Trail Blazers-Celtics Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Mar 08 2012 4:24PM

The Boston Celtics saw their five-game winning streak come to an end in embarrassing fashion their last time out.

If their recent efforts against Portland are any indication, the Celtics should feel good about getting back on track with the Trail Blazers coming to town.

Boston tries for a 12th win in 13 meetings with road-weary Portland, which seeks just its third win in 11 games away from home Friday night.

One night after matching their longest run of the season with a 97-92 overtime win over Houston, the Celtics (20-18) came out flat in Wednesday's 103-71 rout at Philadelphia. Boston, which also went to OT during Sunday's 115-111 win over New York, shot a season-worst 35.0 percent in suffering its most lopsided defeat in more than six years.

"I really can't explain. Just chalk it up as one of those nights from playing with tired legs," Paul Pierce, who had averaged 30.3 points in his previous three games before scoring 16 against the 76ers, told the Celtics' official website.

"We know this team isn't 30 points better than us. We are coming off two games, straight back-to-backs traveling. I don't like to make excuses, but we know we are a better team than what we showed."

Sitting in seventh place in the Eastern Conference and two games behind Philadelphia for the Atlantic Division lead, the Celtics open a crucial eight-game road swing Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers.

A visit from Portland (19-20) could help Boston carry some momentum into its longest trek of the season.

In addition to taking four straight and 11 of 12 from the Blazers, the Celtics have won seven in a row in this series on their own court. Portland hasn't prevailed in Boston since a 105-98 win March 31, 2004.

The Blazers, whose five road wins are tied for the second-fewest in the West, kicked off a seven-game trip with Wednesday's 106-94 loss at Minnesota.

"You never want to start a road trip like this, with a loss," Jamal Crawford said. "You want momentum and start off with a win. Mood's pretty down for sure."

Portland shot just 3 of 23 (13.0 percent) from 3-point range and was outrebounded 47-37 in dropping to 1-4 over its last five games overall.

The Blazers find themselves in 11th place and could have a hard time making up ground with upcoming visits to Washington, Indiana, New York, Chicago and Oklahoma City following this contest.

"We're searching. I just don't know what we're searching for," said Gerald Wallace, who had 13 points, nine boards and a season-best nine assists Wednesday. "I don't know what to say.

"(We) can sink real fast on this road trip. This was a must-win game for us. We go and we've got to play some tough teams."

Ranking near the top of the league with an average of 103.6 points at home, Portland has managed just 91.7 per game as a visitor. Points could come at a premium against the Celtics, who are holding opponents to 89.8 points per contest.

Boston has won nine of 11 at home. Three of its four straight victories there have come by six points or fewer.

Celtics center Jermaine O'Neal, who spent the first four years of his career with the Blazers, is likely to miss an eighth consecutive game with a sprained left wrist.

Pierce and Allen lead way in Celtics' rout

Posted Mar 10 2012 1:35AM

BOSTON (AP) The Boston Celtics had a little fun after this game.

In fact, they probably could have been joking around earlier in the game, too.

Paul Pierce and Ray Allen each scored 22 points and the Celtics rebounded from a lopsided loss and handed one to Portland on Friday night, beating the Trail Blazers 104-86.

When it was over, the Celtics were all smiles. Rajon Rondo, who recently has avoided talking to the media, said he was answering questions for reserves Sasha Pavlovic and Avery Bradley before walking over to Pierce during his postgame news conference and saying, "P. I got this. Head home."

The win came after Boston lost by 32 points at Atlantic Division-leading Philadelphia on Wednesday, its worst setback in more than six years.

"Not a lot to talk about," said a smiling Pierce as he walked over to the media, before Rondo took over. "It was just a good response, especially with the way we played down in Philadelphia. A good way for us to head out west."

The Celtics led by 35 points at halftime and 34 after three quarters.

Kevin Garnett grabbed seven defensive rebounds to move into second place on the NBA's career list with defensive rebounds since the league started keeping the stat in 1973-74.

He has 10,122 and moved ahead of Robert Parish (10,117). Karl Malone holds the top spot with 11,406.

LaMarcus Aldridge led the Trail Blazers with 22 points. Portland has dropped five of six games and played the second of seven straight away from the Rose Garden.

It was the Trail Blazers' eighth consecutive loss in Boston. They've lost 12 of their past 13 overall against the Celtics.

"That was an unprofessional approach," Portland coach Nate McMillan said. "There was no basketball being played out there tonight. We can play harder than that. We can play better than that."

Boston begins a season-high, eight-game road trip at the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday afternoon.

"It's good to get away with one like this," Pierce said.

Boston coach Doc Rivers even teased Pierce as he headed out the locker room door because he hadn't packed yet.

"I'm a veteran," Pierce said, laughing. "I know how. I'll be ready."

The Celtics opened a double-digit lead on Rondo's driving layup with 39 seconds left in the first quarter and didn't stop there.

They led 27-17 after one, scored the initial 16 points of the second quarter and built their lead to 37 points (60-23) on Allen's two free throws late in the second before holding a 65-30 halftime edge.

Boston shot 60 percent (27 of 45) in the first half, and Portland just hit 36.4 percent (12 of 33).

The Trail Blazers had a season-low for points in the half and committed 17 turnovers in the opening half. They had a season-high 28 for the game.

Boston, coming off the 103-71 loss at Philadelphia, trailed 10-8 early before taking charge.

On Friday, the Celtics sent the Trail Blazers to the ugly defeat. Boston led 88-54 after three quarters before Portland's bench outscored the Celtics' reserves in the final quarter.

