North Station Sports

Welcome to my Christmas Day running recap.  With Pierce out for the next two weeks, KG and Ray Allen are really going to have to step up their scoring and bear the brunt of the minutes.  The Celtics have been Grinched their last four Christmas games but have only lost one game on the road this year.

I expect Tony Allen to fill in for Pierce in the up coming games with Eddie House coming off the bench to spell the Allens, Ray and Tony.  If they win today it will be because of a huge game from the starters and solid play from the bench.  Let’s get to it.

Pregame: Mariah Carey is doing the Christmas intros for all of today’s games.  Still looking alright but just remember, under that heavily made up exterior still lies a whole lot of crazy bitch.  Hubie Brown and Mike Tirico with the call.

1st Quarter:

11:58 Kendrick Perkins already picked up a ticky tack foul on an offensive screen.  Weak.

10:50 Three whistles in the first 70 seconds in the game and Perkins has two. Unfreaking believable.  Vince Carter makes the first basket of the game.  TA is going to have is hands full if Vinsanity can catch and shoot off screens.

10:08 Mickael Pietrus makes a  three after a miss as Boston continues their inability to box out on the offensive boards. I have no idea how the give up so many offensive boards and it feels like they let about 20 a game slip away.

8:23 Rondo making drives to the basket and finally gets a layup courtesy of a goal tend from D12

8:09 Tony Allen already with two fouls and Scalabrine getting ready to check in.  This could get ugly in a hurry if Boston can’t slow the pace of this game down.

7:19 Holy crap, a carry was called on Jameer Nelson.  I thought that call was buried after MJ entered the league.

6:00 Sheed stripped  Howard inside and led Rondo with an outlet pass but Rajon tried to get too cute with it and lost it out of bounds bringing us to our first timeout.

The Celtics have already had to use two subs due to foul trouble while Orlando is still running their starting five on the floor.  The bad new, C’s are down by 4.  The good news, it could easily be 10. Carter has had some wide open looks with Scal guarding him and hasn’t been able to convert on that mismatch.  Boston isn’t helping their own cause with 6 turnovers already.

5:17 Rondo finally hits the open jumper that teams are letting him take.  He really needs to take advantage of that.  Lead cut to 2.

4:31 Sheed committing a foul against Carter who just lowered his shoulder into him.  We may have to see Big Baby who was recently activated with Sheed’s seconds foul.  I have no idea what kind of shape Baby is in right now, though.  Round is a shape, isn’t it?

4:18 T called on KG for elbowing Howard after Howard hacked him.  Ticky tack garbage.  Sheed and D12 jabber jawing on the block while KG shoots his two.

Heather Cox informs us that Doc’s philosophy is “He who angers you owns you.”  I guess that is for trying to reduce the number of T’s they collect.  If I remember correctly, Doc is one of the most T’ed up coaches in the game.  Way to lead from the front.

3:04 Celtics can’t buy a three and Carter is taking heat check shots already collecting 10 PTS.  He and Pietrus have accounted for all 19 of Orlando’s points.  TV timeout with the Magic up 19-15.

1:59 Wallace finally get’s his three.  He and Rondo are the only Celtics to record a FG at this point. 19-18 Magic.

1:15 Shelden Williams making an appearance in relief of KG and misses a two inch layup but grabbed a board at the other end.  Dwight Howard kept not only scoreless but shotless in the quarter.

:30 A Christmas miracle! Another carrying call on Orlando, this time against Vince.  That matches the most carrying calls I’ve seen in an entire year and it’s only the first quarter.  I guess if the refs are going to call fouls on the C’s all night they can at least get some turnovers.

The end of the first culminates with a Ray Allen missed jumper and a poor possession for the Magic with 9 seconds on the clock. 19-18 Magic going into the 2nd.

2nd Quarter:

Doc informs us before the start of the 2nd that he wants to stay big on the floor for most of the game which is contrary to his coaching style.  Doc loves to go small but they don’t have the personnel to do that today.

10:58 Howard destroyed Williams with a dunk.  Hopefully that doesn’t get Dwight going.  Neither team has really been aggressive inside up to now.

