys.  Coles got another 
jumper and the Nets called timeout with 2:48 left in the game and the score 
85-68.

The Nets knew this was in the bag when Tamar Slay came in after the 
timeout.  I'm not sure his teammates even knew who he was.  The teams 
continued to trade misses.  Would that the score was close, this would have 
been a prime chance to have people screaming and tearing their hair 
out.  Well, that was probably happening anyway on the Boston Bench.  Coles 
dropped a shot, and the deficit to 15 points, but there was only 1:47 left 
by that time.  Scalabrine made a tip-in, and stole the ball from Blount for 
good measure.  Bimbo Coles put in two more from the line with 30 seconds 
left, making him one of the most productive players in the quarter.  Coles 
then got the ball to Blount for a jumper to end the scoring with 6 seconds 
left, after which the Nets dribbled out the clock.  The Nets won it, 87-74, 
in a game that started really, really close, got blown out in the middle, 
before Boston tried to make it look respectable at the end.

The stats at the end told the grim tale.  The Nets had actually shot so 
poorly in the final quarter they were now 32-81 for 39.5%.  The problem 
was, the Celtics had gone 27-80 for 33.8%.  Nobody could hit a three in the 
final quarter, as the Nets were 1-11 for 9.1% and Boston was 1-21 for 
4.8%.  Ouch!  Free throws weren't much of a factor for the Nets, who ended 
up 22-28 for 78.6%, but Boston was able to bring themselves up a bit by 
going 19-23 for 82.6%.  Boston had 20 turnovers to the Nets' 11.  New 
Jersey had a 34-30 edge in paint points.  Boston did out rebound the Nets 
52-47, but many of those were because the C's shot so poorly.

What can be said?  The C's came up short against a New Jersey team that 
stole the ball so often they should have faced Federal theft 
charges.  Boston wasn't able to keep control of the ball, and on those 
occasions when they did manage to reach the basket, they often missed.  Not 
that the Nets didn't have a stinkeroo of their own in the third quarter, 
but they were up by twenty points at the time.  The C's didn't have that 
advantage.  Boston needs to stop yakking about "Playoff toughness" and play 
to win the game they're actually playing.  At the rate they're playing 
tonight, they could end up going home in April instead of contending in June.

The C's now go to Indiana to play the Pacers tomorrow night.  Will they be 
ready, or will they end up an easy "W" on Isiah's schedule?  Let's hope 
they play better than tonight, or it's gonna be a looong summer.

And that's the view from the doghouse.

Snoopy the Celtics Beagle
Please visit the <http://www.celticsbeagle.net/>Celtics Beagle Website