Projo Sports Blog

By ROBERT LEE
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON - Led by Kevin Garnett (16 points, 9 rebounds) and Paul Pierce (18 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists) and another big performance by their second unit, the Celtics won their third consecutive game last night by overcoming a slow start and rallying from a 13-point first quarter deficit to blowout the Milwaukee Bucks, 101-89, in front of a sellout crowd at the TD Banknorth Garden.

Playing like a man possessed, Richard Jefferson knocked down his first six shots and scored 14 of his team-high 20 points in the first quarter to help Milwaukee open up the game with a 25-12 surge.

The Bucks led 30-23 after the first stanza.

But Boston's second unit, much like they did against Houston on Tuesday, turned the momentum back in Boston's favor.

Eddie House, Glen Davis, Leon Powe, and Tony Allen started the second quarter along with starter Ray Allen, and by the midway point of the second session, Boston's second unit had cut Milwaukee's lead to 40-38.

Feeding off of that surge, the Celtics were able to take a 55-47 lead into the locker room at halftime.

"They are a confident group after winning a championship," Boston captain Paul Pierce said of the second unit last month. "They understand what they can do and their roles are going to get expanded so obviously when your role is expanded you gain more confidence, you become more vocal, and you get more comfortable in the atmosphere."

"They set the tone for our whole team...," Rivers said. "When you can get your bench to do that, that's huge."

Eddie House (11 points) and Glen Davis (8 points) scored six points apiece during the Celtics comeback over the first six minutes of the momentum-changing second quarter.

"Glen Davis has been phenomenal," Rivers said. "His numbers have not been off the charts but his play has been. He's doing a lot of things that you don't see in numbers but which have been great for us."

Tony Allen scored 13 points and had four assists and Powe had 10 points off the bench.
Riding the momentum that the bench players gave the Celtics, Garnett gave Boston its first lead of the game, 44-42 with 4:13 remaining in the first half, on an emphatic two-handed dunk that brought the crowd to its collective feet.

The Celtics never trailed again though Milwaukee did cut Boston's lead down to three points on three different occasions in the third quarter.

Boston began the fourth quarter with three players from its second unit, Powe, Davis, and Tony Allen, along with starters Pierce and Rondo, and they put the game away with a 13-5 run which put Boston ahead, 88-75.

Boston dominated the low post where it outscored Milwaukee, 60-36.

Milwaukee was missing star guard Michael Redd (ankle) last night, but Charlie Villanueva (13 points, 12 rebounds), Andrew Bogut (11 points, 8 rebounds), Luke Ridnour (12 points), and Ramon Sessions (11 points), along with Jefferson who the Celtics shut down after the first quarter, played well in his absence .

"This is not an ideal team that you want to be lacking scoring in your starting lineup against," Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles said. "In this building we know that they come out and try to stick you early. You want to be able to play good defense against them but you've got to get some baskets. If we are not stopping them enough so that we can get out on the break and score quickly before they can set their defense, that's bad. And missing a 20 plus point scorer, again, is not ideal."

Boston held Milwaukee to 39.7 percent shooting from the field while knocking down 48.1 percent of its shots.

 Tags  Boston Celtics

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