8:57 Celtics have more turnovers (8) than made buckets (6).  I feel like I’m watching high school ball with the amount of cross court pass attempts being deflected.  Mix in a bounce bass, gentlemen.  Guys are just standing around while whoever has the ball tries to create their own shot.

8:52 Defensive three on the Magic and House misses the shot.  This feels like a pre shot clock era game with the low scoring.  First one to 60 wins.

7:28 Perk showing off his low post moves and hits a fall away with about 36 hands in his face.

7:07 Big Baby makes his first appearance this year and promptly gets a three second offensive violation. Maybe his broken thumb made him forget how to count.

5:36 Rondo mixing it up underneath the basket and has drawn two fouls on Marcin Gortat in three possessions.  The Polish Hammer can’t handle Rondo’s arsenal of moves. Timeout.

I stand in awe of Baron Davis’ beard in HD during an NBA cares commercial.  Dude has facial hair on lock.

Back in live action and Rondo missed his chance to take the lead or even tie by missing both his shots.

5:03 Yet another offensive foul and Rondo turnover. That’s5 team O fouls and 6 turnovers.

4:28 Both teams have adopted the “No Layup” policy and are hammering dudes putting it up. TA hit 1-2 from the line and we’re all tied up 25-25.

4:04 Rondo coast to coast off a steal and gets an and 1.  Foul on Carter who has three.  Rondo rattled home another ugly free throw and Celtics lead it by 3.

3:36 Perhaps inspired by Rondo’s 90 foot run, Tony Allen makes one of his own and now the Celtics lead 30-25.  That is what the need to be doing, fast breaking with their small guys off misses and turnovers and running plays for KG and Perk off of makes. Boston scored the last 10.

2:14 Howard hasn’t solved Perkins’ defense and put up a bullet off the glass from 8 feet away.  Kendrick is looking strong on D tonight.

I have conflicting feelings about these T-Mobile commercials with D12 and Chuck.  I love me some Barkley but there is something in my DNA that hates Howard with a burning passion.  Maybe Chuck will roll up on Howards knee during a pick up game or something.  That could be his Christmas present to me.

1:00 The turnover margin is becoming smaller with the C’s coughing up 14 and the Magic throwing away 12.  Perk makes another basket and Boston on a 16-2 run.  The Magic have only scored 8 in the quarter and are shooting an abysmal 25% from the field…awesome.

Halftime: 38-27 Celtics.  Rondo has taken control of the game and has scored 13 so far to lead everyone. He hasn’t recorded an assist yet due to the turnovers the fact that they have only made 13 buckets.  Howard went 1-6 for 2 points and that was when Perk wasn’t on him.   During a replay of KG picking Rondo off the ground I noticed something on Kage’s shoes and had to rewind.  Snowflakes.  Man, I want snowflakes on my shoes but I don’t think I’m hard enough to handle the guff that would be coming my way from the locals around here.  People in Northeast Pennsylvania aren’t very accepting of outsiders and I already stand out enough as it is.  It’s because I don’t ride quads and hunt. If I was a douche I would have ended that last statement with a frowning emoticon.  You’re welcome.

3rd Quarter:

10:22 Both teams come out trying wild sots until Perk gets into Howard and draws a foul.  Howard also collected a T by saying the Magic words to the refs and then Stan Van Gundy decided to go back to back on T’s by complaining about a non call.  Magic getting flustered early, hard to say if that will help or hurt for the rest of the game.

9:03 Vince Carter taking wild shot after wild unbalanced shot.  Play is getting chippy inside and everyone is screaming for fouls.  I stand by my previous statement of first one to 60 winning.

7:22 Scal steps into a three but Vinsanity comes right back with a dunk.  Rondo catches the Magic sleeping off a make and blazes down the court.

6:02 Scal crushes Carter after a turnover and it puts Boston over the limit halfway through the quarter.  That could be a game changer if the Magic decide to start going inside.

5:21 Rondo realizes that this game is his to decide and he is going deep on every play and getting his own misses.  He already has a double double going 15-10 and missed four free throws.  On the other side, Carter is taking control as he and Rondo are the only starters in double figures.