"This isn't the first time this year. We have to bounce back, we have to react," Portland guard Nicolas Batum said of the upcoming trade deadline. "We have to stop talking and act like a man - have some pride. We are talking too much, we're thinking too much. We have to just go out and play."

At times during the first half, Portland threw numerous lazy passes that led to 10 opening-half steals by Boston and, on one possession, Marcus Camby lofted an alley-oop pass when no one was near the basket.

The ball hit the backboard, went directly to Boston reserve center Greg Stiemsma, who fired it downcourt for an easy fastbreak basket.

In the second quarter, Boston had a pair of layups where a Trail Blazers' player made a futile attempt to block the shot, leading to 3-point plays. Pavlovic had the first 1:02 into the quarter when he drove by Batum, who made a weak slap at his arm.

Later, Pierce missed a layup, but tipped in his own shot and was fouled on the play by Kurt Thomas, who appeared to be standing behind him before making a brief effort that drew the foul. Pierce's 3-point play gave Boston a 56-23 lead.

In the second half, it didn't get much better for the Trail Blazers. Pierce made a 3 from the wing, moving Boston's lead to 79-38 with 6 1/2 minutes left in the quarter.

Boston's starters were done for the night after three quarters.

Portland cut it to 96-78 with 3 1/2 minutes left in the game.

NOTES: Boston was without reserves Michael Pietrus (sore right knee) and Chris Wilcox (personal reasons). Rivers said before the game he hopes to have Pietrus back for Sunday's game. "It just keeps swelling up," Rivers said of Pietrus' knee. ... The Celtics coach praised Portland C/F Camby before the game. "If you ask some people they might say, `Wow, is he still playing?"' Rivers said of Camby, in his 15th season. "He's not just still paying, he's playing well, too." ... Celtics F Pierce played his 1,000 game, third most in club history behind Parish (1,106) and John Havlicek (1,270). ... The Celtics wore their green jerseys with gold trim, usually worn on St. Patrick's Day, but they'll be away next weekend. ... Portland was missing rookie G Eliot Williams, out with a dislocated left shoulder.

Notebook: Celtics 104, Blazers 86

Posted Saturday March 10, 2012 12:13AM

By Brendan Jackson, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Portland Trail Blazers could not get out of TD Gardenfast enough as they fell to the Boston Celtics 104-86. The Celticsand Trail Blazers battled for the better part of the first quarter before the Celtics ended the quarter on a 17-7 run. That was only the beginning however as the Celtics continued to outscore the Trail Blazers 46-13, a run that spanned from 1:40 in the first quarter until 11:13 to go in the third. Portland failed to play up to the C's level of intensity and execution and watched as the Boston lead grew to an astounding 43 points at one point in the third quarter. Paul Pierce had a team-high 22 points for the C's. The lone bright spot for the Trail Blazers was their lone All Star, LaMarcus Aldridge, who finished the game with 22 points and 4 rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "That's unprofessional approach. There was no basketball played out there tonight."
-- Blazers coach Nate McMillan

THE STAT: Portland had 17 turnovers over the opening 24 minutes, and finished with a season-high 28 turnovers, the highest number for any team in an NBA game this season.

TURNING POINT: The Trail Blazers played an incredibly sloppy second quarter as they turned the ball over eight times made only 4-of-16 field goal attempts. The Celtics, meanwhile, capitalized on Portland's poor effort by scoring nine fast break points and notching 10 assists in the quarter.

QUOTABLE II: "I just thought we played extremely well, and they struggled. You could see they missed shots early and they got frustrated. There was a stretch for us; our ball movement was absolutely sensational."
- Doc Rivers

HOT: Ray Allen -- Allen shot 4-for-7 from behind the arc including 2-for-3 during a third quarter run that stretched the Celtic lead to 43 points. Allen's performance was a far cry from his 0-5 outing last Wednesday against the 76ers.

NOT: Gerald Wallace -- Gerald Wallace finished the game scoring just two points on 1-for-7 shooting along with five turnovers. Wallace's bad night was a sharp departure from his near-triple-double last Wednesday against the Timberwolves.

GOOD MOVE: Rivers sacrificed a potential historic score differential in order to rest his veteran starters. Brandon Bass was the only Celtics starter to play more than 26.5 minutes, finishing with 30 minutes of action. ... The Celtics aging stars have the luxury of starting their impending eight-game road trip well rested.

ROOKIE WATCH: Boston center Greg Stiemsma was one of the few Celtics to have a really rough night. The seldom-used big man missed all nine shots he took before fouling out with 4:15 to go in the contest.

NOTABLE: The Celtics will leave town after tonight on an eight-gameroad trip that will have them playing all four California (Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, and Sacramento Kings). Pierce played in his 10,000th game in a Celtics uniform. Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo playfully addressed the media for his teammates and answered questions as if he were them. The Trail Blazers have five more road games before returning to the Rose Garden. Marcus Camby finished with 10 rebounds to lead the Trail Blazers.

UP NEXT: For the Trail Blazers, Saturday @ Wizards, Tuesday @ Pacers, Wednesday @ New York. For the Celtics, Sunday @ Lakers, Monday @ Clippers, Wednesday @ Golden State.

• Trail Blazers: Oden, Williams
• Celtics: O'Neal, Pietrus

• Trail Blazers: --
• Celtics: Pierce

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: TD Garden, Boston, MA
• Officials: #32 Eddie F. Rush, #58 Josh Tiven, #59 Gary Zielinski
• Attendance: 18624
• Duration: 2:06