New Orleans Gets Another Big Win, This Time Over Celtics
By bpaul
New Orleans Hornets 93 Boston Celtics 85
New Orleans, LA
February 10, 2010
There is something severely wrong with the Boston Celtics. It’s easy to see, but hard to define. Right now we are not quite sure what that something is, but there is something wrong. Are they tired? Are they not focused? Are there chemistry issues? All of these are possibilities but none really stick out, like I said it’s just “something”. Since I am not very happy right now I’m going to be wise and use the same structure of my recap from Sunday’s game against Orlando. The pace of the game, and play of the Celtics, were very similar so I’m going to go with it.
"A regulation NBA game consist of 48 minutes, tonight the Boston Celtics came out and played 36 of those. The problem lied in the third quarter. Like they have in past games the C’s jumped out to an early twelve point halftime lead and seemed to be well on their way to a big win over the Hornets. Thanks in part to an embarrassing third quarter effort, being outscored 29-12 in the third, and a 22-5 run the Hornets were able to defeat the Celtics by the score of 93-85."
Like in the Magic game the Celtics tried to get their self back in the game in the fourth quarter but came up short on multiple opportunities. One of the problems for the Celtics in the third quarter was their inability to hit free throws. As a team they went 2-9 from the line in the third quarter and 16-27 overall.
Another stat that shows how this game went is the turnover stat, as a team the C’s had 22 turnovers. Many of these came at times when they could have cut in the lead, but instead of playing smart they would throw a foolish pass that would get picked off by one of the Hornets.
Darren Collison, who is replacing the injured Chris Paul, lead the way for the Hornets with 25 points. He almost pulled off a unique triple-double with 25 points, 9 assists, and 10 turnovers. Although he did have the 10 turnovers, he was deadly when the team needed him most. He was all over the place on defense and made big shot after big shot on the offensive end. Peja Stojakovic also had a solid game with 20 points, 11 of which came in the third.
As for the Celtics, you might as well forget about the starters because they were garbage. They had a combined 45 points, compared to the bench’s 40. Marquis Daniels and Rasheed Wallace were the bright spots with 14 points and 13 points respectively. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett combined for a total of two second half points and were non-existent. Kendrick Perkins had three points on the night, and now has five points in his last two games.
The Celtics are now done with the first half of the season and pretty much wrapped it up by playing in a way in which we have come to expect. Three of the guys (Garnett, Pierce, and Rondo) on the roster will be participating during the festivities in Dallas, but their recent play brings up a good question: Should they just rest and focus on the second half of the season? But anyways, that’s a good question for another day. As for now, the Celtics have now lost two straight and begin the second half of the season Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings.
Possible Excuses For Loss: No Ray Allen, Not Healthy, and Refs (None of these cut it for me)
Photos via Yahoo Sports