Clippers shock the Celtics at TD Garden

If I told you that Blake Griffin only had 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists when the Los Angeles Clippers visited the TD Garden, you would have thought the Celtics had rolled by like 20+ points, right?

Welcome to bizarro world as the young superstar was held completely in check yet the Clips (25-40) won 108-103 over the Celtics (46-16), who were disinterested in playing defense all game.

Despite basically no-showing for three quarters, it looked like Boston might make an epic comeback as they whittled a 23-point lead (65-42) down to three (86-83) with less than six minutes remaining. That's as close as they would get though as Los Angeles made all their shots down the stretch and deservedly came away with only their seventh road win of the season.

Mo Williams (game-high 28 points) and DeAndre Jordan (21 points on almost all dunks) were the unlikely stars for the Clippers. Former Celtic and my old college buddy Ryan Gomes added 12 points, Randy Foye notched nine points and 12 assists while Chris Kaman scored 10 off the bench.

Ray Allen led Boston with 23 points, Nenad Krstic added 20 points and nine rebounds while Paul Pierce had 19 points. Kevin Garnett (5-for-19) put up 16 points and eight rebounds despite the worst shooting performance I can ever remember from him. Rajon Rondo also struggled from the field (6-for-15) but he had 13 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the game was when Boston's five newest players: Krstic, Jeff Green (6 points), Carlos Arroyo (4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists in his debut), Sasha Pavlovic (2 points) and Troy Murphy (2 steals) were all on the floor at the same time. It speaks to Boston's immense depth (if Shaq and Delonte West ever get healthy) that these will mostly be bench players when Glen Davis returns.

Los Angeles was ahead right from the start, 30-17 after the first quarter and 60-42 at halftime. Boston recovered with a strong third quarter (24-16) and fourth (37-32) but it wasn't enough.

The Clippers shot 52.0% to 44.0% for the Celtics. LA hit three more 3-pointers (9-6) and had seven more assists (28-21). Boston made the comeback with six more steals (10-4), four more fast break points (12-8) and eight more points in the paint (48-40).

After seeing their five-game win streak snapped, Boston will try to get a new one started tomorrow night when they visit the City of Brotherly Love. The Sixers have been playing great lately but the Cs have owned them the last few years. This could be a potential first round matchup in the playoffs this season.

Celtics beat the Clippers in the start to the post-Kendrick Perkins era

Beating the Clippers is not usually the start of something special in the NBA but it was interesting to watch the Boston Celtics last night as Nenad Krstic and Jeff Green made their debuts at the Staples Center.

Most have second-guessed the latest trades by the Celts (42-15) and it certainly wasn't looking good as they trailed Los Angeles (21-39) 47-40 at halftime. However, in a metaphor for both the trade and the season, Boston showed that having patience will pay off.

The Celtics played a solid second half and left with a 99-92 win. Neither Krstic (9 points, 6 rebounds) nor Green (7 points) had performances that will set the world on fire but what can you expect for a couple players that have one practice under their belt with their new team? Krstic showed that he can hit shots and has good hands while Green is athletic and can run the floor, basically what the scouting report was for both of them.

Paul Pierce led Boston with 24 points, Ray Allen added 22 points and Kevin Garnett had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Rajon Rondo notched 11 assists while Glen Davis put up 10 points off the bench. Delonte West looked comfortable with nine points and five assists in 19 minutes backing up Rondo.

Randy Foye was immense for the Clippers, putting up a game-high 32 points and seven assists while Blake Griffin, the darling of the NBA, had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Chris Kaman had 16 points and nine rebounds off the bench, showing why he should be starting now that he's healed (over DeAndre Jordan).

LA jumped out to a 26-18 lead after one quarter and then the 47-40 halftime advantage. I was more busy watching the Bruins game at the bar but I did notice the Cs make their move in the third quarter (34-21). They put the Clippers away with the fourth quarter (25-24).

The Clippers shot 46.1% to 41.1% for the Celtics. LA made one more 3-pointer (5-4) but Boston made 18 more free throws (35-17) and pulled down seven more rebounds (43-36). Los Angeles had four more assists (25-21), four more blocks (7-3) and four more points in the paint (42-38).

Boston travels to Utah tomorrow night to face a team that just lost its legendary coach (Jerry Sloan) to retirement and traded away its franchise player (Deron Williams) to the Nets. So yeah, the Jazz are a complete mess right now.

If Rondo ever learns how to shoot free throws, look out world

Following up their Christmas day win over the Magic (their best win of the season thus far), the Celtics laid a Paris Hilton size dump fittingly in Los Angeles last night.

With the game tied at 90, Rajon Rondo (20 points, 6 assists) had a chance to close it out with 1.5 seconds left when he got fouled by Baron Davis (24 points, 13 assists) but Rondo bricked both shots.

And what do you know, Davis took the ensuing inbounds pass and hit a fadeaway buzzer-beater as the Clippers (13-17) stole one, 92-90 at the Staples Center.

Boston (23-6) led by as much as ten points in the second half but without Paul Pierce for the next week, they are desperately missing their most clutch player.

Tony Allen started for Pierce and he submitted 10 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals. We know Tony Allen too well to get very excited about these flashes since he'll probably get hurt tonight and miss the rest of the season but Tony has played out of his mind since he came back.

Ray Allen scored 13 and Kevin Garnett added 12 points and eight rebounds. Rasheed Wallace and Eddie House both notched eight points off the bench.

The Clippers are still as mediocre as you remember but they should be better with stars like Davis and the underrated Chris Kaman (27 points, 12 rebounds). Eric Gordon added 15 points in the win.

For some reason, the Celts looked like a tired team as they shot a pitiful 1 of 12 on 3-pointers. They'll look to bounce back tonight in Golden State against the allergic-to-defense Warriors.

Kevin Garnett's intensity will melt your face off

The universe and planets seem to be aligning properly once again, coincidentally as Kevin Garnett has made his triumphant return to the Boston Celtics' lineup.

The Big Ticket has been limited to less than 20 minutes in each of his first three games back but the club has clearly used his spark, winning three in a row, including a 90-77 decision over the Los Angeles Clippers last night at the TD Banknorth Garden.

Garnett only played 18 minutes, but he was an impressive 5-for-5 from the floor with two free throws for 12 points, two rebounds and two steals. He got into the game in the first and third quarters and wouldn't ya know those were the two deciding frames.

Ray Allen led the C's (54-18) with 20 points, Kendrick Perkins had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds while Rajon Rondo added 14 points, seven assists and five steals. For the third game in a row, a probably fatigued Paul Pierce (who carried the team in KG's absence) scored in single digits (nine points).

Still, the starting five is back together which is bad news for the rest of the NBA and hopefully Leon Powe and Brian Scalabrine, not to mention Tony Allen are back in the action before the playoffs start.

Zach Randolph, my role model, had his usual empty numbers performance of 17 points and 14 boards for Los Angeles (17-54). Baron Davis added 13 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and Al Thornton tossed in 11 off the bench.

Boston led 31-18 after the first quarter but struggled with KG on the bench in the second quarter, limping into the break with a 44-42 lead.

Garnett and the C's outscored the Clippers 26-18 in the third and the subs did enough in the fourth (20-17) to hang on.

Things should get much more interesting as the Celts travel to Orlando tomorrow night. The top seed in the Eastern Conference is all but lying on LeBron's throne but the C's have some work to do to hold off the Magic for the all-important two seed.

Up just one game with a game in hand over Orlando, the Celts would do themselves a big favor by grabbing the road win.

The Clippers are God-Awful Again

Shaun Livingston and Elton Brand haven't played a game this year. Now, Chris Kaman and everybody's favorite space alien Sam Cassell are on the shelf with injuries. These are not the best of times for the Los Angeles Clippers. The Boston Celtics took advantage of the pitiful Clippers and rolled to a 104-76 win at the Staples Center last night.

The Celts ended the West Coast trip at 2-3 and thankfully only have one more killer road trip: Texas and New Orleans in late March.

Paul Pierce (17 points) and James Posey (17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) led the way as Boston's (43-12) bench got plenty of action in the second half. Even former USC guard Gabe Pruitt came out of the witness protection program and scored six points in ten minutes.

As detailed the last time the Celts played the Clippers (19-35), LA has a bunch of scrubs that could be lining up at your local soup kitchen any day now looking for a hot meal. With the latest injuries, Aaron Williams and Brevin Knight (10 points) were forced to start.

