Green jell vs. Milwaukee: LaFrentz' return, Pierce's outing help C's buck trend

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Green jell vs. Milwaukee: LaFrentz' return, Pierce's outing help C's buck
trend
By Steve Bulpett
Saturday, November 29, 2003

The Celtics showed everyone last night they are a whole lot better when
they're whole.

     Raef LaFrentz returned to the lineup and the C's kept the Milwaukee Bucks
at bay for a comfortable 106-96 victory at the FleetCenter. The Celts reached
the century mark for the first time this season, and they still have not
allowed a 100-point game. The win also made them 5-1 in games in which both
LaFrentz and Eric Williams are available.

     ``Really?'' Paul Pierce [news]said when informed of the stat. ``Then I
guess we'd better keep those guys healthy.''

     The Celts were 0-3 with Williams out of the lineup because of a
hyperextended right knee, and they lost 4-of-6 when LaFrentz was sidelined
with right knee tendinitis. Their importance to the operation cannot be
questioned.

     Pierce isn't too shabby, either. While LaFrentz (14 points) and Williams
(13) were key entities off the bench - moving coach Jim O'Brien to start them
in the second half - Pierce had another large night with 26 points, 10
rebounds and 10 assists. The triple-double was the third of his career and
first since Jan. 26 last season against Orlando.

     ``It's a good feeling because I know I'm doing everything I can to help
this ballclub win,'' Pierce said. ``I've been getting more and more
comfortable as each game goes along, finding my spots where I'm going to be
able to score and where I'm going to be able to pass. That's pretty much it.
Everybody's starting to settle into their roles, knowing what we want out of
them and they're going out there and doing it. It's simple basketball.''

     Pierce commented Sunday about how critical former Kansas teammate
LaFrentz can be to his game, and the change in the Celtics' spacing was
evident last night as they hit 52.6 percent of their shots from the floor.
LaFrentz hit three 3-pointers to loosen the Bucks defense.

     ``He really came up big tonight,'' Pierce said. ``He came in off of (six)
games being on the injured list, and it was like he was never on the injured
list. He just went out there and played basketball and gave us a big lift.

     ``We've still got some guys who are banged up a little bit (Vin Baker
rolled his right ankle last night during an eight-point, three-rebound
performance) so we're all together which is good, but we're not 100 percent.
It'll be interesting when guys start getting really healthy, and we'll see
where we are then.''

     Last night, the Celtics were where they needed to be. Instead of
squandering a 13-point halftime lead, the Celts added to the margin. They hit
half their 22 shots in the third quarter and went up by as many as 19. Dan
Gadzuric scored six points in the quarter's last 1:06 to get the Bucks within
84-69, but the Celtics still had room to cushion any slips.

     It was a cushion they needed when Milwaukee went on a 13-4 run and closed
the gap to 92-85, but the Celts gathered themselves with some free-throw work
by Pierce. His feed to LaFrentz in the left corner for a trey put a heavy down
payment on the win with 3:52 left, and the rest was just details as Pierce got
the necessary assists to complete the triple-double.

     The win made the Celts 2-0 since Pierce threw down the gauntlet and
called his team soft Monday.

     ``I'm happy with the way we've responded, because it could have went in
the other direction,'' he said. ``But it was a test of my team and we're
getting it done.

     ``We're just trying to have fun. I think that's the most important thing.
I think we weren't having a lot of fun, win or lose. Some guys were stressed
out. I know I used to be stressed out in a losing situation, but the important
thing is to go out there, have fun, play hard and listen to what the coaches
are telling us. We get out of sync most of the time when we don't follow
coach's instructions, especially on the defensive end.''
Thanks,

Steve
sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx