Playoffs Post Ups - Celtics vs. Cavaliers

Wednesday, May 14 - Cavaliers at Celtics, Game 5

Postgame Links

Recap | Boxscore | Highlights

Postgame Wrap Up

The Celtics may have started off slow, but they certainly finished with a flourish.

Led by Kevin Garnett, the C's used a strong second-half performance on both ends of the floor to produce a 96-89 victory over the Cavaliers in Wednesday's Game 5 at the Garden.

Boston leads the series 3-2 and can earn a trip to the Eastern Conference final with a win in Game 6, which is set for 8 p.m. ET Friday in Cleveland. The C's are now 7-0 overall at home in the postseason and the home team has won every game in this series.

Garnett was red-hot in the second half, finishing with 26 points on 12-of-19 shooting to go with 16 rebounds for his seventh double-double of this postseason. Paul Pierce led with 29 points, including four big free throws in the final 1:23 to seal it. Rajon Rondo added 20 points and 13 assists, both career playoff highs.

The C's, once down by 14 in the first half, overcame a three-point halftime deficit with a strong third quarter. KG scored eight of his points in the third as Boston outscored Cleveland 29-17 in the period to take a nine-point lead into the fourth.

- NBA.com Newsdesk

Live from Courtside

Live Scoreboard

96-89 Celtics, FINAL: GINO TIME! Celtics head to Cleveland up 3-2 with another chance to notch their first road win.

95-89 Celtics, :10.1/4th: Pierce knocks down two more to presumably ice this one. Delonte couldn't get it in and draws a five-second violation, so they foul Pierce again...

93-89 Celtics, :12/4th: Tough blocking call on Pierce against Delonte, who knocked down a pair.

93-87 Celtics, :15.6/4th: Ray Allen comes up with a huge lose ball tip to KG at the end of the shotclock, forcing the Cavs to foul Pierce. The Truth is true at the line and the Celtics are up six with just under 16 ticks.

91-87 Celtics, :45/4th: West at the line after a Pavlovic steal from Allen who lost control of the ball.

91-85 Celtics, :55/4th: LeBron at the line after Posey grabs his arm on a leaner. He hits the second of two.

91-84 Celtics, 1:05/4th: Pierce goes to the hoop again, gets fouled and cans both...

89-82 Ce ltics, 1:23/4th: Pierce makes the last of two free throws.

88-79 Celtics, 3:10/4th: Rajon Rondo is playing a solid game...20 and 13. He's really done a great job of probing the paint, and he's knocking down his floaters tonight. And KG, well, he's been superhuman tonight. Still a long way to go here but the C's are on the attack.

84-76 Celtics, 4:24/4th: Two straight turnovers have the Cavs climbing back in it...

82-70 Celtics, 6:17/4th: The pace is slowing down considerably, but it appears the Celtics smell blood. KG has 24 and 12; Pierce has 19, 6 and 3.

80-70 Celtics, 7:30/4th: The momentum is picking up for the Celtics, as Kevin Garnett's "gas is high" and the rest of the team is following suit. The Celtics are scoring inside and the Cavs appear to be backing down.

74-63 Celtics, 10:59/4th: Daniel Gibson appeared to injure his left shoulder and checked out and made a trip to the Cavs locker room. Huge loss for Cleveland if he can't return.

72-63 Celtics, End of 3rd: Rondo's got 16 points and nine assists. The C's were 12/16 from the field in the third and racked up 29 points, while holding Cleveland to just 17 in the quarter. LeBron had just two points in the frame.

69-58 Celtics, 1:23/3rd: A Paul Pierce give-and-go (KG) baseline slam has the Garden deafening...

62-57, 4:27/3rd: Pierce, Allen and Garnett are forcing their will now too. The Celtics have opened up a five point lead and the house is rockin' again. Even the fat guy from Superbad is getting into it. He's also courtside.

49-49, 8:55/3rd: Rondo is forcing his will upon the third quarter, coming up with a pair of steals and then a nice assist to find KG on the baseline...

46-43 Celtics, HALFTIME: Paul Pierce has 14 to lead the Celtics into the half, but the Celtics will need to work on getting into the paint more in the second half. They've got just 12 points in the paint.

43-39 Cavs, 1:33/2nd: Rajon Rondo hit back to back threes -- do not adjust your monitor, that's threes -- for the first time in his career I think to cut a 12 point lead down to 6, and after a steal Paul Pierce was rapped up by Wally Szczerbiak, who usually saves his hugs for teammates. Pierce went to the line to cut it to four points.

By the way, LeBron has 23 points, and Jay-Z just flashed the Diamond Dallas Page Diamond Cutter symbol that he and James stole....

35-27 Cavs, 6:31/2nd: Ray Allen drained a baseline threeball to bring the Celtics within eight points, but the Celtics' struggles from the field continue. They're not getting much inside at all.

29-20 Cavs, 9:13/2nd: LBJ just went to the locker room...

23-18 Cavs, End of 1st: It's a five point game but the Celtics are coming alive here as the quarter closes. After starting 4/17 from the field, they're 4 of their last 6. Cleveland's shooting 50% from the field.

16-9 Cavs, 3:16/1st: LeBron's "struggles" are apparently over. James is 5/7 with 11 points. The Celtics are just 4/17 from the field.

12-9 Cavs, 5:55/1st: It's pretty sloppy out there in the early goings (five turnovers between the two teams already). Jay-Z, who's sitting courtisde next to the Cavs bench, seems to be enjoying it, mimicing his boy LeBron after he hit a fadeaway baseline jumper.

Ray Allen picked up his second foul on a ghost call...

Meanwhile, Rob Lowe is seated behind Danny Ainge in the courtside baseline seats, presumably telling Danny that his shoes are Italian, and they're worth more than KG's contract.

Ainge Named NBA Executive of the Year

In 2006-07, the Celtics were 24-58 and the Boston basketball scene was on life support after an agonizing NBA Draft Lottery left the team out of reach of prospects Greg Oden and Kevin Garnett.

Something had to change, and as Executive Director, Basketball Operations and General Manager, Danny Ainge shouldered the responsibility.

The Celtics started by Thinking Big, acquiring All-Star Ray Allen from Seattle during the NBA Draft and former NBA MVP Kevin Garnett from Minnesota later in the summer.

"He was working tirelessly all summer long to bring me and Kevin over," Allen said.

By training camp, nine of the 15 players on the Celtics 06-07 roster were gone.

A year later, after what Senior Vice President of the Orlando Magic Pat Williams called, "the most dramatic NBA turnaround ever," the team finished the regular season 66-16, the top seed in the Eastern Conference and as the best defensive team in the league.

The NBA and the Sporting News thought that resume fit the bill in naming Ainge the 2007-08 NBA Executive of the Year award winner today.

"I'm really happy for him. The last two years, he and I took a lot of heat," Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said. "He's been great for me as a coach."

But the former Celtic, though honored by the award, had his concerns elsewhere.

"Quite honestly, I'm more excited about Game 5 and the birth of my sixth grandchild," Ainge said, his granddaughter, Siena, having been born about an hour before. "I don't want to diminish the award but there's a lot going on right now."

The second Celtic behind Red Auerbach to win the award, Ainge went on to say that the turnaround started with an ownership that enabled such roster turnover. But he again shifted the focus back to the high stakes home game the team he manufactured was about to play with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"Our objectives are postseason awards and postseason success," Ainge said.

- Couper Moorhead

Game 5 Preview

Couper Moorhead checks in with today's Game 5 Preview.

Monday, May 12 - Celtics at Cavaliers, Game 4

Postgame Links

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

Despite Road Woes, C's Still in Driver's Seat | Brown Lone Bright Spot in Game 4

Postgame Wrap Up

The Celtics may be undefeated at home in the 2008 playoffs, but they still can't figure out how to win on the road.

Rajon Rondo fired off nine of his 15 points in the third quarter to keep Boston close, but its offense sputtered down the stretch in Game 4 as it fell in Cleveland, 88-77, on Monday, evening the best-of-seven series at 2-2.

Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett added 15 points apiece, but neither player scored in the final frame.

The Celtics return home for Game 5 on Wednesday, where they'll attempt to regain their series lead over the Cavaliers at 8 p.m. ET.

- NBA.com Newsdesk

Live from High Above Courtside...

Live Scoreboard

88-77 Cavs, FINAL: Big win for Cleveland to tie up the series. I guess we'll be back here on Friday...

84-75 Cavs, 1:45/4th: James dunks over Garnett for a nine-point lead and the foul. That might do it.

79-73 Cavs, 3:13/4th: LeBron knocked down a three to put the Cavs up six. Talk about a big shot.

76-73 Cavs, 4:09/4th: Looks like Doc's opting to keep P.J. on the floor for his experience to play alongside KG, Pierce, Allen and Rondo. It's a tight game and both defenses are really stifling the other team. This one's coming down to who can execute on the offensive end. The Cavs are just 3/13 in the 4th quarter...

76-71 Cavs, 7:26/4th: James just handed off his 11th assist when he drew the defense and dumped it off to Joe Smith on a duck-in under the hoop. The Cavs have 21 dimes as a team.

71-69 Cavs, 8:59/4th: Paul Pierce is just 3/10 from the field for seven points. Look for him to attack the hoop here in the fourth quarter.

68-65 Cavs, End of 3rd: P.J. Brown is getting extended minutes and doing the little things to keep the Celtics in the game. Boxing out, etc. His minutes have increased each game this series...

64-63 Cavs, 2:26/3rd: Allen and Rondo have 18 of the Celtics' 20 points in the third quarter. Rondo has been knocking down outside shots and Allen's bagged a pair of threeballs.

56-55 Cavs, 5:52/3rd: "Wally" chant is underway, and he's knocked down two long-range twos because he stepped on the three-point line (how familiar!). I don't get it, he costs them two points and people chant his name?

45-43 Cavs, Halftime: It's a close game and the C's have to be much happier with what they're getting tonight. LeBron is taking alot of outside jumpers, and the Celtics seem to be making a concerted effort to take it to the hole. Those are good trends for the Green if they continue in the second half.

41-33 Cavs, 3:53/2nd: Paul Pierce wrapped up LeBron on a breakaway, around the arms and the ball, and the two careened into the crowd. James knew it was a hard playoff foul and had no complaints. The Q didn't like it though.

37-31 Cavs, 5:50/2nd; During the last timeout, the Cavs mascot Moondog just kicked a Celtics fan in the groin over a bottle of Diet Coke in a Jumbotron pre-taped skit. I can't see Lucky doing that to anyone...

31-27 Cavs, 8:51/2nd: Cleveland's 3/4 to start the quarter. The good news for the Celtics is that they're getting to the line early, and are 9/11 from the stripe..

23-21 Cavs, End of 1st: Rajon Rondo said he needed to be more aggressive after the Game 3 blowout, and he's certainly living up to that promise. He's taken seven shots, has six points, two rebounds and an assist. He's also knocked down a pair of baseline jumpers, something he worked on for quite a while after yesterday's practice...

The Cavs shot 47% for the quarter so the Boston defense needs to buckle down a bit more.

17-16 Celtics, 2:58/1st: James is just 1/5 from the field, and the Celtics have an 11-6 rebounding edge. But the Cavs are getting out on the break, which should be of concern to the Celtics...

13-13, 5:19/1st: LeBron is way too strong. James went to the hoop on a breakaway, and Ray Allen tried to tie him up in midair but basically bounced off him. What are you supposed to do to stop that???

13-9 Celtics, 6:36/1st: Kevin Garnett's back must be sore. He's got nine points.

Pregame Media Access

The storyline just won't go away. When it comes to simplistic analysis, it doesn't get any weaker than "the Celtics can't win on the road." So we tried to get a little more insight into what's really going on with the team, and find out if this whole playing on the road thing is actually creeping into the team's collective psyche.

Are guys on the team talking about the whole home vs. road phenomenon?

"No, that's just what [the media] talks about because that's the only storyline, really," Ray Allen said. "We're still [up] 2-1."

Center Kendrick Perkins seemed to be on the same page with Allen.

"We ain't talking about it. We're just trying to go out here and get a win," center Kendrick Perkins said before the game, reiterating several times that the team needed better focus.

So, can he tell in the locker room in the minutes before tip off whether or not the team is truly dialed in?

"Even if [guys] are smiling, that doesn't mean that they're not focused. It's really hard to tell," Perkins said.

Allen agreed with Perk's assessment.

"On past teams I could tell because younger players are very inconsistent in being ready and prepared, and watching their mannerisms before the game," Allen said. "Here, everybody's pretty stoic before the game."

Stoic is a good word for it. Paul Pierce was flipping through a People Magazine while Rajon Rondo went over video of the first qaurter with Assistant Coach Armond Hill, looking mostly at defensive responsibilities. Rondo said that he'd already watched that first quarter four times since yesterday.

You can listen to the interviews with Ray Allen, Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe and Doc Rivers' pregame presser in the Audio Archive.

Stern on Road Struggles; Pregame Pyro

Everybody's talking about the Celtics' struggles on the road, even NBA Commissioner David Stern.

In the media room, Stern mused upon the Green Team's Game 3 loss to Cleveland. "It's just interesting....I guess one thing you say is that's why teams play all year for that home court advantage because obviously this year it seems to mean a lot. I really think that our fans...maybe all sports fans, but NBA fans really feel that it's become their sacred obligation to help lift the play of their team."

Stern quickly noted, however, that teams may be going too far in pumping up their fans.

"I'm going to get in trouble for this, but I think they're ridiculous. I think that the noise, the fire, the smoke is a kind of assault that we should seriously consider reviewing... It may be that these are the maniacal ramblings of a fan from a different era, and I recognize that. I'm sitting there waiting for the next cannon to go off, and then the fire heats up the arena, so the temperature in the arena raises by 50 degrees...."

On that note, here's a picture from tonight's player introductions at the Quicken Loans arena.

- Scott Tribble

Early Pregame Report

It's just under three hours before tip-off and it's pretty quiet down on the court. LeBron James is getting loose on the court with a few jumpers, while Rajon Rondo is working on his baseline J's as well on the other end.

The team will depart Cleveland immediately following postgame media, hopefully with a win in hand and eyes upon closing it out Wednesday night at the Garden.

KG Earns NBA All-Defensive Team Nod

He was already named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, so it was pretty much a formality, but today Kevin Garnett was named to the league's All-Defensive First Team, joined by Kobe Bryant, Marcus Camby, Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen.

Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce also received votes from the panel of all 30 NBA head coaches. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.

Sunday, May 11 - Practice

"Like a Gorilla on Our Back"

CLEVELAND, OH - I think they're sick of hearing about it.

The Celtics met at the Quicken Loans Arena at for about one hour of film and practice today. The team watched tape of just the first quarter, and the message was clear. The team must come out of the gate with more intensity than they did on Saturday night if they're going to get their elusive first road win of the postseason.

So why watch just the first quarter, in which the Celtics were outscored 32-13?

"That was all we needed to see," Coach Doc Rivers said.

After watching the tape, Paul Pierce said that he didn't recognize the team as the same team the Celtics have been all year, and he told reporters that they wouldn't see that type of effort again in Game 4.

"We can't just ease into these games and expect these guys to lay down, especially on their home court," Pierce said. "We all need this win on the road, man. It's like a gorilla on our back trying to get a road win."

Celtics.com Correspondent Scott Tribble has more from today's practice at the Q.

Saturday, May 10 - Celtics at Cavaliers, Game 3

Postgame Links

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

Rondo Cops To Lacking Aggression | Blown Out at Q, Celtics Never Mounted Big Rally

Game 5 Tickets on Sale Monday

Live from Just Above the Loge

108-84 Cavs, 2:16/4th: Ouch. That hurts. Streamers just hit the floor. Wally's doing a postgame interview. "We saw some things on film. The crowd is great and it's good to be back in CLeveland. We just made shots tonight. The game is a lot easier when the ball is going in the basket," said Szczerbiak. "We can't relax. We know they're going to make adjustments and try to steal one on Monday.

Speaking of Monday, Game 5 will go on sale on Monday morning...

90-74 Cavs, 5:43/4th: Pierce and Allen have struggled again, they've combined for just 6/16 from the field and 22 points. But Delonte West has had an outstanding game, it looks like Del's old teammates forgot he's left handed because he seems to be burning them by starting on the right side and then going left at the basket.

KG has 13 and nine.

84-65 Cavs, 9:54/4th: A long Joe Smith jumper has the Cavs up 19 and the Celtics are running out of time and bullets. The Celtics' largest loss of the season was the March 14 110-92 defeat at the hands of the Utah Jazz, which was really the only blowout loss of the regular season.

79-63 Cavs, End of 3rd: A 16-point lead is a tall order on the road. Do the C's have it in them? We're about to find out.

In the meantime, this is how they treat Celtics fans in Cleveland. Poor Manny!

To evoke boos when our guys are at the line, the Cavs put pictures of Art Modell, Tom Brady or a Michigan logo on the jumbotron. Ohio State is pretty much religion in these parts...That said, the booing isn't that dramatic. I think midwesterners are just too nice by nature to really boo that hard.

78-60 Cavs, 1:13/3rd: James knocks down a three and the lead is back up to 18.

71-59 Cavs, 3:17/3rd: Pierce free throws cut it 12, the closest it's been since early in the first quarter.

64-48 Cavs, 6:48/3rd: A Paul Pierce threeball triggers a timeout. Meanwhile, Szczerbiak and West have combined for 27 points.

52-35 Cavs, HALFTIME: 65% shooting for the Cavs can't continue for the night, can it? The C's are shooting 40.5% from the field, and that shouldn't continue either. All things being even, the C's are in good shape seeing that the lead is only 17. Those stats could easily add up to a 30-point margin.

Paging Rajon Rondo: He's 0/3 with two fouls. He was getting wherever he wanted to go at the beginning of Game 2 but he's been non-existent thus far tonight.

48-33 Cavs, 2:38/2nd: The C's are slowly chipping away at the lead, and have settled down after surviving (barely) Cleveland's initial first quarter attack. Wally is killing the C's with open looks, and while LeBron continues to struggle (just 2/6 from the field, and one of those was a slam) he does have five dimes.

Varejao has a right knee contusion and is questionable to return. Meanwhile, Scalabrine just took one for the team. The Cavs put Big Baby and Leon on the Kiss Cam and he walked in front of the camera and blocked it with his backside. Ubuntu, baby!

45-29 Cavs, 5:25/2nd: Anderson Varejao just hobbled off to the locker room. Meanwhile, the C's have it down to a 16 point lead; the Cavs had it up to 24 points right after Posey's foul on LeBron.

39-17 Cavs, 9:11/2nd: James Posey just made friends with about 20,000 people by reaching out and grabbing LeBron around the shoulders and neck as he went to the hole. Anderson Varejao pretended to get in POsey's face, but didn't really want any confrontation. Double technicals. LeBron will live despite laying on the floor for a bit. Either way, it was a playoffs foul (assessed a Flagrant One) and more than anything, a frustration foul.

The crowd at the Q really didn't get on Posey that badly. Had it happened in Boston, the reaction would have been a lot more vitriolic.

32-13 Cavs, End of 1st: The C's are settling for jumpers and it shows. They're just 4/11 from outside, and have just four points in the paint.

KG has six points and five rebounds, but when you score just 13 points in the quarter and shoot 31% from the field, there's no much to be said.

18-8 Cavs, 3:42/1st: Doc just got T'd up after complaining about an offensive foul against Garnett for shucking Delonte.

14-4 Cavs, 5:51/1st: The Cavs jumped out to a 10 point lead by getting all five starters in the book in the first six minutes. Old friends Delonte and Wally drilled threes and the Q is rocking. They do a great job of getting the crowd fired up here, with loud pyro and an obnoxious PA guy.

LeBron seems to be deferring to his teammates in the early going...

Pregame Media Availability

The cramped visitors locker room was pretty quiet before the game, with a few guys watching Detroit-Orlando, while others watched tape of Game 2 while enjoying PB&J sandwiches. Paul Pierce was asking the ballboys to track down some bananas; that's his pregame meal.

Asked if he expects the struggling LeBron James to throw the kitchen sink at the Celtics, Doc Rivers said he expects that from him every night, and reiterated that James affects the game in more areas than just scoring.

You can hear the full pregame interview in the Audio Archive.

Rising Up at the Q

When it said Rise Up on the outside of the Quicken Loans Arena, I figured they were imploring their fans to get up out of their seats to cheer. But I should have realized that they also meant the media seating would "rise up" to the first balcony. But we've got no complaints, being embedded in the crowd should provide a nice perspective on how the Cleveland faithful perceive the game, and hear plenty of barbs from the rowdies as well.

Locker rooms open in five minutes. We'll have more after pregame media access.

Friday, May 9 - Flight To Cleveland

Touchdown in Cleveland

CLEVELAND, OH - The Celtics have arrived in Cleveland, passing by the Quicken Loans Arena on the way to the team hotel. The team will have shootaround tomorrow morning back at the arena, and Game 3 tips off at 8 p.m. We'll have an update tomorrow afternoon after the shootaround, and then again just before tip-off.

James Posey, who played his college ball at Xavier, was proudly wearing his Indians hat on the plane. The Tribe is hosting the Toronto Blue Jays tonight at Jacobs Field.

Morning Update

The Celtics will not host media availability today; they'll meet briefly in Waltham and then fly at 3 p.m. to Cleveland for Game 3 on Saturday night at Quicken Loans Arena.

Thursday, May 8 - Cavaliers at Celtics, Game 2

Postgame Links

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

More: Post-Game Presser

Postgame Wrap Up

Paul Pierce led with 19 points and Ray Allen scored all of his 16 in the second half as the Celtics rolled to a 89-73 win over the Cavaliers in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series on Thursday at the Garden.

Allen, after a disappointing Game 1, came alive in the third quarter with 11 points to help the C's stretch their lead to 60-51. Boston's defense held Cleveland to 35 percent shooting in the game.

The C's trailed early Thursday before a strong second quarter swung the momentum. Kevin Garnett, who finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds, helped Boston take an eight-point halftime lead as the C's outscored the Cavs 27-12 in the second.

Leon Powe added 11 points and seven rebounds in the win.

Boston leads 2-0 as the best-of-seven series shifts to Cleveland for Saturday night's Game 3 on ABC. Tip-Off is 8 p.m. ET.

- NBA.com Newsdesk

Live from Courtside

89-73 Celtics, FINAL: A solid win and the Cavs have to be frustrated. James has not looked like the superstar we know him to be, so you can expect him to come out with a vengeance on Saturday night.

86-65 Celtics, 3:29/4th: KG, Paul and Posey just checked out. This one is over...Garnett finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds, Pierce had 19 and Allen had 16, all in the second half. Leon Powe also had a quiet 11 and 7.

10 more wins to go...And Gino should be on his way...

80-56 Celtics, 8:57/4th: A 22-point lead should be relatively safe, since the Cavs aren't showing much tonight beyond LeBron and Z. Meanwhile, it's good to see Ray Allen back in the box score. He's got 16 and counting after going scoreless for the first six quarters of the series.

68-49 Celtics, 1:47/3rd: The Celtics continue to put the clamps on LeBron, who's just 4/17 from the field and 6/35 for the series. A smattering of "Over-rated" chants broke out in the loge behind me after James just bricked a free throw. But his biggest problem seems to be that he's trying to hard to get fouls as he goes to the hoop rather than just attacking the basket, going through defenders and letting the fouls come when they may.

50-36 Celtics, 10:51/3rd: The Celtics just threw together a 6-0 run before Jason Bateman even made it back to his seat for the start of the third quarter. Ray Allen got two of the buckets, while KG knocked down a 20-footer form the top of the key. The Celtics lead in points in the paint, 20-6.

44-36 Celtics, Halftime: The Cavs are 2/17 for the quarter, scored just 10 points and got outscored 27-10 in the frame. James has 11 points on 3/13 shooting but has four rebounds and four assists, and still is keeping his team in the game.

37-30 Celtics, 2:46/2nd: KG just slammed home a breakaway dunk and got fouled by Delonte for good measure, popping the crowd hard. Garnett was barking at nobody in particular after the throwdown. It's safe to say he's officially fired up.

The physicality is picking up out there quite a bit. Varejao and Garnett almost got into it, and the level of body contact is up dramatically from Game 1. LeBron is 2 for his first 12 attempts.

26-27 Cavaliers, 6:24/2nd: Ray Allen and the bench are making a run. Leon Powe and P.J. Brown scored consecutive baskets to pull the Celtics to within two.

18-24 Cavaliers, 11:31/2nd: Paul Pierce got slapped across the forearm and hand going to the basket, got no call, and it looked like his fingernail got bent back in the process.

17-24 Cavaliers, End of 1st: Hello, Hello...we're at a place called Vertigo....Ben Wallace apparently left with what the Cavs are calling "Dizziness". His return is doubtful.