Boston won every quarter in the game. The C's led 23-17 after the first and 45-36 at the half. Ray Allen (15 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds) and Kevin Garnett (11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks, 4 assists) played well then got a well-deserved rest in the fourth. Leon Powe scored 12 and Rajon Rondo added nine.

The Clippers didn't put up much of a fight in the second half, losing the third 32-21 and the fourth 27-19. Tim Thomas had 15 points and nine rebounds, Corey Maggette had 11 points and promising rookie Al Thornton put up 11 points and eight boards.

Boston's defense really responded over the last seven quarters of this road trip which started out as a nightmare. They held the Clippers to 40.0% shooting while shooting 55.1% themselves. Boston had way more 3-pointers (8 to 2) and blocks (also 8 to 2).

The Celts come home today and face the new-look Cleveland Cavaliers tomorrow night at the Garden. The Cavs picked up Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, old friend Delonte West and stiff Wally Szcerbiak last week before the trade deadline. Cleveland is currently in fourth-place in the East but will most likely jump Orlando before the playoffs start.

Give Him a Tommy Point: Rondo Can Play

Once in a while, the insane ramblings of Celtics uber-homer announcer Tommy Heinsohn shine some light on an otherwise overlooked fact. Keep in mind, the guy has thought ever scrub, bum and hobo that has suited up for the C's the past few years were sure-fire Hall of Famers but I have to say that he is right about at least one current player: Rajon Rondo is a stud.

In his rookie season (last year), Rondo showed flashes of brilliance as he could seemingly do everything on the court (save for making a non-layup shot). That has all quickly changed as the kid can hit a jumper now and seemingly get to the basket at will. Entering this season, he was the biggest question mark after Boston acquired Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. We still need a veteran backup point guard but that's beside the point, Rondo is really coming into his own.

Without Garnett for the fifth straight game, Boston took care of the Los Angeles Clippers at the Garden, 111-100. The C's are now 3-2 in KG's absence and as long as there's any question mark with his status, he should sit. He's by far the most valuable player on the team (many would say the NBA too) so if he has to miss the All-Star game, who cares? It's all about the playoffs.

Anyways, back to last night. It wasn't the game of the year as Boston (37-9) was playing for the second night in a row and the Clippers (15-31) are barely treading water in the stacked Western Conference.

Paul Pierce (15 points) wasn't puking into a trash can on the sidelines like the other night in Cleveland but he still wasn't 100 percent. Rondo picked up the slack with a team-high 24 points, eight assists, five rebounds and four steals. Ray Allen added 19 points and five boards while the bench played some serious minutes, including almost all of the fourth quarter. Tony Allen had 17 points and two blocks, Leon Powe had a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards, Eddie House scored seven points and James Posey had six assists.

The Clippers took the first quarter, 29-25 but Boston stepped on their throats in the second quarter: 34-15. Clippers point guard Sam Cassell (10 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds), who would look great in Celtics green and white, had enough and was assessed a flagrant foul on Rondo in the second, meaning he was kicked out of the game.

LA outscored Boston, 33-25 in the third quarter but it didn't really matter. The C's put it away with a 27-19 final frame.

Corey Maggette (33 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 assists) put up huge numbers in the loss while caveman Chris Kaman (12 points, 9 rebounds, 6 blocks, 3 assists, 2 steals) was a little less scary with his new haircut. Cuttino Mobley added a deceiving 16 points (on 3 of 15 shooting) while Quinton Ross put up 10.

Without Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston and the season already down the tube, the Clippers have one of the shakiest rosters in the NBA. Guys just hanging onto jobs (Dan Dickau, Brevin Knight, Aaron Williams and Josh Powell) actually get playing time.

Boston shot 53.2% as a team and held Los Angeles to 41.1%. The only reason the Clippers hung around at all and made it somewhat respectable is because they made 34 of 39 free throws while the Celts turned it over 20 times, leading to 23 points.

The Celts travel to Minnesota on Friday in a game that will lose a lot of its luster if KG doesn't play (as expected). Boston has to be weary of the Timberwolves, who have actually been playing good basketball lately and should have beat the C's two weeks ago at the Garden. Al Jefferson was held in check the first time around but he can easily post 30 points and 15+ rebounds on any given night.