What an awesome game. I turned it off at the end of the third quarter, turn it back on with about 6 minutes left in the fourth, and DAMN. Coming back from down by 21 after three to score 41 POINTS in the final quarter.
I like Kurt Angle and Kanyon. But I love Maven, and can't figure out why...
I'm a Celts fan, and I had the game going on in the background as I watched an MST3K episode on my computer, after going into "Well, there's always next time" mode partway through the third. About halfway through the fourth, I glanced over, and thinking "Well, at least this is going to end with a not-too-humiliating final score", and I decided to watch it until the end. Still, I remember thinking at the half that the leprechaun works in mysterious ways.
I can't think of the last time I was marking this hard for a sporting event of any kind. The only thing this can be compared to in recent memory is Frank Reich leading the Buffalo Bills comeback against the Houston Oilers.
"Hello, my name is Philo and welcome to Secrets of the Universe. Today we are going to learn how to make plutonium from common household items."
Here's the game recap I wrote for my Celtics message board (there's a link in my sig file if you're interested) ... Now, these are just the notes I jotted down while watching the game; there's been no editing or proof-reading here, so if you enjoy grammatical errors and fragmented sentences then this is for you bro :
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BOSTON VS NEW JERSEY 5-25 5:30 PM (FleetCenter)
Hannah Storm, Tom Tolbert (in-studio); Lewis Johnson (roving reporter); Mike Breen, PJ Carlesimo (announcers)
Celts were able to split the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals, turning up the defensive pressure and shutting down NJ’s scorers during Game Two … Now the series shifts back to the Fleet Center (aka "The Jungle" because it’s even more wild and wooly than a simple "garden"), and it’s time to see if this team is really destined for a return to the NBA Finals
So far the Celtics are undefeated at home during the postseason (5 0)
1st quarter
Antoine goes right up against Kenyon and misses layup but Ewill offensive rebound and grabbed by Van Horn from behind going back up for layup attempt so that earns Eric a trip to the FT line (his first of the series?!?) and 1-2 FT (1 0 1143). Kenyon then hits turnaround j over Ewill, other end Van Horn is called from foul away from ball (his second already!) so Richard Jefferson in to replace him and when play resumes Pierce spins around Kittles to make move to basket and defense collapses around him so kicks it out to wide open Ewill for 3PTA but miss and Kenyon rebound and to Kidd who up court and finds Kittles for 15 foot j (1 4 1052).
Basket by Kidd gives NJ five point lead, then Kenny miss shot (BOS 0 5 FG) and Battie fouls MacCullough going for rebound; NJ poss but Kidd tries to pass inside to Kenyon but right past him and OOB! BOS regains poss and Antoine tries to back down Kenyon but shuffles his feet and refs call him for traveling violation; little sloppy to start game as NJ again poss and Kidd hits outside j (1 8 915).
Basket by Ewill finally gives BOS a FG with 830 remaining in quarter, other end Jefferson left open for outside j and hits it (3 10 820); NJ now 5 5 FG! Ewill then miss 3PTA and MacCullough rebound and to Kidd who up court and to Kittles who tries another outside j but this time Pierce is able to come in and get a piece of the shot so it comes up short and Battie rebound and to Antoine who up court and tries to take it in himself for layup but fouled by Kenyon so to the line and (4 10 740) 1-2 FT.
Another basket by Jefferson gives NJ 8 PT lead, then Pierce miss 3PTA (BOS 1 9 FG!) and MacCullough rebound and to Kidd who up court and to Jefferson for another outside j and miss and Battie rebound and to Kenny who up court and finds Antoine open behind 3PT line and takes it but miss and Kittles rebound and back the other way and to Kenyon who tries j from top of key and nails it (4 14 636).
Not a good start, as BOS timeout and when play resumes Ewill is bumped by Jefferson trying to take the shot so that gets BOS to the FT line for another try and this time he makes both FTS (6 14 619). Jefferson then miss shot and Battie rebound and to Pierce who up court and back to Battie who miss outside j and Jefferson rebound and to Kidd who up court and is double teamed so tries to pass inside to MacCullough but can’t handle pass and Ewill able to STL it and back other way and to Kenny who misses j (BOS 1 12 FG!) and Kidd rebound and up court (crowd booing him every time he touches the ball) and nice pass inside to Jefferson for layup (6 16 452)!
BOS second FG doesn’t come until 213 left in quarter as Antoine tips in missed shot by Pierce (BOS 2 16 FG)! This is just not good, plain and simple … Meanwhile, the Nets are having a wonderful time, as Kidd misses j and Pierce rebound but Jason sneaks up from behind and strips him of ball and then is able to save ball from going OOB right to Jefferson under the pain who is fouled by Rogers going up for layup so to the line with 134 but misses both FTS! Celts dodge a bullet there, as BOS poss and Delk miss 3PTA but Antoine offensive rebound and putback (11 23 108).
Aaron Williams scores, then Delk misses j and Jefferson rebound and to Kidd who up court and pulls up for 3PTA and miss and Cart rebound and to Antoine who up court and passes inside to Battie who is fouled by Kenyon (his second) and both FTS (13 25 :27).
Kidd looked particularly "off" in that first quarter (he had 3 TO), but that doesn’t really matter when Celtics can’t buy a basket! They CAN’T continue shooting like that throughout the game, I refuse to believe it!
2nd quarter
Harris miss shot and Antoine rebound and up court himself and to Battie for baseline j (15 28 1133); whew! Anthony Johnson (in for Kidd to open quarter) then tries to pass inside to Collins but he lowers his shoulder into Battie and called for offensive foul; BOS regains poss and Delk hits outside j (17 28 1059). MUCH better start already!
