Fugly but still a win

If game 1 was any indication, this Eastern Conference semifinal between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers is going to be low-scoring and ugly.

The C's have to be happy with the result though as they won 76-72 at the Garden.

I don't know which was more surprising: Paul Pierce (2 for 14) and Ray Allen (0 for 4) combining for four points or LeBron James shooting 2 of 18 from the floor?

The King still almost had a triple-double (12 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists) but his 10 turnovers were killer in such a tight affair.

Kevin Garnett (28 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals), Rajon Rondo (15 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds) and Sam Cassell (13 points) were the offense for the Celts. Kendrick Perkins had seven points and 12 rebounds while James Posey (who I called the Troy Brown of the Celtics today) had eight points off the bench.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas (22 points, 12 boards) and Wally Szczerbiak (13 points) were the only other Cavs in double figures.

Boston led 25-15 after the first quarter but the lead shrunk to four (41-37) at the half.

The C's were up one (53-52) going into the fourth. It was great to see KG take over down the stretch and hit a couple key hoops. Uncharacteristically, LeBron missed some great looks as multiple layups rimmed out. Cassell pulled down a key rebound and was fouled by big Z.

Between game 1 or 2, Cleveland seemed most likely to steal game 1 since the Celts had just wrapped up the series with the Hawks. It's hard to predict what will happen in game 2 after such a bizarre game 1 but two things are certain: LeBron won't play that badly again and the same can be said for Allen and Pierce on the same night.

The difference between Boston and any other team left in the playoffs is their commitment and execution on defense. They're now 5-0 at home, it's going to be hard for anybody to knock them off when they play that type of D.

Cleveland shot 30.7% while Boston shot 42.6. Game 2 is tomorrow night back at the Garden.

A week can make a big difference in baseball

Last weekend the Sox were swept in Tampa Bay (16-15) so this past weekend they returned the favor by taking all three games at Fenway.

Yesterday, two young left-handers (Scott Kazmir and Jon Lester) started and Lester came out on top as Boston won 7-3.

Despite reaching 58 pitches in the second inning, Lester (2-2) gave Boston six innings of four hit, one run baseball. He gave up three walks and struck out five.

Kazmir (0-1) was making his first start of the season and he was limited to 90 pitches. He's usually a Red Sox killer but he gave up four runs on six hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

Kevin Youkilis did everything for the Sox (20-13) bats. He had three hits (including two doubles and a home run), four RBIs and scored twice.

Reliever Manny Delcarmen continued to struggle as he gave up two runs while only recording an out.

Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon (9th save) each got four outs without allowing a run to sew it up for Boston.

Boston now departs on a grueling 10-game road trip, covering Detroit, Minnesota and Baltimore.

Don't try to explain it, just be happy they're moving on

In what will go down as one of the most lopsided game seven's of all-time, the Boston Celtics took out three losses worth of frustration on the Atlanta Hawks yesterday at the Garden, winning 99-65 to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cavs.

Doc Rivers (who had never made it out of the first round as a coach), Paul Pierce (who had another meltdown in game 6) and KG (who has only made it out of the first round once) were all spared what would have been a brutal off-season of questions if a 66-win team choked in the first round to a bad team.

The game was never really in doubt as Boston led 44-26 at halftime and by as much as 38 points in the third quarter. Atlanta never showed up (yesterday or in any of the games in Boston). And that ends one of the strangest playoff series' you'll ever see. No road wins for either team and the C's dominated every home game, winning by 19+ each time.

Five Celts scored in double figures, led by Paul Pierce (22 points). Kevin Garnett had 18 points and 11 boards. Kendrick Perkins was a force defensively with 10 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. Rajon Rondo had 10 points and six assists while Leon Powe had 12 points off the bench.

Ray Allen struggled all game, shooting 3 of 12 for seven points but nobody noticed.

Joe Johnson was the only Hawk over ten points with 16. Salim Stoudamire had 10 in extended garbage time and Al Horford ended his fine rookie season with eight points and ten rebounds. Mike Bibby (who couldn't play worse in Boston if he tried) had two points, four rebounds and two assists.

