Powe pours in career-high
Three more pens. Another notebook. More film for the cameras. These were Celtics forward Mikki Moore’s suggestions to reporters for capturing all of Leon Powe’s postgame musings in the Celtics locker room tonight.
Powe had 30 points, as well as 11 rebounds and 5 blocks, in a starting role for the Celtics in their 102-92 win over the Memphis Grizzlies Friday night at TD Banknorth Garden. And when he emerged from the showers, dripping with confidence following a new career-high, he had only one more person to prove himself to.
“That wouldn’t happen [with me around],” the injured Kevin Garnett barked from the other room. “What do you average, 1.7 points, 0.1 rebounds?”
The ink began to run and the notebooks started to fill.
“You know who I guard every day [in practice],” Powe shouted back, referring to Garnett. “Don’t be so surprised. I’ll be back.”
Powe then turned to those wildly-scribbling reporters.
“Me and KG were having a friendly talk,” he said. “I want KG to come back. My body is getting used to these 40 minutes, but that’s our leading man, and we miss him.”
It was hard to tell the Celtics missed Garnett tonight. Powe got down to business early against the Grizzlies, scoring 9 points and grabbing 6 rebounds while playing all but 12 seconds of the first quarter. In addition to crashing the boards, he caught the ball outside the paint and took it to the hole on several occasions. Powe made nine trips to the line in the frame.
“Since he’s been put in the starting role he’s been really playing well for us,” said Celtics captain Paul Pierce. “We already know what he can do when he gets his opportunity. Tonight it just showed. He was aggressive, he made plays. And that’s what we need right now.”
Powe matched Memphis’ Rudy Gay for a game-high of 18 points at halftime, though the man with 10 career double-doubles was still three rebounds shy of the feat at that point. He scored just two points in the third, but Powe finished the game with a flourish, scoring 10 points in the fourth. He played all but two minutes of the second half, an especially key stat with frontcourt players Garnett, Glen Davis, and Brian Scalabrine all sidelined with injuries.
“I’ve been playing [over 40 minutes] per game,” said Powe. “That’s a lot of minutes. That’s a lot of opportunity. My teammates were doing a great job of finding me, and I just wanted to keep working.”
Powe is still a relative NBA unknown, but his back story, publicized during last year’s NBA Finals, as well as his 21-point outburst against the Lakers in Game 2 of that series, have given him some notoriety. Powe spent part of his childhood homeless, and his mother’s death in high school left him with responsibilities over his younger siblings.
On the court, knee injuries limited Powe to two seasons at the University of California. The injuries overshadowed his stellar final season at Cal, when the undersized power forward averaged 20.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.
Powe has averaged 7.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in just over 17 minutes per game this season. He has seen those averages rise to 18.4 points and 8 rebounds in his last five games.
“I know what I can do,” said Powe. “I’ve scored the ball in college. I’m used to that. I didn’t have too many opportunities here, but I’m coming off the bench to make the most of my minutes. When you’re playing behind KG and other veterans it’s kind of difficult. It’s just about me making the most of it.”
Celtics players could care less if Powe is known by others. Right now he’s serving to plug the massive hole left by Garnett’s absence. And he’s using that wide body to carve a niche for himself that isn’t likely to go away even when Garnett returns.
“You know he’s going to play 30-plus minutes now,” said Pierce. “When you have a guy that gets that opportunity, he’s not going to look over his shoulder…it’s a whole different attitude.”
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