Celts slip past the Mavs in the final minute
Art Garcia | Mavs.com
Posted: Jan. 31, 2008
BOSTON – The first tussle against the NBA’s pacesetter lost some luster when Kevin Garnett couldn’t give it a go. The Celtics, though, aren’t just about one guy, as the Mavericks witnessed Thursday night.
The other two members of the Boston Three Party – Paul Pierce and Ray Allen – each scored 26 and the Celtics separated in the final seconds to nip Dallas 96-90 before a capacity crowd at TD Banknorth Garden.
“Our guys battled,” coach Avery Johnson said. “We were fighting uphill quite a bit during the game, but we finally got it going a little bit and we had a much better second half than we did a first half.”
The Mavs (31-14) had their four-game winning streak snapped in the first of three straight games against Eastern Conference division leaders. The trip picks up after a two-day break Sunday at Detroit.
The loss also means the Hornets’ Bryon Scott will coach the Western Conference All-Star team. Though the Mavs can still tie New Orleans for the conference’s best record, Scott enjoys the tiebreaker since Johnson coached an All-Star Game more recently.
On the night All-Star reserves were named, each team felt it was a representative short. So it was fitting the two snubbed – Josh Howard and Allen – were in All-Star form early. Dirk Nowitzki did make the West team, while Pierce picked up an East nod.
Howard, a master of the fast start, slashed his way to 13 of the Mavs’ 20 first-quarter points. Allen rode that sweet stroke to the tune of 15 points. Allen scored 22 at the halftime break, while Howard had 17. None of their teammates had more than Nowitzki’s seven.
Neither team was at full strength. Garnett was saddled with an abdominal strain, missing his third game in a row. Allen was back in the lineup after missing one game with flu-like symptoms. The Mavs are without Devin Harris and Jerry Stackhouse.
The game had a choppy quality, as neither team managed a significant run. Defenders were physical at both ends, leading to few open shots or easy baskets down low. As a result, shooting percentages hovered in the low 40s most of the night. The Mavs missed 18 of 22 tries from beyond the 3-point arc.
“Seemed like they had a scheme, something we ain’t used to seeing,” Howard said. “We were able to figure it out towards the end. They just made a couple plays that we didn’t make at the end. It’s that simple.”
The teams were tied (44-44) at the half and separated by only one point going into the final quarter. The two All-Star picks went to work in the third period. Nowitzki tallied 17 in the frame, including a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left that gave Dallas a brief 70-69 lead. Pierce answered with two free throws, the last of his 13 points in quarter, for a 71-70 edge.
It stayed nip-and-tuck down the stretch. Boston (36-8) took a 90-88 lead on free throws from Pierce with 3:02 left. (Devean George was called for a block on the play, though the Mavs questioned the call.) The score didn’t budge until Nowitzki drilled a pair from the line with 58.4 seconds remaining.
On the ensuing possession, Trenton Hassell coaxed a missed jumper out of Pierce. Nowitzki grabbed the rebound, but Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo snuck behind Nowitzki, stripped the ball and slipped in a reverse layup.
Nowitzki’s contested scoop rolled across the rim, was grabbed by Devean George and Johnson called timeout. Jason Terry misfired on a one-handed bank high. The Celtics rebounded and James Posey was fouled with 10 seconds left. Boston closed it out at the line.
Nowitzki finished with a team-high 31 points and 11 rebounds. Howard added 19 points, two coming in the second half. Johnson went to his bench extensively, with three reserves logging at least 20 minutes.
Hassell (season-high tying 27 minutes) and George (20 minutes) played a major role in keeping Allen in check in the second half. The two swingmen fought through and around screens, and Allen scored only four after halftime. Brandon Bass powered his way to 10 points in 21 ˝ minutes.
“Our big lineup wasn’t giving us anything,” Johnson said. “George, I thought, spaced the floor for us a little bit gave us some hustle there. Hassell gave us some hustle, but nothing else was working.
“Bass and Dirk were working pretty good and then when we went really small that worked pretty good, so we were searching a little bit tonight because we weren’t getting it with our big lineup”