Marvin Williams almost killed Rondo with a hard foul in the third quarter. Rondo went in for a layup and Williams grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed. The two are supposedly friends and luckily Rondo was fine but it could have been a disaster. Williams got a Type-2 flagrant foul and with that, his first playoff season was over.

KG also exacted some revenge on Hawks goofy big man Zaza Pachulia. Garnett absolutely laid him out (on a clean screen) in the back court. Rivers pulled KG and the rest of the starters by the beginning of the fourth since the game was long decided and Boston will play again on Tuesday.

For now, I'm not going to look back on this series with the Hawks much. It exposed plenty of problems with Boston but the most important thing is that they got by. They are still the top seed and I feel like they should get by Cleveland as well. There's no other team that depends so heavily on one player like LeBron and the Cavs. If the Celts can slow him down for four games and make the assorted spare parts beat them, they'll be fine. It's a favorable matchup for Boston but Cleveland has been resting since Friday night so they could steal either game 1 or 2.

Some late-night action at Fenway

After a two and a half hour rain delay, the Red Sox defeated the Rays, 7-3, somewhat salvaging the night after the Celts' pathetic loss.

Dustin Pedroia found his stroke, with three hits, three RBIs and a run. Brandon Moss played right field for J.D. Drew (sand in his vagina) and had two hits and two runs, including a solo homer. Jason Varitek and Julio Lugo also contributed two hits as the Sox (18-13) bats finally woke up after five quiet games. Jacoby Ellsbury also got on base three times, with a hit, RBI, run, stolen base and two walks.

Clay Buchhholz even his record at 2-2 after going 5.1 innings, giving up five hits, one run, four walks and six strikeouts.

Tampa Bay (16-13) starter Edwin Jackson (2-3) was knocked around for six runs on nine hits in four innings.

Boston led 1-0 after three and broke it open with five in the fourth inning.

It was a nice win for the Sox after getting swept in Tampa Bay last weekend. James Shields and Josh Beckett face each other again, six days after staging a great pitcher's duel.

One loss away from the biggest upset in NBA playoff history

If someone had told you two weeks ago that the Atlanta Hawks would push the Boston Celtics to the limit, forcing seven games, you would have laughed at that ridiculous notion. Yet here we are.

The Hawks once again won at Philips Arena last night, 103-100, to force game 7 on Sunday in Boston.

This one had the look and feel of games 3 and 4, where the Celtics held double-digit leads at some point but consistently shit the bed down the stretch when it mattered. All thoughts of taking it to the hoop or getting the ball down low to KG went out to the window as everyone wanted to be the hero.

Six Hawks scored double digits, led by Marvin Williams (!) who had 18 points. Mike Bibby had 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Joe Johnson and Josh Childress each scored 15 and Josh Smith notched 11.

Kevin Garnett had a game-high 22 points, seven rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals but those numbers seem hollow since KG disappeared in the fourth quarter. I love the guy but he has to get more selfish in crunch time, when his team is falling apart. And for God's sake, you're 7 feet tall: take it to the hoop, don't settle for long contested jumpers.

Ray Allen had 20 points and six rebounds but he was 1 for 8 on three-pointers. For some odd reason, down two points with 10 seconds left, the C's drew up a play for Allen to take a tough three instead of going inside. It missed and with that the Celts chances went out the window. Sure, they had one final look to tie it up but Rajon Rondo air-balled a three when nobody else could get open. Yikes.

Paul Pierce had 17 points and six assists but he was probably the main goat. He fouled out in the fourth on a bad call but he got a T for throwing his headband. As a veteran, he can't make stupid mistakes like that. Kendrick Perkins had 14 points, Leon Powe had nine off the bench and James Posey added six points and seven rebounds.

Boston jumped out early, leading 32-20 after the first quarter. It shrunk to a one-point lead at the half, as Boston was up 50-49. The C's outscored Atlanta, 32-30 in the third but the Hawks took the fourth, 24-18.

A day later, I still can't believe there's a game seven. This is a joke. Every other series is over, with some new ones starting today while the Celtics still haven't gotten rid of the Hawks.