4:17 Ray Allen with a flashback for Jesus Shuttlesworth that ends with a dunk in transition while Santa Claus takes up 2/3 of my effing screen.  Seriously, show me the game and not this cutesy crap.  Santa isn’t real, kids.  Deal with it.

2:38 Ray hits his first three of the game and the C’s are up 58-46.  This game has started moving with a quickness as Scal jacks up a three that bricks.  Brian isn’t good enough to watch his shot to see if it goes in, dude needs to hustle back on D.

:56 Howard shooting free throws for the first time this game and cuts the lead to 8.  Magic have a 16-5 free throw advantage for the quarter.  Time expires with Boston up 61-53

4th Quarter:

11:41 C’s open the fourth with a Sheed dunk but Rashard Lewis answered with a three.  Ray Allen comes back with a spot up deuce.  A little back an forth to get things going, this could turn in to an offensive explosion for the quarter.  In this game, that means 25 points. The free throw attempts are dead even at 20 for the game but Orlando have only missed 2 while Boston has misfired on 7.

8:00 The bench for Boston has outscored the Magic bench 13-4 after House makes a jumper that bounced about eight times before falling in.

7:46 Big Baby gets stuffed by Dwight while going for the layup.  That can’t be good for his broke ass hand.

7:03 Carter splits the D of Tony Allen and Perk and floats a little shot over Sheed to make it a 6 point game.

5:43 After the Magic fail to put to the ball in from three feet away five times Rondo picked Carter’s pocket and fed TA for a fast break dunk.  Hubie Brown busted out with,”That’s heartbreaking.”  I sure hope it is and by the look on Dwight Howard’s and Stan Van’s faces, heartbreak looks a lot like constipation.

4:26 Matt Barnes has been a trouble maker for the Celtics, not exactly pouring in the points but getting crazy penetration and kick outs.  Orlando just isn’t putting them down. Be thankful.

1:49 Doc takes a timeout after a Lewis layup that is the first bucket in two minutes.  It cuts the Boston lead to 6 but Perk and KG are looking sluggish in that long span of up and down play.  They have had some good plays coming out of timeouts and I think this one could be drawn up for Ray on the perimeter.  I wouldn’t agree with it, I think it should go to KG down low but he is having an off shooting night.  Well, everyone is.

1:35 Neither. Rondo takes a 16 footer that rims out. Not exactly the dagger I was looking for and now the Celtics need a stop on the other end out of a Magic timeout.

1:22 Nelson gets inside for an easy two.  That should have never happened.  Someone missed their assignment.  KG gets fouled under the basket on the other end and hits both his shots to bring it back to 6 with a foul to give.  This is when my stomach gets all knotted up.  A lead just big enough to give you hope but small enough to make you squirm.

1:03 On cue, Garnett game down in a heap after going up to alter Carter’s shot.  Landed square on his tail bone while Lewis drains a corner three.  Where are my Tums?

:49 Allen hits a 13 foot jumper to bring it to 5 and then grabs a board on the D end and gets fouled.  Feeling better right now up by 7 with 30 seconds to play.

:22.6 Game over as Vince rims out a three over TA and ball goes out of bounds to the Celtics. Eddie House knocks down his free throws, Carter drives for a layup and the Tony Allen puts in a layup of his own.  Boston 86 Orlando 77. Phew.

Garnett was in obvious discomfort during the final few seconds on the bench and we’ll have to see what comes of that fall.  Rondo finished with 16 PTS and 13 REBS while playing 47 minutes.  Every starter except for Perkins scored in double figures with Ray Allen hitting 18 and TA with 16.

Perk did handle Dwight Howard very well, holding him to 5 PTS on 1-7 shooting.  D12 did get 20 REBS for the game but only 3 were offensive anyway.  I’ll take that trade off any day.  Vince Carter was the offense for the Magic scoring 27 on 10-20 shooting but Orlando only had 7 ASTS as a team to Boston’s 19.  Neither team was particularly adept at holding onto the ball as the Celtics committed 20 turnovers to the Magic’s 18.

All in all it was an ugly game that was exciting towards the end.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some cheesecake to pound.  Peace.

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