FINAL: Celtics 102, Sixers 78
Another game, another win for the C’s (FINAL: Celtics 102, Sixers 78)
The Celtics dominated the 76ers in every facet of the game tonight, defeating Philadelphia 102-78 here at TD Banknorth Garden. Ray Allen led the Celtics with 23 points, while Rajon Rondo had 12 assists.
The Celtics move to 15-2 on the season, while Philadelphia falls to 7-9. We’ll have plenty of reaction from both locker rooms shortly.
Gino time (2:16 fourth quarter, Celtics 96-70)
Apologies for the lack of game updates, but the benches are in and both teams are just running out the clock at this point. It’s Gino time on the Jumbotron.
Minor exodus (5:38 fourth quarter, Celtics 89-65)
With the game in hand, some of the more thirsty Celtics fans are leaving for the bars as Ferris Bueller blares on the Jumbotron.
Lost cause (7:37 fourth quarter, Celtics 83-61)
The game has been over for some time, and Philadelphia is just now turning on the defensive pressure. The Sixers bench is putting a full-court press on poor Eddie House, who probably wishes he was playing against the Sixers starters, who didn’t look nearly as interested.
THIRD QUARTER
A little love for Wyc (END third quarter, Celtics 73-47)
Kevin Garnett dunked on three straight possessions near the end of the third quarter, the last coming on an alley-oop for Tony Allen that got the crowd to its feet. After the dunk, Garnett thumped his chest before giving a man hug to Celtics CEO Wyc Grousbeck, who sits under the visitors basket.
But the story of the night is clearly the Boston defense. Philly had its highest scorring quarter in the third (19 points), but their current point total looks like a decent halftime score. The Sixers are shooting 39 percent for the game and have 14 turnovers. The Celtics have 7 blocked shots.
Pierce applies the D (2:20 third quarter, Celtics 65-45)
Paul Pierce drew a charge on Andre Iguodala with 2:44 left in the quarter, then drew one on Andre Miller on Philadelphia’s very next possession.
Allen’s defense (5:18 third quarter, Celtics 58-38)
Ray Allen is all over Andre Iguodala on defense in this game, blanketing the Sixers guard to the point where he’s unable to catch the ball in a spot where he can do anything with it.
Allen has 16 points of his own, including three-pointers on the last two possessions. Iguodala is 3-for-6 for six points.
Allen’s defense (5:18 third quarter, Celtics 58-38)
Ray Allen is all over Andre Iguodala on defense in this game, blanketing the Sixers guard to the point where he’s unable to catch the ball in a spot where he can do anything with it.
Allen has 16 points of his own, including three-pointers on the last two possessions. Iguodala is 3-for-6 for six points.
C’s still stingy (8:51 third quarter, Celtics 52-32)
More of the same to start the second half. Rajon Rondo just drove to the hoop for an uncontested reverse layup, forcing Philly to call a timeout. Still haven’t seen any spark in these Sixers.
SECOND QUARTER
Yawn-fest (END second quarter, Celtics 46-28)
Philadelphia isn’t making this much of a game. The Sixers are shooting 34 percent for the game. They’ve committed 10 turnovers to their 5 assists. And they’re letting the Celtics do pretty much whatever they want.
Boston’s starters have all played 16 minutes, with no Celtics player scoring more than 8 points. But nine players have scored for the C’s, compared to just six for Philly. Boston has 24 points in the paint. This is the lowest first-half output for a Celtics opponent so far this season.
An observation (6:39 second quarter, Celtics 33-20)
Just an observation, but the Sixers have a lot of big guys. Philly has eight players (Elton Brand, Samuel Dalembert, Reggie Evans, Donyell Marshall, Theo Ratliff, Jason Smith, Marreese Speights, and Thaddeus Young) who are 6 feet 8 inches or taller.
Elton Brand is the only Sixer playing big so far.
Bench sparks a run (9:42 second quarter, Celtics 30-16)
Eddie House had 2 assists and one basket, Leon Powe made a bucket, and Ray Allen added two more as Celtics started the second quarter on an 8-0 run.
FIRST QUARTER
Solid start for Celtics (END first quarter, Celtics 22-16)
The Celtics held the Sixers to 37 percent shooting in the first quarter and hold the lead after one. Elton Brand (10 points) is the only consistent offense for Philadelphia. He’s 4-for-5 from the field. The rest of the team is 3-for-14 from the floor.
Offensive dynamo Kendrick Perkins is leading the Celtics with 8 points.
Theo’s back (2:01 first quarter, Celtics 20-12)
Theo Ratliff, who is both a large salary and an actual human person, introduced himself to Tony Allen with a hard foul to prevent Allen from a fast-break dunk.
Sixers fighting among themselves (4:24 first quarter, Celtics 16-10)
Rajon Rondo found Paul Pierce who found Kevin Garnett who found Kendrick Perkins for a wide open dunk. Samuel Dalembert and Elton Brand, neither of whom played much defense on the play, had words for each other after the score.
Timeout, Philly (6:42 first quarter, Celtics 10-4)
Elton Brand is the only Sixer with a bucket (when did Philly get him?!?), while the Celtics are dominating the post on the other end. KG and Perk have two buckets apiece in the paint for Boston. Rajon Rondo already has 3 assists.
Defense rules (8:50 first quarter, Celtics 4-2)
The Sixers have started 1-of-5 here, while the Celtics are 2-of-5, Boston’s latest bucket a nifty up-and-under move from Kendrick Perkins.
Pregame rituals (Before the tip)
KG with his usual chalk and chest-bumping routine. Alternate uniforms (green and black) for the Celtics tonight.
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