Doc Rivers and KG have been criticized plenty for not getting out of the first round, save for the one time KG went to the Western Conference Finals with Minnesota. It's hard to imagine the fall-out if they choke this one away. I don't even want to think about it.

Boston was a bricktastic 4 of 19 on threes while Atlanta was 1 for 7. The C's fell in love with the three and it cost them. They just refuse to drive to the basket in Atlanta, pretty strange.

Is home-court really this valuable?

No need to panic after all, the Boston Celtics stopped the two-game skid and once again blew out the Hawks at the Garden.

Last night, the Celtics beat the Hawks, 110-85 in game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals to take a 3-2 series lead.

How can you explain the bizarro Celtics? They look unbeatable at home then lose two straight in Atlanta.

Paul Pierce took time away from his busy schedule of throwing various gang signs to score a game-high 22 points, grab seven rebounds and dishing out six assists. Kevin Garnett filled out the stat sheet with 20 points, seven assists, five boards and three steals. Ray Allen scored 19 points.

The biggest difference (besides the defense) for Boston from games 3 and 4 was the bench contributions. Sam Cassell scored 13 points and crowd favorite Leon Powe had 10 points and seven rebounds. James Posey had six points (2 timely threes) and five rebounds. In all, the Boston subs had 35 points.

Atlanta was back to their two-pronged attack. Joe Johnson had 21 points, Josh Smith had 18 and Al Horford had 14 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Marvin Williams added 12 points.

Oh and whither Mike Bibby you ask? He continued his fine road-work with six points and one assist on 2 of 8 shooting.

Boston led 27-19 after the first and 58-43 at the half. The Hawks cut it to six in the third quarter but the C's stepped on the gas and put Atlanta away.

For the game, Boston shot 53.6% from the floor to Atlanta's 40.6%. The C's had nine 3-pointers and are shooting a blistering 46% in the playoffs. The Hawks had a distinct advantage at the free throw line (25-11 made) but the C's owned the glass (39-28) and looked for the extra pass (28-16).

Game 6 is tomorrow night at Philips Arena. You can be sure Lil' Jon and the East Side Boyz, Bad News Kennelz (well those that aren't locked down anyway), the Ying Yang Twins and countless other wannabes will be out in full force. It's time for the Celts to say goodbye to the Hawks.

Uh Yes Please, Two Walk-Off Wins

After coming home saddled with a five-game losing streak, the Boston Red Sox (17-12) quickly made fans forget about that as they've won their last two games over the Toronto Blue Jays (11-17) in style: walk-off, ninth inning wins after pitcher's duels.

Tuesday night, Jon Lester and Roy Halladay were locked in a tight battle until Kevin Youkilis knocked in David Ortiz with the game-winning RBI single as the Red Sox won 1-0. Not lifting Ortiz for a pinch runner seemed questionable (even with only two guys on the bench) but Vernon Wells' bobble in center gave Papi just enough time to score.

Lester went eight innings, giving up only one hit, four walks and striking out six. Halladay (2-4) pitched his fourth straight complete game (and third straight loss), giving up five hits, one walk with six strikeouts.

Given that he only threw 97 pitches and who he was going up against, I'd say it was the best MLB start of Lester's short career.

Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts to earn the win.

Last night Dice-K and Dustin McGowan thrilled Fenway with another low-scoring NL style game. Dice-K went seven innings, giving up two hits, two walks and four strikeouts. McGowan went 7.1 innings, giving up one run on four hits with a walk and four strikeouts.

Once again, Papelbon pitched a clean ninth thus earning the win.

David Ortiz broke the shutout with a solo home run in the seventh. Blue Jays outfielder Alex Rios hit a sac. fly in the eighth to tie it up.

Jason Varitek was the hero this time as his RBI single knocked in Manny Ramirez, who promptly spiked his helmet after he got the safe call. Ironically, Brandon Moss had hit a single in the previous at-bat but pinch runner Jed Lowrie was tagged out in a close play at the plate.

The three-game series closes tonight as Tim Wakefield goes vs. A.J. Burnett.