9-17 Cavaliers, 3:52/1st: Looks like the Cavs figured out a way to free up Z. He scored the Cavs' first eight points and Perkins was late to rotate on basically all of them. Ben Wallace took a seat after taking a shot to the nose.

Sitting in the courtside seats about 10 feet from me? Michael Bluth, aka Jason Bateman, star of Arrested Development. No sign of Mallory Keaton.

Tipoff: Paul Pierce was very upbeat before tonight's game, and talked about how honored he was to be named Third Team All-NBA. He found out just as the media entered the locker room. KG does not talk to the press before the game, but we expect to have reaction from him in postgame. We'll have Paul's pregame video in the postgame video update.

Wednesday, May 7 - Practice

WALTHAM - It was a little less hectic here in Waltham after the Celtics' Game 1 win over the Cavaliers. We also swung by the Cavs' media availability at the Garden, and you can check out videos from them as well in CelticVision HD today.

Check CelticVision HD for video from both practices, featuring interviews with Doc,Paul and Ray, as well as LeBron James and Wally Szczerbiak.

Hawks' Williams Suspended for Clothesline

The league announced today that Hawks forward Marvin Williams will be suspended for one game for his clothesline flagrant 2 foul against Rajon Rondo of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

Tuesday, May 6 - Cavaliers at Celtics, Game 1

Postgame Recap

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

Boston began its round two series with Cleveland by following its round one blueprint; winning big games at home.

Kevin Garnett spun around the defending Joe Smith and drilled the go-ahead shot with 21.4 seconds left to lift the Celtics to a Game 1 victory over the Cavaliers, 76-72, at home Tuesday.

James Posey hit two free throws with 8.5 ticks remaining to seal the deal.

K.G. fired off 16 of his game-high 28 points in the first half as Boston built an early 12-point advantage. But the Celtics allowed the Cavs to go on a 14-0 run in the third to erase the lead.

Sam Cassell pulled Boston out of its rut, scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter to set up Garnett's big bucket.

The Celtics' defense was tenacious throughout, holding the Cavs to 31 percent shooting from the floor.

Boston looks to extend its series advantage in Game 2 at home Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

- NBA.com Newsdesk

Live from Courtside

Live Scoreboard

76-72 Celtics, FINAL: LeBron misses a three, Rondo rebounds...Game Over. Celtics up 1-0.

76-72 Celtics, 8.5 secondsLeBron missed a layup with Perk playing some solid D and Posey rebounds, the knocks down his free throws. Celtics up four with just under nine seconds. Looking good, the Cavs are out of timeouts...

74-72 Celtics, 21.4 seconds: KG just scored the last two Celtics buckets, the go-ahead being a spin move in the post. Meanwhile, after the Celtics last trip, Ilgauskas kneed a fallen Cassell in the head as he walked by and the refs missed it. Are the WWE officials working tonight's game? When does the steel chair come out? They'd probably miss that too. Anyway, we officially have our first villain of the series.

68-70 Cavaliers, 1:30/4th: Ilgauskas just knocked down an 18 footer for the 70-68 lead. He's 7/17 from the field. The C's have done a great job of taking the ball out of LeBron's hands to date, but I get the feeling that's going to change in the last 90 seconds...

68-65 Celtics, 2:58/4th: James was just on the tough end of a traveling call by Scott Foster. This one is going down to the wire.

Z has 18 and 10 for the Cavs. Amazing what you find out when you peek at the box score during the game...

68-65 Celtics, 4:31/4th: James just scored his first points in a long time. By my unofficial count, his layup over KG was his first score since the 2:12 mark of the second quarter. He's got 12 points.

64-60 Celtics, 7:54/4th: A frantic exchange between the Celtics and Cavs goes to a hot timeout as Sam Cassell buries his second three of the quarter to put Boston up four points. Cassell has nine points.

LeBron, meanwhile, is 1/10 from the field with 10 points. He's 8/10 from the line.

53-52 Celtics, End of 3rd: Big close to the quarter by Perkins. He grabbed two boards, hit a turnaround jumper at the shot clock, and stuffed Delonte on a drive to end the quarter. Meanwhile, Posey seems to be shaken up by something that happened in a scrum for the ball under the Cavs' basket. Perhaps he took a shot in the nether regions?

51-50 Cavaliers, 2:12/3rd: Fourth foul (offensive) on LBJ...he'll get a long rest around the quarter break, but he typically takes that break anyway. Nice job by the Truth to draw a pair of charges on him.

51-48 Cavaliers, 3:21/3rd: Paul Pierce just galloped to the hole for two and got the crowd on it's feet for the first time of the quarter.

Meanwhile, KG and LBJ have been exchanging words and even slapped each others hands away behind the refs' backs at one point. That's the first sign we've seen of any animosity out there, but hey, it's only Game 1.

45-48 Cavaliers, 7:07/3rd: The Cavs just capped an 11-0 run with a Zydrunas Ilgauskas jumper and they've got a three-point lead. James picked up two quick fouls in the opening minutes of the quarter and he's got three personals.

41-37 Celtics, Halftime: This game isn't nearly as physical as any of the games against the Hawks, but it's certainly more half-court oriented. 12 turnovers is way too many in a half for a playoff game, so the Celtics will have to correct that at the half.

36-30 Celtics, 2:43/2nd: Pierce (two fouls) is back in the game and chasing Wally Szczerbiak off screens while Ray Allen guards King James. Meanwhile, I don't think I've typed his name yet, but KG has 16 to lead all scorers.

30-26 Celtics, 5:35/2nd: Sam Cassell was hit with a flagrant 1 foul for wrapping up the ball as James attacked the basket. James did a bit of acting and it didn't appear that he got hit in the face, but he sold it well.

29-24 Celtics, 6:31/2nd: Just four points for the Celtics over the last 5:30 of the game. The pace has slowed down considerably, and the Cavs are inching back in and trail by just five points. Lots of turnovers in a rather sloppy half to this point. If the Cavs were connecting on any of their long range bombs (0/6 3FGs) they'd probably be leading this game.

25-15 Celtics, End of 1st: James Posey knocked down a three with just under a second remaining in the quarter to give the Celtics a 10-point edge after one. The Cavs are settling for jumpers and are just 1/13 from the outside.

16-9 Celtics, 2:38/1st: Nice recovery by the Celtics in the field goal department, but the Cavs are ice cold. They're 2/16 from the field (13%). Meanwhile, 14 of the Celtics' 16 points have come in the paint.

12-7 Celtics, 4:55/1st: Well, as soon as James Posey checked in the Celtics went on a 12-3 run. Anyone wanna guard Rajon Rondo? He's getting wherever he wants to go and is responsible for all 12 points. He's got eight himself and two dimes on the other two baskets.

4-0 Cavaliers, 8:13/1st: Paul Pierce just picked up his second foul trying to stop a LeBron drive to the bucket. Didn't look like he got much. The C's are 0-7 from the field to start the game.

Tipoff: The usual cloud of burnt pyro is hovering over the court, and we're ready to get it on. This place is rowdy again tonight.

Pregame Media Access

Despite the amount of media here to cover Game 1, it was a relatively quiet pregame here at the Garden. Most were crowding into the Cavs locker room to hear LeBron's pregame address, where reporters asked James about the MVP voting. James told reporters that he's been saying that Kobe Bryant is the best player in the league for the last few years, so he was not surprised.

Doc didn't get many questions in his pregame media, but when asked he did say that he didn't expect any verbal barbs about guys being overrated or rappers trading insults on behalf of the teams. He did admit that "you never know once the series begins", but seemed confident that his guys would only be talking about basketball.

Game 1 Preview

As noted yesterday, the media was out in full force in Waltham with the Celtics tipping off their second round series against LeBron James and the Cavaliers tonight. The final media headcount was at 51 yesterday, according to PR maven Heather Walker.

The topic of the day: Is there any way to stop LeBron James? To that end, the consensus seemed to be that the C's wouldn't try to do it with one man.

"There are no LeBron stoppers and we're not looking for one," Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said. "We don't want to put anybody on that island."

Peter Stringer has more on the Celtics trying to stop James, while Couper Moorhead checks in with a Game 1 preview.

Pollard Recovering from Second Ankle Surgery

According to Jeff Twiss, Scot Pollard underwent successful right ankle surgery this week and is doing well. He plans to be back in Boston for Thursday's Game 2 vs. his former team.

Pollard appeared in 24 regular season games and three playoff games for the Cavs last year.

