76ers-Celtics Preview

Posted May 13 2012 3:39PM

BOSTON (AP) Philadelphia coach Doug Collins warned his team about the Celtics' third-quarter prowess this season.

Perhaps that advisory should have been extended into the fourth quarter as well.

Leading for most of the game and by as many as 10 early in the fourth, the 76ers could no longer contain Kevin Garnett or Rajon Rondo, who ignited a 23-7 surge to start the final quarter, helping the Celtics steal Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 92-91 victory Saturday night.

Game 2 is Monday in Boston.

"I think they're the top third-quarter team in the league this year and Coach really stressed that," Philadelphia forward Elton Brand said. "So, when we pushed that lead back up to 10, it was just a feeling like we had a chance there."

Rondo had other ideas.

The fleet-footed point guard collected 17 assists, 13 points and 12 rebounds, notching his eighth career playoff triple-double. Six of those points, five assists and four rebounds came in the fourth quarter, fueling the late-game run with three long-range jumpers that turned a double-digit deficit into a six-point lead with 1:17 remaining.

"I think we shot ourselves in the foot, that's what you learn pretty much," Sixers guard Evan Turner said. "We were up 13 a couple times, we weathered the storm, went back up 10, and just think we shot ourselves in the foot.

"Especially the Celtics, they're always going to fight. You just have to keep them down."

There's been no slowing Garnett lately.

The 35-year-old forward submitted another age-defying performance on the heels of one of his best all-around efforts in recent memory. On Thursday, in closing out Atlanta, he had 28 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks and three steals. Less than 48 hours later, Garnett scored a season-high 29 and added 11 rebounds against Philadelphia, playing the entire fourth as Boston improved to 4-0 on its home court this postseason.

Garnett is averaging 20.1 points and 10.6 rebounds in the playoffs.

"We are gonna ride Kevin all the way until his wheels fall off," Boston forward Paul Pierce said. "He understands the sense of urgency with this ball club and he's giving it everything he's got out there for us."

Brand seems to agree.

"I think he's the hottest guy in the league right now," he said. "The closeout game in Atlanta and how he played last night? It was pretty amazing."

Andre Iguodala scored 19 and Turner added 16 and 10 rebounds for the Sixers, who became just the fifth No. 8 seed to win a first-round series against the top-seeded team when they knocked off the Chicago Bulls. Philadelphia took advantage of Chicago's injuries, and took a 3-1 series lead, before eventually capping the upset in Game 6 at home Thursday.

The Celtics are different, though, a sage squad seeking their third berth in the East finals over the past five seasons. Boston did not practice on Sunday.

Philadelphia owned a 77-67 lead with 11 minutes to go before Rondo drained a pair of outside jumpers in a span of two minutes to hand Boston an 83-82 edge. Garnett later put Boston in front for good on a layup and Pierce and Rondo helped seal it with back-to-back jumpers.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers wasn't sure if his team had one last run in them. When they did, though, he wasn't surprised.

"It's funny, when we cut the lead the first time and then they pumped it back up to seven, nine . I didn't feel bad about the game," he said. "I didn't know if we were going to win or lose. I did feel like mentally, our guys were still very much in the game, and, to me, that's a good sign."

The Sixers learned a valuable lesson, too.

"We played well, but they're a weathered team, they're a championship team," Brand said. "Most of those guys have been on a championship team, so they know how to execute, they know to finish at the end, which we've done better at, but that's what we have to do against this Boston team."

76ers even series with 82-81 win over Celts

Posted May 14 2012 11:16PM

BOSTON (AP) Evan Turner made the go-ahead layup with 40.4 seconds left and Philadelphia held off Boston the rest of the way with six straight free throws as the 76ers evened the second-round Eastern Conference series with an 82-81 victory Monday night.

Turner finished with 10 points, including his layup that put the Sixers up 76-75. He added two free throws with 12 seconds to go.

Jrue Holiday scored 18 points and Andre Iguodala added 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Sixers, who blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter as the Celtics won Game 1.

Kevin Garnett had 15 points and 12 rebounds and Ray Allen scored 17 points for the Celtics.

Game 3 is Wednesday in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia won its first playoff game in Boston since 1982 despite committing a playoff-high 19 turnovers and getting outrebounded 47-36.

Spencer Hawes finished with eight points and 10 rebounds and Lavoy Allen scored 10 points for the Sixers.

Brandon Bass had 12 points for the Celtics, who couldn't quite repeat their comeback in the series opener. The Sixers led by 10 points early in the fourth quarter of Game 1 before the Celtics rallied for a 92-91 victory.

It was starting to look familiar for Philadelphia on Monday, but the Sixers were able to hold off the Celtics down the stretch in a tight finish.

Philadelphia led 57-49 entering the fourth, but Boston tied it twice before going up 72-71 on Avery Bradley's 3-pointer, setting off a series of shots from beyond the arc.

Holiday answered with a 3 for the Sixers, then Ray Allen got the lead right back for the Celtics on a 3-pointer with 1:40 left. The Celtics had a chance to extend the lead after forcing the Sixers into a 24-second shot clock violation, but Rondo missed a shot and Iguodala got the rebound, leading to Turner's layup to put the Sixers up 76-75 with 40.4 seconds to go.

Rondo and Allen both missed shots that would have put Boston ahead, then Rondo fouled Turner with 14.4 seconds left as the shot clock was winding down.

The Celtics fouled Turner again with 12 seconds and he hit both free throws to extend the lead to 78-76.

