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Celtics Still Winless on the Road
http://FanYardReport.corank.com/tech/story/celtics-Still-Win...
Submitted by
dorman
18 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 22 hours agoGame 4 started out much better than game 3, but the end result was the same as the Celtics lost to the Cavaliers 88-77. The Celtics are going back to Boston with their series tied at 2 games apiece once again. In 5 tries, they inexplicably have not been able to win on the road. After a blow out in game 3, they came out more aggressively in this one and kept it close until the final 2 minutes when the Cavaliers pulled away.
Perk got into quick foul trouble and went to the bench with 4:10 left in the first. Perk returned in the second quarter only to pick up his third foul a little over a minute later. He finished with 2 points and 3 rebounds in just 18 minutes of play. PJ Brown benefited the most from Perk's foul problems as he had his best game as a Celtic with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks in 22 minutes. It was very puzzling that Leon Powe played only 6 minutes after playing very well in the post season so far. In another puzzling move, Big Baby started the fourth quarter and played 4 minutes with only 1 missed jumper and a foul to show for his efforts.
KG was very active in this game, diving for loose balls and forcing 2 jump balls. He had 13 points in the first half but scored just 2 points in the second half to finish with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block in 40 minutes. At times, Paul Pierce was aggressive in taking the ball to the hoop and it seemed as though he would take over the game but then, he would stop driving and settle for quick outside jumpers. He had 13 points on 6-17 shooting to go with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Ray Allen seemed to come alive in the second half, finally breaking out of his shooting slump and scoring 9 of his 15 points in the 3rd quarter. He also pulled down 6 rebounds and dished out 3 assists.
Rajon Rondo did a good job of pushing the pace of the game and he also was more aggressive on offense. He finished with 15 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals in 33 minutes. Sam Cassell struggled In this game as he was 0-5 from the field in 14 minutes of play and defensively he was burned by Daniel Gibson almost every time down. Doc may have left Sam in too long as the offense seemed to stall when Sam was running the point.
Through 3 quarters, the Celtics controlled the boards with a 31-28 advantage at the end of 3. They were out rebounded 6-1 in the fourth quarter however. Much of rebounding is effort and the Celtics clearly didn't put the effort out in the final period. Once again, the Celtics gave up too many easy shots as they allowed the Cavs to shoot 46% from the field. On the other end, the Celtics struggled with their offense, shooting just 39%. Unlike the other road games, the Celtics held the edge in free throws as they shot 20-26 to just 12-18 for the Cavs.
There was one moment in the game that was laughable. With 4:13 left in the half, Pierce wrapped up LeBron to prevent a break away dunk. Their momentum took both of them into the crowd where LeBron's mother happened to be sitting. His mother, Gloria, was up and ready to take on the Celtics. To this, LeBron clearly told his mother: "Sit your a** down." It was pretty funny.
The Celtics were within 4 with 2:43 left in the game but they allowed the Cavs to go on a 9-2 run to end the game as the Cavs scored on a variety of dunks and 3 pointers to close out the game. They just seemed tired and a step slow and allowed the Cavs to run away in the final minutes. The Cavaliers' bench came up big with 36 points and 19 rebounds while the Celtics bench struggled with just 17 points and 11 rebounds. No Celtics' subs were in double figures while on the other side Gibson had 14 points and Varejao had 12.
The series now shifts back to Boston for game 5 and hopefully the struggles they have had on the road won't follow them home. The Celtics are still the only team who hasn't won on the road in the post season and their Jekyll and Hyde persona between home and the road has gotten more and more puzzling and more than a little worrisome. Hopefully they can find a solution to their poor play on both ends of the court, or their dream season may end considerably short of the goal.
Tags: nba
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