Monday, May 5 - Practice

Media Circus Underway

3:30 p.m.: Just a half-hour after practice began, there are nearly 40 media members waiting for access to the post practice media availability session. The Celtics will meet the Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals tomorrow night at the TD Banknorth Garden.

Check CelticVision HD for video from today's practice, featuring interviews with Doc, KG, Paul and Ray.

Sunday, May 4 - Game 7, Hawks at Celtics

Postgame Reaction

Doc Rivers:
"I just told them after the game that that was the Celtics. I thought obviously, that we played terrific basketball tonight. The defensive energy was off the charts and the offense was great."

"I was really proud of them. Just a great effort. Two things that I noticed this series was that the two biggest games we played our best. Game 5 and Game 7. I think that for this team, you know, a lot of the players have been through a lot of playoff games, but we haven't been through anything as a team. I thought this was important for us. The pressure from this will probably pay off later."

Paul Pierce:
"I really had no doubt in my mind how we was going to come out tonight. You kind of saw it from the guys after game 6 on the plane, wasn't a lot of talking, we knew that we let a couple games get away in Atlanta and I just knew we was going to take care of business tonight. It was sort of like we didn't really talk about it, but you kind of like read everybody you kind of felt everybody especially on the plane coming home from game 6. I was telling everybody I was so happy that the game was at 1 o'clock because there was no way I could of sat at home today all day today because of my anxiousness to get back on the court after game 6 from the way I been feeling the past couple days."

Kevin Garnett:
"I haven't slept, so I should get some sleep tonight. Been up for damn near 24 hours just thinking about game 6 and the things we need to do tonight. I felt like Paul set the tone of how we was going to play by going to the basket, being very aggressive early. I thought Rondo was very aggressive early, even Ray Allen was aggressive early driving to the basket. I knew defensively when we was going through walk-through how we was going to be for the game and we pretty much just thought up lets get it on. For the most part the energy was there, I don't think we missed any assignments. Obviously they scored, but a lot of the things we wanted to do as far as strategy, we did that."

Ray Allen:
"The performance that we put out there tonight is very typical of what we have done all year, or who we wanted to be. I think on both ends of the floor we were very aggressive. Just starting out the game, Rondo pushed the ball, we got stops, we made them uncomfortable on defense and offensively, we scored from all angles."

"I wasn't nervous. I didn't sleep last night, just because before I go to sleep I let go of everything that happened during the day, last night I was just thinking so much about the game, and what I wanted to do, how I wanted to do it, and what we needed to do. About 12:00, I started to send text messages to my teammates. When I got here this morning, I had to ask to make sure my attempts weren't feudal. They were encouragement texts, just letting them know that I was over here thinking about what was going to happen today, on Sunday, so just making sure everybody knew about all the great things we have done all season."

Postgame Links

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

Live from Courtside

99-65 Celtics, FINAL: Well, since there was a full quarter of garbage time, there wasn't much to post...

79-43 Celtics, End of 3rd: Is Gino even in the building yet?

70-34 Celtics, 3:05/3rd: Some fancy passing and diving on the floor by KG. Has he seen the scoreboard? Either way, he just finished a bucket under the hoop with a message for the Garden fans. "It's Over!" he screamed while pulling back his jersey to reveal his heart. A few other unbloggable words in there too...

68-34 Celtics, 3:37/3rd: It's bedlam here in the Garden. This 34 point lead not only seems safe, it appears to be growing. Perk's got 10 and 10 tonight and it's his most impressive performance of his career in my view.

Know any good restaurants in Cleveland?

62-32 Celtics, 5:17/3rd: An 18-6 run to start the half and the tidal wave of defense is crushing the Hawks. The Hawks are 2-12 to start the half, and they are just about to pack it in. Meanwhile, Rondo looks even more composed since the WWE takedown under the basket. Pierce has seven of Boston's 18 points here in the third quarter.

53-28 Celtics, 9:09/3rd: Flagrant 2 foul on Marvin Williams for clotheslining Rajon Rondo on a breakaway layup. Williams did try to cradle Rondo on the way down, but the hit was too violent and worthy of the ejection he received. Rondo, for his part, knocked down his two free throws and the C's kept the ball.

44-26 Celtics, Halftime: Now that's the Celtics defense we've been missing. Hawks shooting 26% from the floor for the half. And if you've seen Josh Smith, Mike Woodson's probably looking for him...

42-26 Celtics, 2:34/2nd: One Celtic who is struggling? Ray Allen. He's just 2/11, his jumpers seem to be coming up short, and his regular lift is missing. Only Pierce and KG have scored on long range jumpers, everything else has been in the paint.

34-20 Celtics, 7:21/2nd: Leon Powe has once again made the most of his minutes; he's got four points and three rebounds in seven minutes.

32-18 Celtics, 8:59/2nd: A P.J. Brown swat and the second personal foul on Josh Smith got the attention of this capacity crowd. Atlanta needs to get some offensive production outside of Johnson; Smith, Bibby and Marvin Williams are a combined 3-13 from the field. And the Hawks have turned it over seven times already.

27-16 Celtics, End of 1st: Paul Pierce leads all scorers with 9 points (Joe Johnson also has nine for Atlanta) but the work of Kendrick Perkins on the inside, setting a physical tone and windexing the glass (six rebounds in 12 minutes) is the most impressive performance thus far. Just before the end of the quarter, James Posey came in to harass Johnson, and Joe got nothing on the final shot of the quarter. Look for more Posey on Johnson tonight.

20-10 Celtics, 2:15/1st: The energy is building in here with every possession. The Celtics continue to score inside, and the Hawks don't seem to have an answer. Pierce, Perk and KG all have four rebounds or more, and they're looking to start the break as soon as they clear the ball.

16-8 Celtics, 4:44/1st: The C's are pushing the pace and running the floor while the Hawks are walking it up the floor, but Atlanta doesn't have a choice. The C's are killing them on the glass, 12-6, and the Hawks are just 3-13 from the field.

10-5 Celtics, 7:07/1st: It's so loud I can't even hear myself blog. Anyway, the Celtics fell down quickly 3-2 but now have a 10-5 lead thanks to some inside scoring from Paul Pierce, Kendrick Perkins and Ray Allen. The C's are getting to all of the 50/50 balls early and beating the Hawks on the boards 9-to-3.

Tipoff: It's loud in here. AN organic "Let's Go Celtics" chant is underway...

Ready To Rock

As expected, it was all quiet on the Celtics front. With one game representing the possible end to their season, most of the Celtics stayed out of the locker room during media availability. P.J. Brown stopped by his locker for a quick jelly sandwich -- KG has the team hooked on them -- and commented that the team seems like it's in the right frame of mind. He would know, he's played in an entire regular season's worth of playoff games.

Doc Rivers kept his pregame interview short, saying that there won't be any Knute Rockne speeches before this one. A Game 7 speaks for itself, he said, and he just needs to remind the Celtics of who they are: the best defensive team in the league.

"We are playing a Game 7 because in three games we haven't been the best defensive team," Rivers said.

Phil Collins' In the Air Tonight is starting the slow burn towards tipoff. It's fitting since there hasn't been a Game 7 buzz like this in the Garden in quite some time.

While he didn't participate in yesterday's walkthrough, Rivers said Paul Pierce should be ready to go.

- Couper Moorhead

Saturday, May 3 - Pierce Sits Out Walkthrough

Practice Update

The Celtics staged a film session and walkthrough at The Sports Authority Training Center at HealthPoint today, and the biggest news coming out of today's session is that Paul Pierce did not participate in the walkthrough after injuring his hip during Friday night's Game 6 loss in Atlanta. While Coach Doc Rivers said he expects Pierce to be ready to go for tomorrow's game, it's already been a tough couple of weeks for Pierce after a hard take-down in Game 2 and a tough foul call that earned him a DQ last night.

Pierce and Kevin Garnett did not meet with the media on Saturday.

You can see Doc's post-practice presser, along with interviews with Ray Allen and James Posey in CelticVision HD, or listen to them in the Celtics Audio Archive.

11 a.m. on Celtics.com

An extremely limited quantity of tickets for Game 7 between the Hawks and Celtics, to be played tomorrow, Sunday May 4 at 1 p.m., will go on sale at 11 a.m. today here on Celtics.com.

• Direct Link: Game 7 - Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics

Friday, May 2 - Celtics at Hawks, Game 6

Links

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

Postgame Reaction

Head Coach Doc Rivers: "They hung in there. They did not act like a young team at the end. Them shooting forty-seven free throws to us shooting twenty-five makes that a tough game to win. Paul (Pierce) being in foul trouble late in the game really hurt us. It's tough that we scored 100 points in a game and didn't win because usually play such good defense. One thing they did better than us tonight was get pretty much every loose ball and make shots after getting the loose ball."

