Celtics-Clippers Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Mar 12 2012 2:20AM

Struggles on the road are one reason the Boston Celtics aren't in their customary position atop the Atlantic Division.

A visit to the Los Angeles Clippers may have spelled more trouble earlier in the season, but it doesn't look so intimidating right now.

The Celtics look to rebound from their latest road defeat as they continue their eight-game road trip Monday night against a sputtering Clippers team that just lost its grip on the top spot in the Pacific.

Boston (21-19) has cruised to four straight division titles, but adding to that run is proving problematic, due partially to a 5-11 road record. That includes a dismal 1-7 stretch, during which the Celtics are averaging 82.9 points and shooting 42.8 percent from the floor.

The Celtics, who trail Philadelphia by three games in the Atlantic, fell 97-94 to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday afternoon to open their longest road trip of the season. Paul Pierce's 3-point attempt was blocked by Kobe Bryant before Rajon Rondo missed another shot in the final second.

"They made shots down the stretch, and we didn't," said Rondo, who finished with 24 points and 10 assists. "We had some good looks at the rim, but the shots didn't fall and we couldn't get a stop the last couple of minutes. ... It's not difficult to win on the road. We're just not getting it done. We just have to close out quarters better and continue to work on our execution."

Rondo and the Celtics may find Sunday's matchup more favorable since the Clippers (23-16) have dropped four of their last six at Staples Center, including a 97-93 defeat to Golden State on Sunday night to open a season-high six-game homestand mere hours after the Lakers beat the Celtics on the same court.

That combination of results dropped the Clippers out of the Pacific Division lead, one game behind the Lakers. Now, the Clippers will try to avoid their first three-game home skid since Dec. 8-12, 2010. They had only themselves to blame Sunday after missing 16 of 35 free throws versus the Warriors.

"That's the real story of this. We beat ourselves," said guard Chris Paul, who had 23 points but went 3 of 6 from the line. "The bad part of it is how we started out. We dug ourselves our own hole. We were getting a lot of open shots, but at some point, you can't hope they miss. You've got to make yours."

Paul is shooting 59.2 percent from the floor over his last three games while averaging 27.0 points and 8.7 assists. He'll likely play a second consecutive game with a clear protective mask after suffering a nasal fracture in the first quarter of Friday's 120-108 win at San Antonio.

"It's different, but it doesn't inhibit anything," said Paul, who missed all nine of his field goal attempts and finished with four points and 15 assists in a loss to Boston with New Orleans on March 19, 2011.

Boston won last season's visit to play the Clippers on Feb. 26, 2011, getting 24 points from Paul Pierce and 22 from Ray Allen while Rondo dished out 11 assists.

Pierce has struggled over his last three road games, averaging 13.7 points while hitting just 34.2 percent from the field overall and shooting- 3 for 13 from 3-point range.

Celtics slow road woes with win over Clippers

By GREG BEACHAM
Posted Mar 13 2012 2:34AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) Before halftime, Boston and the Clippers already had combined for five technical fouls, plenty of rough contact, a few icy staredowns and a running dialogue of trash talk.

The Celtics feel right at home in such ugly situations, and they rallied for a win that slowed their road woes.

Paul Pierce scored 10 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, Kevin Garnett added 21 points and eight rebounds, and the Celtics made an impressive late rally for a 94-85 victory over Los Angeles on Monday night.

Ray Allen scored 15 points and Rajon Rondo had 12 points and 10 assists for the Celtics, who won on the road for just the second time in nine games, but only after blowing a 10-point lead in the final minutes.

Although the game was the clubs' only meeting of the season, both came out with a noticeable physical edge to their games. The Celtics were still fuming after blowing a late lead against the Lakers one night earlier, and they took it out on Staples Center's other tenants.

"Once we settled into this game, we were more physical and pushed back, made it uncomfortable for them," Pierce said. "We have to do it on a more consistent basis. We have to come out and throw the first punch. ... You could feel it in the atmosphere. It was a chippy game from the start."

The game also featured wild momentum swings and one-sided rallies. The Celtics led 71-61 with 8 1/2 minutes to play, but the Clippers responded with a 17-3 run, taking the lead on Griffin's free throws with 4:57 left when Brandon Bass fouled out.

Boston scored the next nine points, capped by Pierce's 3-pointer with 2:47 left, and finished a 13-2 run with Mickael Pietrus' layup for a seven-point lead. Los Angeles got to 87-84 on Griffin's putback dunk with 59 seconds left, but the Celtics hung on to split the first two games of an eight-game trip, their longest of the season.

"We were angry last night because we didn't get any stops down the stretch (against the Lakers)," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "This is Lob City, and they enjoy the game. You can see when they play, they have a lot of fun, and we just had to make this game no fun. We talked about it before the game, how this can not be a joyous occasion, and has to be no fun. Our guys went out there and turned the game from a joyous occasion to a competition."

Blake Griffin had 24 points and nine rebounds for the Clippers, who have lost four of five while falling behind the Lakers atop the Pacific Division. Chris Paul had 14 points on 3-for-12 shooting in his second game wearing a clear protective mask over his broken nose.

Griffin didn't speak to reporters after the game, while Paul was still steaming.

"I can't stand to lose. It's not acceptable," Paul said. "We talked about it after the game, that everybody has got to do their part. We're going to watch film and figure it out. There ain't no moral victories around here. I've been in this league too long. You've got to win, or you lose. And you've got to play the right way."

