In what may as well have been a must-win situation, the Celtics came up with a 97-81 game-three victory that was full of surprises. The Cs got off to a good start and took an early 23-13 lead, but once again, it would be the bench of the Heat coming up big. Joel Anthony entered the game about half way through the first, and he’d already scored half his point total (4) from the first two games (8) by the time the clock read 2:46. James Jones proceeded to nail a three-ball, and it was a five-point game. Joel Anthony would continue to dominate, scoring four more points as Miami took a lead as large as six. Delonte West came in and nailed two threes right before halftime, though, and Miami’s lead was just two at the break. In the second half, the Celtics pulled ahead by double digits as Miami was only able to score three points in the first six minutes of the third. LeBron clunked three FTs during that stretch… Chris Bosh’s 1-6 night was summed up as he got his sh!t swatted by Jermaine O’Neal… and as a team they turned the ball over three times. So, could the bench save them again? The answer was no. Joel Anthony checked in and scored another bucket, but it would be his last of the game, and he started playing more like his usual self. It’s not like their bench played poorly… they would account for 12 more points from that point on… but their starters could only muster 15, so it wasn’t nearly enough. Dywane Wade was really the only Miami big gun that did anything (23 points). LeBron James had a forgettable 15/7/4, and Chris Bosh was so bad that no one even wanted to talk to him after the game. Said Bosh: “I didn’t make any plays on offense or defense.” Pretty much, yeah… your six points and five boards express that quite effectively.
As for the Celtics, they got stellar play from their power forward. Kevin Garnett did what he’s been needed to do all series long (assert your goddamn self, Kevin!) and played an aggressive offensive game, resulting in the domination of Mr. Bosh. KG made 13 of 20 shots on his way to 28 points and 18 boards. He knocked a few jumpers down, but his first eight points came either in the paint or at the line. He set the tone for what would become a rather physical, testy affair. Rajon Rondo ended up on the wrong end of one of those physical plays…
…I didn’t think it looked that bad on first glance. I thought he may have remained on the floor to try and draw a technical or a flagrant on Wade, who hit him with a shove. After seeing the replay, though, I thought the Celtics had an Andrew Bogut situation on their hands. That looked really nasty from one of those angles… I had Rondo out for the season after I saw that sh!t. He remained down for an extended period of time, and he had to be helped off of the floor. It looked like he’d broken his arm… but it turns out he had merely dislocated his elbow (yes, I’m being sarcastic… I’ve never dislocated an elbow, but it doesn’t seem like it would be a pleasent experience). Anyway, the trainers popped that sh!t right back into place and Rajon was walking out of the tunnel just like Paul Pierce in the ’07 finals. Next thing you know he’s out there diving on the floor and ripping Chris Bosh with that same left arm…
Rajon actually played better with one arm than with two in this game. Seriously, the dude had five turnovers and one basket with both arms, and he had no turnovers and two baskets with one. So, while I applaud Rondo for his toughness (that was some sick looking sh!t, I couldn’t believe he came back), let’s not blow this out of proportion. People are already calling this a classic moment, a heroic performance, etc. Look, I’m not trying to take anything away from Rajon Rondo; the dude showed a ton of heart, and it was very inspirational for the fans and his teammates. However, it was hardly a heroic performance. The Cs were leading by 11 when he came back in the game, and were up 16 by the time he contributed. Delonte West had been better than he was through three quarters, and the Celtics win this game easily whether Rondo comes back or not. So, was it admirable? Yes? Was it heroic, though? No. Boston will still lose this series, and this will be forgotten.