(On three-point miss by Ray Allen) "With about 20 seconds left we tried to get Ray (Allen) to come off a pick around Kevin (Garnett), not take a shot, and then dump it off to Kevin. In a two-point game, I liked our chances. I will never question a shot from Ray."

(About game seven at home) "We feel good at home all the time. That's why we fought all year to get home-court advantage. As I said after Game 5, we can't just hang our hat on being home."

James Posey: "We just put ourselves in this situation. We have to give them credit. They got the win. We still have to go out there and play the game and play defense, get stops, and win the game. We need to do things like that whether we are at home or on the road. The Hawks have been a better team here in Atlanta. They did a great job on adjustments. We had our opportunity to win the game, but they got stops, rebounded, and made plays on the offensive end when they had to. For one of the teams, it's going to be their last game. Just expect anything and everything."

Sam Cassell: "We're going home and our crowd will be behind us. There's still energy on the home court, but you have to expect the unexpected. We need our fans in Boston to be fired up for this game, but we need to be fired up too. We've got one of the best records in the league at home, so we just have to go out there and do what we have to."

Early Pregame

The word from the ATL is that the Celtics have cancelled their morning shootaround in favor of an afternoon film session/walkthrough and team meeting in a ballroom at the team hotel.

Thursday, May 1

Links

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

More: Despite Rough Series, Pierce Responds in Game 5 | Game 5 Photo Gallery | Locker Room Video

Wednesday, April 30 - Hawks at Celtics, Game 5

Postgame Wrap Up

Plenty of things stood out in tonight's win, but here's just a few that caught my eye in the Game 5 win.

- James Posey typically spends about an hour or so working on his shooting after practice, and a large portion of his drills revolve around shooting threes on the run from the wing. He nailed just that very shot on the break to end the third quarter, putting the C's up 81-64. So while media members seeking interviews often get annoyed while waiting around after practice for Posey to finish, his drills seem to pay off.

- Leon Powe has had his ups and downs so far in the playoffs, but he chipped in nicely tonight with 10 points and seven rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end. Powe was a 20-10 guy at Cal and certainly knows how to score on the block, but he's at his best with the Celtics when he's cleaning up after others and banging bodies with the bigs down low. He plays taller than his 6'8" height.

"I thought offensively and his rebounding was great. You know, individually he was great defensively," Rivers said of Powe. "Team defense he still has a way to go but he's getting it and he's getting better."

- Ray Allen is one of the most fundamentally sound shooters you'll ever see, but sometimes it seems like he needs a guy running up at him or just to catch the ball fading away from the basket to find his stroke. We'll have to ask him about that one. He told me back in the middle of the year that his body starts to "tingle" in the seconds before he's about to catch the ball for a wide open shot. I'm guessing there were a few tingles tonight.

"We played inside out," Allen said of the Celtics' attack. "I think the last two games we had good looks, but tonight we just made a concerted effort to get the ball in the post and kick it out to the perimeter."

- Coming into tonight's action, after four games the Celtics had 15 blocks as a team. Josh Smith had that many by himself in the first four games. But the C's managed to make him basically a non-factor around the basket tonight. He blocked just one shot while the Celtics rejected nine shots in Game 5.

- The Hawks didn't look like the same team that showed up in Games 3 and 4, but they are still getting to the free throw line much more than the Celtics. In Game 5, the Hawks connected on 25 of 29 freebies, while the Celtics hit just 11 of 15.

Pregame

Couper Moorhead checks in with today's Game 5 preview.

Game 5 preview | Live Scoreboard (8:30)

Tuesday, April 29 - Practice

No Fines/Suspensions from Game 4

According to Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge spent most of his morning on the phone trying to get word from the NBA on what -- if any -- discipline would be imposed on the Celtics and Hawks for a skirmish that broke out in the first half of Monday night's Game 4 with the Atlanta Hawks and saw players from both benches almost enter the court.

Moments before Doc Rivers learned that the Celtics would not be assessed any suspensions, he told reporters that the team was prepared to play with or without anyone who might be suspended from Wednesday's Game 5 at the Garden. Starting center Kendrick Perkins was shown on TNT's replay as having barely crossed the sideline, as was Hawks forward Marvin Williams. But neither player ever really made it onto the floor, nor seemed to demonstrate such intent, and presumably were afforded the benefit of the doubt from the league office with that in mind.

Before learning of the verdict, Rivers told reporters that he understands how players lose self-restraint on the court, admitting to being involved in about three or four dust-ups of his own in his playing days.

"The game is emotional," Rivers said. "For everyone outside of the game, it's easy to say, 'Just step away.'"

With that out of the way, Rivers and the Celtics can go back to thinking about what they need to do to wrest control of the series back from the Hawks, and according to the Coach, it starts with doing what got them through the regular season: relying on their defense rather than trying to rely on their offense.

"We've got to get back to the [make them] miss a shot mentality," Rivers said, noting that about eight points of Joe Johnson's 20-point fourth quarter eruption should have never happened had the team not missed defensive assignments.

"He never should have touched the ball," Rivers said of those eight points upon which the C's failed to deny Johnson the basketball. "Give him credit, he made some tough shots, but we helped."

One area the Celtics did excel at on the defensive end was keeping the Hawks out of transition, which proves important not only because it gives away easy buckets, but the Hawks and their crowd is easily riled up by a breakaway dunk. But most importantly, the Celtics have been on the wrong end of the foul situation. When the Hawks have gotten to the line, it's allowed them to set their defense and kept the Celtics out of transition themselves.

Meanwhile, Rivers made note of Josh Smith's shotblocking, something Rivers admitted he'd feared would be a factor coming into the series. Rivers said he'd rather see his players take the ball to Smith and force him to try to make shots rather than trying to double-clutch and second guess their shots.

Late Practice Today

The Celtics are slated to practice today at 3 p.m. at the Sports Authority Training Center at HealthPoint today to prepare for tomorrow night's Game 5 matchup against the Hawks.

Also of note, Reebok is going to distribute green T-shirts to the first 15,000 fans who enter tomorrow night's Game 5 at TD Banknorth Garden.

Doc Second in Coach of the Year Voting

The NBA announced today that New Orleans Hornets Coach Byron Scott won the Coach of the Year Award, garnering 458 points on 70 first place votes from a panel of 125 sportswriters in North America. Rivers ranked second (242 points) with 23 first-place votes.

Monday, April 28 - Celtics at Hawks, Game 4

Game 4 Wrap Up

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

More: Post-Game Presser

Sunday, April 27 - Game 5 Tickets

Tickets on Sale at 11 a.m.

Tickets for Hawks-Celtics Game 5 at the TD Banknorth Garden go on sale Sunday, April 27 at 11 am on Celtics.com and Ticketmaster.com, and by phone at 1-800-4NBA-TIX.

Saturday, April 26 - Celtics at Hawks, Game 3

Game Wrap Up

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

Photo Gallery

Game 3 Preview

Celtics.com Correspondent Couper Moorhead checks in with today's Game 3 preview.

Friday, April 25 - Practice

No Harm, No Foul?

Doc Rivers told reporters at Friday's practice that his team's been fouling too much in the first two games against the Hawks, and the Celtics will look to clean that up before Game 3 Saturday night in Atlanta.

"We're fouling too much right now," Rivers said. "When they are shooting free throws, there are no fastbreaks, there's no early offense. You're allowing them to set their defense."

The C's committed 54 fouls over the first two games against the Hawks.

More Video

Check the new CelticVision HD for practice interviews with Doc Rivers, Tony Allen and Kendrick Perkins from today's practice in Waltham.

Wednesday, April 23 - Hawks at Celtics, Game 2

Postgame Wrap Up

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

Physical Play Doesn't Bother Pierce | Team Defense Holds Down Hawks

Game 2 Photo Gallery

Live from Courtside

Live Scoreboard

96-77 Celtics, FINAL: The C's are up 2-0. No practice tomorrow, the team will just do some film work in Waltham. We'll have more from Friday's practice.

95-72 Celtics, 2:25/4th: Gino's also better...

Paul Pierce just checked out of the game with 14 points and a sore lower back. He high-fived fans as he went back to the dressing room for the rest of the night.