Griffin and Boston's Greg Stiemsma got matching technical fouls for jostling in the first quarter, while Garnett and DeAndre Jordan traded trash talk and angry posturing before getting their own matching T's in the second quarter. Rivers got yet another for a furious reaction to a non-call, and the Clippers took their first lead of the game moments later on Williams' 3-pointer.

"That's just Boston, that's all," said Mo Williams, who scored 21 points off the bench. "That's their motto. Coming in, you know they're going to be aggressive, and if you don't match their aggressiveness, they'll bully you. But I love games like this."

Paul, whose nose was broken three days ago in San Antonio, combined with Caron Butler and Jordan for 9-for-35 shooting for the Clippers, who outrebounded the NBA's worst rebounding team 45-31.

The Clippers still are off to an outstanding start to the season, but they'll be hard-pressed to keep it up with a brutal schedule on the horizon.

They lost their second home game in two days - and their fifth in seven - during a stretch in which they'll play six games at Staples Center in eight days. The Clippers will become the first NBA team to play 20 games in a month since the Cincinnati Royals did it in February 1967.

NOTES: The Clippers have sold out all 19 of their home games this season. ... Boston F Chris Wilcox isn't with the team while undergoing tests for a potential heart problem. The Celtics don't have many specifics about Wilcox's health yet. "Obviously it's not a good situation, but we're just hoping for the best," Rivers said. Boston already lost Jeff Green for the season with a heart issue. ... C Jermaine O'Neal also isn't on the Celtics' road trip after injuring his wrist. ... Garnett passed Moses Malone for 11th place on the NBA's career list in minutes played. ... Fans near courtside included Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton and Los Angeles Kings forwards Mike Richards and Jeff Carter.

Notebook: Celtics 94, Clippers 85

Posted Tuesday March 13, 2012 2:46AM

By Dan Arritt, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: A day after blowing a five-point lead down the stretch against the Lakers, the Celtics turned the tables on the Clippers and erased a four-point deficit in the final four minutes Monday night, winning for the seventh time in the last nine games, 94-85, at Staples Center.

QUOTABLE: "It was a game of runs, really. It has to do with our defense. We talked about last night and we were angry because we were not able to get any stops, and we talked about if we are going to be a defensive team, then we have to get stops down the stretch."
-- Celtics head coach Doc Rivers.

THE STAT: The Celtics came into the game 8-17 on the season when getting outrebounded. The Clippers owned a 51-42 edge on the boards, but Boston earned the victory anyway. The Celtics also improved to 12-1 when scoring between 90-99 points. The only loss was against the Lakers the day before, 97-94.

TURNING POINT: Trailing by four points after a 3-point basket by Clippers reserve forward Bobby Simmons with 4:22 remaining, the Celtics called timeout and devised a plan to go inside against Simmons, who is on his second 10-day contract. Kevin Garnett got inside position for an easy basket, and Rajon Rondo scored on a fast-break lay up after a turnover by Blake Griffin. Simmons was then called for an offensive foul on the other end, and followed that up by fouling Paul Pierce after the cagey veteran got position down low. Pierce made both free throws and Chris Paul missed a 3-pointer on the other end, leading to a 3-point basket by Pierce and the completion of a 9-0 run that gave the Celtics a 83-78 lead with 2:47 left. The Clippers cut the deficit back to three a couple times but couldn't get any closer.

HOT: Garnett had the unenviable task of guarding the much younger and more active DeAndre Jordan, and also taking turns against Griffin. Not an easy workload after playing 35 minutes the day before against Andrew Bynum and the Lakers. The 35-year-old veteran responded, however, scoring 21 points and grabbing eight rebounds while playing another 35 minutes. His turnaround, fadeaway jumper over Simmons with 38 seconds remaining pushed the lead back to five points and sent the Clippers to their eighth loss in the last 12 games.

NOT: Somebody needs to take the scoring pressure off Griffin and Paul and that person would normally be Caron Butler. However, the veteran small forward continued his disappearing act for the Clippers, shooting 3-for-13 and scoring seven points. In the Clippers' last eight losses, Butler is a combined 16-for-75 from the field (21.3 percent).

GOOD MOVE: Jordan came into the game third in the league in blocked shots and may have invented another statistical category, the grabbed shot. On the possession after he and Garnett received technical fouls for bumping each other, Jordan went high in the air as Rondo threw up a wild lay up and grabbed the ball with two hands. That seemed to fire up the Clippers, as they closed the second quarter on a 19-10 run to take a 48-39 lead into the half.

BAD MOVE: The Clippers began the fourth quarter with the ball and trailing by a point, but Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro must have forgot to devise a play during the break. After dribbling the ball on the perimeter for 21 seconds, Paul finally began driving to the basket but before he could let go of his lay up, the shot clock expired.

QUOTABLE II: "We weren't getting enough stops. We didn't push them into transition. It's tough that we can't close games out. They defended us really well and forced us into some tough shots. We just have to get better."
-- Chris Paul.

NOTABLE: Garnett passed Moses Malone for 11th all time on the minutes-played list. Another former Celtics center, Robert Parish, is next at No. 10.

UP NEXT: For the Clippers, Wednesday vs. Atlanta, Thursday vs. Phoenix, Saturday vs. Houston. For the Celtics, Wednesday @ Golden State, Friday @ Sacramento, Saturday @ Denver.

• Celtics: O'Neal, Wilcox
• Clippers: Billups, Leslie

• Celtics: Garnett, Rivers, Stiemsma
• Clippers: Griffin, Jordan

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Officials: #23 Jason Phillips, #56 Mark Ayotte, #63 Derek Richardson
• Attendance: 19464
• Duration: 2:40