Results tagged “rayallen”

When we last saw the Chicago Bulls, it was after the Celtics survived a seven-game street fight of a playoff series. Last night, the Bulls tapped out in about seven minutes. Perhaps that's an exaggeration on the part of Bostonist but the Celtics thoroughly outclassed the team, 118-90.

Maybe the results are a little skewed, since the Charlotte Bobcats clearly didn't belong on the same floor or in the same league as the Celtics last night. Or maybe the Bobcats just looked like that because the C's' defense locked them up so tight that Amnesty International was handing out flyers by the end of the game. Final score: 92-59.

The Celtics returned to more-or-less full strength, and in their first game in Hartford in over a decade, mauled the Raptors 106-90 in their finest preseason outing yet.

After 2008, it seems odd to say that a September double-header against the Rays seemed anti-climatic, but there you go. We said it. The Red Sox took two games from the fading Tampa Bay team in a fashion that could only be described as "inevitable." The wins brought the Sox' record against AL East teams to 42-21, the best in baseball against a team's home division.

It's been a tough few weeks (months) for the Red Sox. That's always a good time to see the Baltimore Orioles appear on the schedule.

So, Boston, which do you think is worse? The sudden, unexpected fatal heart attack that killed the Bruins last week? Or the slow bleeding-to-death-on-the-sidewalk feeling that permated the Garden throughout the second half last night?

"This could be the greatest night of our lives, but you're gonna let it be the worst." - John Blutarsky

It IS over, right? They're not going to suddenly declare this 5-out-of-9, right? They're not going to suddenly announce that they found an extra couple of Bulls points in Game Five, so we have to play out another OT?

Bostonist just finished rereading one of our favorite books, W.P.Kinsella's The Iowa Baseball Confederacy. A tale of time-travel, mysticism and sports, the book's centerpiece is an exhibition game between the 1908 Chicago Cubs and the amateur Iowa Baseball Confederacy All-Stars, which, through a series of events beyond anyone's control, turns into a month-long, time-space bending battle of over 2,000 innings.

If you suspect that you are suffering from a sports hangover today, know that you're not alone. As a reward to all the Bostonians who (somewhat) graciously gave up our city to marathoners on Monday, the fates decided to bestow upon fans pretty much the single greatest championship-free sports day we can expect to see this year; while we were anticipating a busy day, we weren't quite expecting things to be that sensational.

What a day at the Garden. A little depression, a little mania. A loss, a win. A soul-stealing episode, and a moment of triumph.

It's never a good idea when a hockey team turns introspective and scared. But that's what happed to the Bruins last night, as they lost a 2-goal lead, a game (in OT, and we'll take every point we can at this point) and almost any shred of confidence they have left after their nightmarish last few weeks.

Playing in New Jersey can suck the life out of even the best of teams. Even the vaunted '86 Celtics lost there twice. And last night, the vaunted '09 Celtics were minutes away from dropping their second straight game.

When the new Celtic stepped onto the parquet at the TD Banknorth Garden on Friday night, the response from the Boston crowd was clear. Welcome to Boston, Mr. Marbury. Let's get to winning another title.

Imagine it: you're on a road trip that's already done some damage to your lineup. You've been hopping from city to city, and you're going to get farther away from home before you have a chance to get back.

Is it possible we've segued right into a new Big Three? Even though none of them are all that big?

Maybe being at home got stagnant. After losing to two Western powers at the Garden, the Celtics hit the road and got themselves a win, beating the Hornets 89-77 in New Orleans. Paul Pierce led the show with 30 points, while KG chipped in 10 rebounds and Rondo added 11 assists. The only bad spot was for Ray Allen, who had to come out in the first half with a thumb injury and only got one point. He says he's going to try to play tonight in Dallas.

Sure, Thomas Paine may have thought he was writing about the coming bloody separation of the Colonies from England. But with the perspective of history, we know know that his opening line actually referred to the 2008-09 Celtics. They haven't played badly...and that's the worry, since two of the other top teams in the league have now come into the Garden back to back and left with wins.

Well. That was disappointing. The Celtics' 12-game winning streak is over, thanks to a loss to the Lakers that featured trash talking, great shooting (in spurts), surprising physicality from LA, and some really interesting refereeing. 110-109 in overtime was the final.

J.R. Giddens may not contribute a lot to the Celtics this season. The first-round pick is doing fine in the D-League, but isn't really ready to contribute at an NBA level. But on the bench in Philly last night, he provided us a worthy candidate for Quote of the Year: "He got game! He got game! I think Jesus did it again!"

Everybody's entitled to a night off now and then. Fortunately, the NHL provides each team with a firm schedule that allows them to plan those nights off ahead. Unfortunately, the Bruins seemed to think one of those nights was last night, even though there was a game scheduled and an opponent in town.

Both our local winter teams were on the road yesterday. Let's join them, in spirit at least, because anywhere on earth must be more pleasant and hospitable than this poorly-located snow-choked city we call home.

That's our own Jonathan Papelbon, who can afford any number of dogs that won't destroy priceless artifacts after signing a one-year deal for $6.25 million. Papelbon was under contract for 2009, but this helps the Sox avoid arbitration (Theo hates arbitration) and gives a sweet payday to one of the best closers in the league.

Did Ray Allen just save the season?

Cousy, Russell, Auerbach, Havlicek, JoJo, Cowens, Bird, Parish, Kevin Gamble. In all the Celtics' many many championship seasons, no Green team has ever started 21-2. Until now.

"It's like there were three Rondos out there," marveled Kevin Garnett. "He was everywhere tonight." The ever-improving Rajon Rondo had his best game ever last night, notching his first-ever triple-double as the Celts avenged their first loss of the season with a 114-96 thumping of the Pacers.

After destroying the Magic on Monday night, 107-88, Paul Pierce described the Celtics effort to the Globe as "like a statement game for us." But what kind of statement are they trying to make? We're still trying to figure it out.

Two local teams in action last night, two overtimes. As usual, we'll start with the one that ended well.

After six straight wins - and that Atlanta win that still leaves us grinning like fools - the Celtics fell on Friday night to the Nuggets during play at the Garden. The Garden, we stress, given that we still can't get over that whole Vault business we noticed in the Globe recently.

It took a little while for the Celtics to find their rhythm yesterday. Maybe it was the tough Houston game, maybe it was getting used to a new arena, maybe it was recovering from the whirlwind afternoon tour of Oklahoma City. We may never know.