90-70 Celtics, 4:27/4th: KG just pulled back his jersey to point as his heart and then pound his chest after getting hammered underneath the basket. He plays to the crowd more than any Celtics player I can ever remember. Meanwhile, there's a deafening "Rondo's Better" chant going.

If you didn't read Mark Murphy's piece about Rondo learning from the Bibby family this week, you missed a good one. But right now, it looks like the student has become the teacher.

86-68 Celtics, 5:40/4th: The pace of this game has slowed considerably here in the fourth. The Hawks are trailing the Celtics 19-10 in fast break points, and they really haven't been able to get out and run tonight.

83-64 Celtics, 8:39/4th: James Posey was just assessed a flagrant one foul for cleanly blocking Josh Smith on the baseline.

80-64 Celtics, 9:46/4th: KG and Ray just checked in, but the crowd wants to know, "Where is Bib-by?"

76-58 Celtics, End of 3rd: Al Horford just scored back-to-back baskets in the paint, cutting the lead to 18. This kid is gonna be good. Al Jefferson may soon have company in the emerging young post players department. He's a dark horse for Rookie of the Year, but it won't happen. That didn't stop the Hawks from trying to get him some recognition.

71-52 Celtics, 3:19/3rd: The C's are pulling away, killing the Hawks on the glass and continuing to hold them under 40% shooting all game long.

62-46 Celtics, 8:32/3rd: Mike Bibby is still 1-for-6. I don't see anyone wearing bags over their heads.

Start of the Third: Paul Pierce is back on the floor to start the quarter.

52-42 Celtics, Halftime: We're not sure what Paul's status is beyond sore lower back. He played 11 minutes in the second half (about nine minutes after returning in the 2nd quarter) but we've yet to hear if he's expected to play in the second half.

50-37 Celtics, 3:01/2nd: Paul Pierce just picked up his third, and went back to the trainers room again.

34-24 Celtics, 9:03/2nd: A quick 10-4 engineered by Sam Cassell (eight points) run puts the Celtics back up by 10. They were up as many as 11 late in the first but the Hawks chipped away to keep it a four point game at the end of the first.

Cassell-Pierce-Posey-Powe-Brown is an interesting lineup that I don't remember seeing before, but it certainly gives you physical presence.

24-20 Celtics, End of 1st: Well that was a pretty physical quarter from the get-go. I really didn't see the full action of the foul on Pierce, despite it happening about 15 feet from me. That's what happens when you're trying to type and watch the game at the same time. Regardless, Paul is stretching his back by bending at the waist and hanging his arms down, and now he's checking in to start the 2nd quarter.

15-9 Celtics, 4:03/1st: It wasn't exactly Larry Bird shooting the tunnel, but Pierce just waltzed out of the tunnel by the Celtics bench. He's laying on the floor right now.

13-9 Celtics, 5:20/1st: The word on Paul Pierce is a lower back strain...He is expected to return.

5-7 Hawks, 8:03/1st: Touch foul on Joe Johnson is his second personal. He'll sit down.

Seated Courtside: Bruce Willis..."American Dream" Dusty Rhodes is also supposed to be in the house tonight...

5-3 Celtics, 9:45/1st: Hard foul from Joe Johnson on Pierce going to the hoop to start the game. We've officially got ourselves some bad blood. Pierce just went back to the locker room.

Bibby, meanwhile, got what he wanted. He's being booed on every touch of the ball.

Bibby, Perk Trade Barbs...

Back at the Garden tonight for Game 2 vs. the Hawks. The buzz is a little quieter tonight but pre-tipoff theatrics should work people up as they did Sunday.

Despite a laughing Josh Childress, the visitor's locker room was subdued, though Mike Bibby is proving to TNT that he knows drama, too.

After calling the Celtics' devoted "fair-weather fans", Bibby continued his Gilbert Arenas-lite commentary in a pregame interview, responding to Kendrick Perkins. Perkins said of Bibby yesterday, "I mean, coming off a 2-for-10 night shooting, he would say something like that."

Bibby wanted to know when Perk got this tough streak, saying that the center's stat line was probably worse than his Sunday night. Later, in the Celtics locker room, an apparently apathetic Perkins was non-plussed.

"I ain't got no comment for him. I'm still going to go to sleep tonight. It don't bother me either way. Whatever gets his confidence right," Perkins said. "I ain't worried about him. Obviously he's worried about what's going on over here."

Both head coaches addressed Bibby's earlier comments as a non-issue. Mike Woodson didn't even know what his point guard said until he woke up from his nap yesterday, and remarked that they can't undo it so the Hawks just have to go and play.

"I don't care. He doesn't play for us," Doc Rivers said, admitting that as much as he talks he's sure he let something slip during his playing days, which is why he never spoke before games.

- Couper Moorhead

Shootaround Update

P.R. Chief Jeff Twiss reports all 14 players went through this morning's workout in Waltham.

Tuesday, April 22 - Practice

KG Wins Defensive Player of the Year

WALTHAM - The NBA and Kia Motors were on hand after Tuesday's practice to present KG with the Defensive Player of the Year Award. You can listen to the press conference in today's Audio Archive, and we'll have the entire video this afternoon on Celtics.com.

• Press Release | Watch KG's Top 10 Defensive Plays

Monday, April 21 - Practice

Practice Report - Defensive Adjustments

The Celtics started their 1 p.m. practice early on Monday, and wrapped up around 2:30 p.m. And while they certainly didn't go too hard, they spent plenty of time watching video from Game 1 and worked on improving their transition defense.

"Our transition defense, even though in the stats it says seven fast break points, we know that isn't true," Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said. "We know they got some leak-outs and shots early in their offense because we didn't get back. We can do a better job with that. And our post defense wasn't very good. Our help defense can be better than it was last night."

Conventional NBA wisdom says that the playoffs are all about adjustments, and one would assume that when the Atlanta Hawks get blown out by 23 points, they'd be the team looking to adjust. But Rivers said his team has some tweaking to do as well. Presumably, his modifications will be more subtle.

"You make an adjustment if they're doing something offensively that bothers you or you didn't like. We didn't have to do a lot," Rivers said, noting that it's important not to out-think yourself when trying to determine just what to change.

The good news, Rivers said, is that practices during the playoffs are more efficient and easier to manage because you're focusing on just one team for days at a time. And had it been the regular season, the team might not have even staged a practice today, opting instead for rest and preserving their legs.

With playoffs on the brain, Rivers didn't get a chance to read NBA.com Monday morning, where he would have learned that James Posey finished eighth in the league's Sixth Man of the Year balloting. Reporters filled him in on the news that San Antonio's Manu Ginobili took home the award this year, and while Rivers said he couldn't argue with that choice, he did think Posey should have gotten stronger consideration.

"[Posey] doesn't do it in a flashy way, he does it in a role playing way. That's probably going to hurt all of our players in the awards. We are a role-playing basketball team and everybody buys in and they do it unselfishly," Rivers said.

"You have to see him [every night] to appreciate him. I thought he was fantastic last night," Rivers said. "I didn't even look at his point total last night because it didn't matter. I thought his help defense was almost the best he's done all year."

Celtics Practice Update

1:44 p.m.: You can't hear any basketballs bouncing here in Waltham, but we'll have the full update after practice wraps this afternoon.

Hawks Locker Room Quiet Before Shootaround

We swung by the Hawks' morning practice at the Garden today, and it was a somber mood as they laced up for practice. Many guys admitted to being a little overwhelmed by the playoffs for the first time; two guys missed the rim completely on first quarter jumpers. But they weathered the Celtics' initial storm.

Check the Audio Archive for sound from Mike Bibby, Joe Johnson, Al Horford and Coach Mike Woodson.

Game 2 Tickets Released!

A limited inventory of Game 2 tickets were released today. Get yours now!

Posey Eighth in Sixth Man Voting

San Antonio's Manu Ginobili won the NBA's Sixth Man Award today, and Celtics reserve James Posey, whose known for hugging it out during pre tip-off activities and taking charges in the paint, finished eighth in the voting.

Sunday, April 20 - Hawks at Celtics, Game 1

Live from Courtside

104-81 Celtics, FINAL: The Let's Go Bruins chant is underway...

96-75 Celtics, 2:59/4th: It's Gino Time...Big ups to Marina for organizing a Gino dance for the timeout. Bedazzled Gino T-shirts are a nice touch. We're still not sure about the light up outfits for starting lineups, though...