A lot of folks are giving Dwyane Wade sh!t for the way Rondo suffered the injury. As you can see from the video, Wade definitely gave him a push that put him on the floor. While it was a very physical play, and may very well have been a frustration play, I’m not sure that it was a dirty play. If you watch the video with an objective eye (be sure to remove your Heinsohn Brand shades), you’ll notice that Rondo briefly had a hold of Wade up top, and their legs got tangled up as well. To be perfectly honest with you, I think they could’ve called a double foul. Rondo grabbed Wade first, and then Wade responded with the push. Wade’s foul was much more blatant, but not necessarilly a dirty foul. He absolutely pushed Rondo, but I don’t think I can say that it was his intent to hurt him… only he knows. After the game, Wade stated that he doesn’t believe he’s a dirty player…
To sum all of that up: Boston did pretty much everything better than Miami last night, resulting in a blowout, and Rondo’s comeback was a nice morale boost. The Celtics out-shot the Heat from the field, long range, and the line, had edges in rebounds and assists, and recorded fewer turnovers. Miami had a pretty large edge in bench points, but the starters allowed that effort to go to waste. I don’t think the big three will play as poorly as a unit as they did last night for the remainder of the series, so if Boston wants to make a comeback they’re gonna have to keep James Jones and Joel Anthony under control. Boston’s bench will get a boost as Shaq has returned; he had two points in eight minutes, but more importantly he didn’t get hurt. Dwayne Wade had a half-decent reverse dunk…
I had to work throughout the entire duration of the OKC @ MEM game, so you know it was a good one. That’s how it always f@cking works. Anyway, I’ll try to give you as much second-hand knowledge as possible, but I can’t really go into this one in too much depth because I wasn’t able to watch it.
I’ve been told by my father (who watched the game) that Memphis fell into a 16-point, late-third-quarter hole due to the play of Russell Westbrook and the defense of Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka on Z-Bo and Marc Gasol. Looking at the play-by-play, that seems to make some sense. Westbrook had just scored 11 points over the previous eight minutes, and Zach Randolph/Marc Gasol were a combined 10 for 26 from the field. Randolph was 6-13, so it was Marc who appears to have been struggling more. So, down 13 entering the fourth with the starters struggling, Lionel Hollins went to his formidable bench unit to see if they could bring some energy and mount a comeback… and they delivered. OJ Mayo was responsible for a variety of key buckets, and Sam Young came through with this momentum-builder…
The Grizzlies finally tied it up on a Tony Allen freethrow with 3:18 remaining, and they had two shots at winning the game, but Mayo wasn’t able to convert on a drive and Z-Bo missed a stepback J. Apparently OKC’s life force had been drained by that point, though, so it didn’t matter. Memphis took it easily in OT (out-scored OKC 15-7) and won by a final count of 101-93. I find that the team that makes the late run often seems to dominate the OT because they go into it with the momentum… it’s almost as if the other team has already been defeated because they know they should’ve won in regulation. I don’t have a stat on that or anything–it may not even be an observation that the numbers would support–it just seems that way to me. Memphis damn near shot themselves in the foot with some sketchy freethrow shooting, mostly by Marc Gasol and Tony Allen. The Grizz clunked six FTs in the second half of the fourth and OT, and they only made 30 of 44 on the night. Zach Randolph uncharacteristically missed three of eight (he didn’t have a very good shooting night, just 8-22 from the field), but you can’t be mad at him because he posted 21 points and 21 boards. OJ Mayo’s 18 points off the bench were huge, and credit him for being the guy that defended Russell Westbrook as he self-destructed down the stretch. Said the almighty Z-Bo: “The guy did great on Westbrook. He took it upon himself to guard Westbrook, and he did a great job.”
Said Mayo: ”I just wanted to use my size and my strength a little bit, and whenever he rose up to shoot the jumper, just contest… I just made it a little difficult for him.”
Russ had 23/12 in the game, but he clunked his last four shots and had two turnovers in OT (seven in the game… he needs to take better care of the ball; he’s averaging 4.75 TOs per game in the playoffs, and six per game in this series).
So, this is a HUGE win that makes it 2-1 Grizzlies with another game in Memphis coming up. Can they become the first #8 seed ever to make the Western Conference Finals? Had they dropped this game, I would’ve said no. I think they’re plenty good enough, but game three is always crucial, and I think it was even more so in this case because they’re playing the underdog role. They got it, though, and that’s key, because it means they get a chance to close out on their home court if they win game four (just like they did in the San Antonio series).
Memphis will have to do a better job of knocking down their freethrows if they plan on pulling this off. If you are fortunate enough to get 40-something tries in a playoff game, you have to take advantage, especially against a team like OKC that will get there a zillion times when the series shifts back to their arena.
It’s been a lot of fun watching a misfit like Z-Bo transform into a previously unsuccessful NBA city’s hero, hasn’t it? I’m loving this whole Zach Randolph bandwagon, and I’d love to watch it continue to build if they can advance to the WCF.
