A Win Is A Win For The Boston Celtics
By bpaul
Boston Celtics 99 Washington Wizards 88
Washington D.C
February 1, 2010
Tonight the Boston Celtics were in the nation’s capital for a Monday night matchup against the Washington Wizards. This was the Celtics fourth game in five night’s and to say it was noticeable is an understatement. As most know by now the Wizards are without their superstar Gilbert Arenas and currently have one of the worst records in the league. After struggling for a good part of the game the C’s were finally able to grab the win by the score of 99-88. The Celtics move to 30-16 on the season and are now tied for third in the Eastern Conference standings.
Coming off games against Orlando, Atlanta, and L.A you had to expect this game would be boring, and despite the ending it was. With that being said the Celtics did nothing spectacular to grab a 24-23 lead after one quarter of play. They looked tired, they looked out of sync, and they looked like they needed a break.
In the second quarter the guys in the green uniforms looked like they belonged on a high school basketball court. The IQ and actions of each and every person wearing a green uniform was a disgrace. They let the Wizards, yes the Washington Wizards, outscore them 31-24. The Celtics went into halftime trailing by six points, 54-48.
You would have thought that they would have come out of the locker room ready to put these guys out of their misery right? WRONG. The effort, hustle, motivation, focus, teamwork, and anything else you can think of that contributes to playing an elite level of basketball was just not there. A late, 4-0, third quarter “mini-run” allowed the Celtics to close within four at the end of the quarter.
Finally in the fourth quarter the Celtics decided that they didn’t feel like dropping four in a row. Led by a few bench players in Tony Allen and Rasheed Wallace the Celtics were about to put the Wizards out of their misery and grab a win. It weren’t pretty, it weren’t exactly what the doctor ordered, but it was a much needed win for the Celtics.
Kevin Garnett seemed to have it tonight, he had more mobility on defense and was knocking down HIS jumper, he finished the night with 19 points. Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo also contributed with 17 points each. Along with his 17 points Rondo dropped in 12 assists for yet another double-double. Two guys off the bench, Rasheed Wallace and Tony Allen, really helped to seal the win tonight. Rasheed dropped in 14 while Tony put in another double digit effort with ten.
In more depressing news Paul Pierce did not finish out the game because of some sort of ankle injury. More news will be available later on how serious this could be, let’s hope it’s just a small tweak. Anyways, the Celtics finally grab a much needed victory and hope to keep the winning ways going Wednesday night against the Miami Heat.
Photos via Getty Images