91-71 Celtics, 4:08/4th: Sam Cassell sits down with 10 points. Meanwhile, Horford has 20 and 10. Impressive, but the Hawks need more from their backcourt. Sure, Joe Johnson's got 19, but Bibby's five-point, one assist effort isn't enough if the Hawks are going to compete with the C's.

90-68 Celtics, 5:53/4th: Leon Powe just threw down a two-hander over Bibby, spilling himself on the floor in the process. Cassell and Garnett came flying in to pick him up off the floor, and Garnett began throwing punches at him on the ground to fire him up. That was the exclamation point on this one, and there's (hypothetically) still almost six minutes to play.

80-60 Celtics, 8:46/4th: Perkins is the only starter not in double-figures. But the Celtics are getting it done on the defensive end here in the second half as the Hawks are now hovering around 38% shooting for the game.

73-55 Celtics, End of 3rd: Ray Allen had 12 points in the quarter when Bibby was on him, and now Rondo's been draining midrange jumpers because the Hawks are daring him to beat them. Then he waved everyone off for a clearout drive against Horford and dropped a runner in the lane. He's got 15 points, six rebounds and nine assists through three quarters and is really taking control of this game.

The extra-long breaks at the quarters for national TV seem to leave teams with plenty of extra time for their huddles, to the point where players spend about 30 seconds on the sideline waiting for the horn to sound before the retake the floor.

60-44 Celtics, 7:47/3rd: Just as I finished telling Hawks.com's Micah Hart that the Celtics have been a fantastic third quarter team, the C's capped an 11-4 run with a Ray Allen three. Looks like the Hawks don't like the point guard matchup on their end, as they've now got Joe Johnson checking Rondo and Bibby guarding Allen.

49-40 Celtics, Halftime: Paul Pierce leads all scorers with 13 points here at the half, but it's a relatively quiet 13. This game feels closes than nine points, probably because since the Hawks made their 11-2 run late in the first, it's been basically a stalemate.

49-38 Celtics, 1:09/2nd: It looks pretty clear that the C's are intent on wiping Mike Bibby out on the pick and roll nearly every trip down the floor. Mr. Bibby isn't putting up much of a fight.

42-31 Celtics, 4:04/2nd: KG just picked up his third foul and took a seat. He's 4/10 from the field thus far with eight points and four boards.

29-21 Celtics/End of 1st: The Hawks survived the Celtics' initial shot and they used a late 11-2 run to keep things close here in the first quarter. The man most impressing me tonight? Rondo. I've already typed his name about six times, and he seems to be just as poised as he is for a regular season game.

As for Perkins, as I mentioned earlier, we interviewed him for Celtics.com before the game and mistakenly asked him if he was nervous before his first playoff experience, forgetting that he was on the 2004-05 team, and was selected by Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle to shoot free throws in place of Paul Pierce. He played 28 minutes total in that series, but admitted that for all intents and purposes, this is his first "real" playoff experience.

See, website reporters have playoff pressures, too...My bad!

26-13 Celtics, 2:53/1st: Rondo has a nice line so far, six points, three rebounds and five dimes.

24-10 Celtics, 4:46/1st: Rondo just scored on a post up move straight from the Kevin McHale playbook. Not bad for a six-footer. And Bibby got hit with a tech after the whistle.

14-4 Celtics, 6:54/1st: Perk just picked up his second foul. He's shaking his head on the way back to the bench.

8-2 Celtics, 8:43/1st: Pierce already hit a pair of threes...The Hawks have already missed the rim twice. Just a little nervous, perhaps?

Perk almost spit on me (unintentionally) after he got fouled and screamed at the crowd on the baseline, foaming at the mouth. That might be the scariest thing I've ever seen.

I asked him before the game if he's doing a better job of controlling his emotions on the court. He said he was trying but not happy about the fact that he was leading the NBA in techs early in the season. So yeah, he's trying to stay under control out there....

So much for that...

8:40 p.m. - It's game time...

Pregame Media Access

8:24 p.m. UPDATE! This arena is live...Let's Go Celtics has already started...The live look in at the locker room and Ray Allen's sprint down the hallway to lead the Celtics onto the floor for warmups had the building in a frenzy.

Aside from the extra media in the house tonight, so far it feels like a regular game in the Garden tonight. That said, we expect business to pick up in short order, as the game ops crew has a little something in store for us during opening lineups. Suffice it to say that they expect to blow the roof off the building tonight, if there's anything left from the aftermath of last night's Bruins game.

To that end, even Doc Rivers was watching hockey last night, and he was excited by what he saw.

Rivers did note that he couldn't really tell if the team is ready or not by their demeanor at shootaround.

"They seem ready, but you don't know. Clearly they're ready not to see us anymore as a coaching staff. I can guarantee that. You can tell when you yell out a play and they start yelling it back that they know the play."

One thing Doc is sure of is that he was more nervous as a player in the playoffs than he is as a coach.

"I think you're more nervous as a player. I was at least. As a coach, you're more focused on your practice time, and making sure you did your due diligence. Once the game starts, then you're just looking at matchups and praying for no foul trouble."

You can get his pregame audio here on the site in the Audio Archive.

6:55 p.m. - The locker rooms are about to open up. We'll be back with notes, quotes and more.

Saturday, April 19 - Practice

Rivers Likes Pressure; KG Back in Action

WALTHAM - Doc Rivers has called the pressure of expectations a privilege. He's said it all year long, and regularly contends that he much prefers the pressure to the alternative -- a bad team with little to no expectations.

To that end, many observers seem to think that there's no pressure on the Atlanta Hawks, huge underdogs as the #8 seed in the East against the best-in-the-NBA Boston Celtics. Rivers doesn't see it that way, and he made that clear at Saturday's practice when a reporter suggested that the Hawks have "nothing to lose."

"Yeah they do. They have the series to lose. I love when people say, 'they have nothing to lose.' That's a bunch of [expletive]," Rivers said. "They have just as much to lose as us. If they lose this series, they're going to really be disappointed. If we lose this series, we're going to be really disappointed."

His point shouldn't be taken lightly. While the public, media and Vegas oddsmakers may underestimate the Hawks, players know that their opponents are all NBA players and capable of beating you on any night. Along those lines, they're all extremely prideful overachievers who set high expectations for themselves. Underdogs or not, they feel a tremendous amount of pressure, and absolutely have something to lose.

"I understand what you're saying, but when I was an eight seed as a coach, and as a player, I felt the same pressure, I'm assuming, as the first," Rivers said. "You wanna win that series. It's good to have pressure. That's a privilege."

Garnett Back at Practice

After two days off, Garnett was back on the floor in Waltham today, and met the media to talk about the Celtics' matchup with the Hawks. Rivers says the Celtics really haven't changed anything, so it was easy for KG to jump back in and not miss a beat.

Garnett is pumped just to be back in the playoffs after sitting out the postseason since 2004. In fact, Garnett said he barely watched any of the postseason last year.

"I was totally numb to the playoffs last year. I was focused on making my basketball life better," Garnett said.

Mission accomplished. Garnett thinks this Celtics team is the best he's been on, exceeding the 2004 team he took to the Western Conference Finals along with Sam Cassell.

"It's about as deep a team as I've been on. Everybody's intense, everybody's excited. Just ready to go. Everybody's locked in and ready to go," Garnett said. "The biggest thing for me is to be poised and locked in. I'm excited to play tomorrow."

Friday, April 18 - Practice

Where's The Ticket?

Doc Rivers told reporters on Thursday that he expected Kevin Garnett to return to the practice court today, but the team went through a two-hour plus workout without him today at the Sports Authority Training Center at HealthPoint in Waltham.

Rivers, however, didn't seem to concerned, laughing off reporters' inquiries as to KG's whereabouts.

"He didn't come today. It's an attitude problem I think," Rivers deadpanned.

"It's just personal," Rivers said of Garnett's absence. "He'll be over here later this evening and we'll go through all of the stuff."

In contrast to yesterday's session, which was more video and scouting work, today's practice was noticeably louder and at times sounded pretty intense from the Hall of Fame room, where the media awaits the end of practice before the final 10-15 minutes are available for viewing from the balcony windows.

"The intensity was good. That's what it should be. Hell, if you can't get intensity now, you're probably not gonna get it and you've failed as a coach," Rivers said. "Not having Kevin does change some things, but it's been good."

Rivers joked that his "video guys" will be players for KG's workout; we're wondering if Assistant Video Coordinator Brian Adams knows why he's staying late tonight. Then again, he's already been working plenty of OT preparing the players for their matchups against the Hawks.

"The pl