Fans grew restless as the second half opened with sloppy, choppy play by both teams. Boston led 38-36 at halftime and nearly 7 minutes into the third quarter the score was just 43-41 with the Celtics still ahead.

When the shots finally started falling, they were all for Philadelphia. The Sixers scored 14 straight points, turning a 47-43 deficit into a 57-47 lead in the final minute of the period. Boston went without a point for 4:40, finally scoring when Pierce made two free throws with 2.4 seconds left in the period.

The Celtics committed seven turnovers during the quarter and made just 4 of 17 shots.

Notes: The Celtics scored the first nine points. ... Boston made its first five shots, not missing until Hawes blocked Bradley's attempt 3:24 into the game. ... Rondo had eight assists in the first half, including alley-oop setups for Greg Stiemsma and Ryan Hollins, who had to reach behind his head for the pass but still corralled it for the two-handed dunk to put the Celtics up 33-29. ... Holiday led Philadelphia with 13 points in the first half. He was the only Sixer to score in double figures in the first two periods. Hawes was the next closest with six points. ... The Sixers had lost their last seven playoff games in Boston, last winning on May 23, 1982, in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Notebook: Sixers 82, Celtics 81

Posted Monday May 14, 2012 11:29PM

By Brian Robb, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Jrue Holiday broke out of a shooting slump to score a game-high 18 points, as the Philadelphia 76ers held off a late rally to escape with a 82-81 win over the Boston Celtics. With the victory, the Sixers head home to Philadelphia tied 1-1 with Boston in the best-of-seven series.

The visitors led for the majority of the contest in a gritty offensive struggle that had both teams tallying fewer than 58 points heading into the fourth quarter. Both offenses awoke in the fourth quarter, as the Celtics shot a scorching 65 percent in the final period to take the lead with just under two minutes remaining. Philadelphia did not back down however, as Evan Turner (10 points) hit the go-ahead layup with 40 seconds left to re-take the lead. Two possessions later, Boston squandered their final chance to tie the game after a Kevin Garnett offensive foul with 12 seconds remaining, allowing the Sixers to deal Boston their first home loss of the 2012 playoffs. Ray Allen led the Celtics with 18 points off the bench.

QUOTABLE: "Our young guys just keep growing and they're really becoming me. I'm so proud of them. I have to tell you all season long we couldn't win these games and now our guys are believing they can do it, and it is pretty special to watch."
-- Sixers head coach Doug Collins

THE STAT: The Celtics shot just 24.2 percent (9-of-37) over the second and third quarters, mustering a mere 24 points over the two frames combined.

TURNING POINT: After spotting Boston a 9-0 lead after the opening tip, Philadelphia immediately closed the gap with a 15-7 run of their own, setting the stage for a back-and-forth defensive struggle over the remainder of the evening.

QUOTABLE II: "I wasn't fond of it at all. Listen, if you're going to tell me Kevin was the only one moving in picks tonight, then I'll live with that, but he clearly was not the only one. He was the one that got the calls tonight, but we put ourselves in that position at the end of the day. When you do that, you can lose games."
-- Celtics head coach Doc Rivers on Garnett's offensive foul with 12 seconds remaining

HOT: Garnett -- After attempting just five shots over the first three quarters, the big man caught fire late, scoring 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, keying the Celtics' late rally which fell just short.

QUOTABLE III: "I can't preach enough about our veterans. Really, just taking us under their wings and just keeping us focused and paying attention to details, the little things that help us win this game."
-- Holiday.

NOT: Brandon Bass -- After hitting three of his first four shot attempts of the game, the usually reliable mid-range shooter missed eight straight shots before the end of the first half to finish 3-of-12 over the game's opening 24 minutes.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Andre Iguodala -- The veteran leader of the young Sixers filled up the box score while besting Paul Pierce for the second straight game. The small forward finished with seven assists, six rebounds and scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half.

INSIDE THE ARENA: For the second straight game, Brian Scalabrine watched his former teammates from courtside, and was treated to a rousing ovation by the TD Garden crowd.

BAD MOVE: With the Sixers holding the ball and leading by one with 26 seconds remaining in the game, Boston made a decision to foul in order to ensure themselves of another possession and make Philadelphia shoot free throws. However, the Celtics wasted 10 critical seconds before making the decision to foul, lost time that came back to bite the hosts as their comeback fell short.

ROOKIE WATCH: Lavoy Allen -- The reserve power forward has been a sparkplug for the Sixers in this series. After scoring in double-digits in Game 1, Allen finished Game 2 with 10 points, eight rebounds, two blocks, two steals and was a game-high plus-21 in 30 minutes.

NOTABLE: Boston dropped to 17-2 over their last 19 home games. It was their first postseason loss at home this season. Philadelphia improved to 4-1 in the postseason when both teams scored under 90 points. Both teams had a postseason high in turnovers. Pierce is shooting 25 percent (5-of-20) in the series while playing with a sprained left MCL....Before winning Game 2, Philadelphia had not won a postseason game in Boston since 1982. Avery Bradley left the game in the second quarter after aggravating his left shoulder injury. He returned to the game in the fourth quarter and finished with eight points.

UP NEXT: Game 3: Wednesday May 16th Boston @ Philadelphia 8 p.m. ET on TNT

• 76ers: Brackins
• Celtics: Johnson, Williams

• 76ers: --
• Celtics: --

• Lead Changes: 9
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: TD Garden, Boston, MA
• Officials: #43 Dan Crawford, #23 Jason Phillips, #38 Michael Smith
• Attendance: 18624
• Duration: 2:26