Jefferson miss outside j and Delk up HIGH for rebound and up court and tries to work the baseline around Harris but refs say he put a foot OOB (!) so NJ regains poss and Jefferson makes nice crossover move to lose Ewill and pulls up for j and hits it (17 30 1013). Antoine then makes a GREAT pass inside to Kenny but he misses layup (!) and Aaron rebound and to Harris who up court and finds Johnson open behind 3PT line but he comes up with airball (!) and Antoine rebound and pushes ball up court and slices down lane and takes it in all the way himself for layup (19 30 933)!
BOS already has 3 FG (same as they had in the entire first quarter!) and NJ doesn’t want to let thing slip away so calls timeout and when play resumes Johnson misses outside j but Aaron able to tip it in (19 32 913). Antoine then throws the alleyoop pass inside to Battie for layup, other end Aaron misses pullup j over Battie and Collins fouls Ewill going for the rebound; BOS poss and Pierce hits fall away j over Harris (23 32 822) for his first FG!
Harris then miss and Antoine rebound and to Pierce who up court and back to Antoine who pulls up for 3PTA and buries it (26 32 800); BOS now 1 8 3PT! NJ timeout, when play resumes crowd is loud but Kenyon hit’s the difficult fall away j over two defenders (26 34 735). Pierce then miss off-balance j and Jefferson rebound and to Harris who up court and pulls up for 3PTA and miss and Aaron fouls Battie going for rebound; BOS regains poss and Antoine hits pullup j over Kenyon (28 34 654)!
Van Horn (back into game) knocks down outside j, other end Kenny misses shot and Van Horn rebound and to Kidd who up court and finds Kenyon for outside j and miss and Aaron offensive rebound but Kenny steps up from behind and knocks ball out of his hands (!) and Pierce loose ball and back the other way and Van Horn reaches in for the foolish foul (his third) so he takes a return trip to the bench as NJ calls timeout. When play resumes, Pierce miss 3PTA and Kittle rebound and to Kidd who up court and passes inside to Kenyon for hook shot over Pierce (28 38 520).
Antoine then steps OOB trying to make a move around Kenyon, so NJ regains poss but Jefferson miss outside j and Battie rebound and to Kenny who up court and nice bounce pass inside to Pierce who spins around Kittles to try and go in for the two hand dunk but MacCullough ties him up from behind which not only causes Paul to miss but he lands HARD on his back (uh oh) but he’s alright and goes to the line and both FTS (30 38 435). Kidd then miss 3PTA and Pierce up strong for the rebound and takes it up court himself and is surrounded by three defenders but still takes it in for layup attempt and miss but Jefferson called for blocking foul (his third) and NJ over limit so Paul another trip to the FT line and makes both FT (32 38 401).
Harris miss 3PTA but MacCullough offensive rebound and kicks it out to Kittles for 3PTA but he miss and Rogers rebound and to Delk who up court and finds Pierce who pulls up for j that rims in and out (awww) and Ewill fouls MacCullough going for rebound (his third) so Eric takes a seat and Cart in to replace him. Meanwhile, Harris tries another 3PTA and this time makes it (32 41 310).
Kittles then STL bad pass by Pierce and quickly up court to Harris who finds streaking Kidd slicing down lane for layup (32 43 250). Ugh … Two FT by Antoine gets deficit back down to single digits, other end Harris slices down lane and goes up over Pierce for layup (35 56 208)! Pierce then miss fall away j over Harris and MacCullough rebound and to Kidd who up court and finds Harris for outside j (foot on line) and hits it (34 47 125).
Antoine then miss pullup j over Collins and Harris rebound and to Kidd who up court and passes inside to MacCullough who able to make the nice lob pass inside to Kittles for layup (34 49 :49.2)! If that wasn‘t enough, at the other end Kittles STL bad pass by Delk and goes all way in for uncontested two handed dunk (34 51 :36)!
Celts just look disheveled as some boos come down from the FleetCenter crowd, as Cart forces up off-balance 3PTA and miss and MacCullough rebound and to Kidd who up court and holds for final shot before passing to Kittles who quickly swings ball around to open Harris for 3PTer with just 0.7 seconds on the clock!
The last time an NBA team came back from a twenty-point deficit at halftime to win a playoff game … 1948! It was Baltimore at Philadelphia (a 21 point lead)
3rd quarter
Kittles and Antoine trade to open second half, then Van Horn tries to pass inside to MacCullough but Pierce intercepts pass and to Antoine who up court and makes bullet pass inside to Ewill who is just two feet away from basket and looks to have easy hook shot over Van Horn but ball rolls in and out! Unbelievable; MacCullough rebound and to Kidd who up court and to Kenyon who ends up shooting an airball (!) and Ewill rebound and to Antoine who dribbles coast to coast and blows by Kenyon and looks to have open layup but ball bounces out (!!!) and Kidd rebound and back the other way and pulls up for j and hits it (36 58 1022)!
That is a VERY bad sign; two shots that (by all rights) were SUPPOSED to go in, yet they both just refused to go down! It just might not be in the cards for BOS tonight, I’m afraid … Battie then misses a layup attempt (when it rains, it pours) and MacCullough rebound and to Kidd who up court and passes inside to Kittles who is fouled by Antoine so to the line with 959 remaining and makes first FT and misses second but Van Horn sneaks in for offensive rebound and kicks back out to Kidd who swings ball around to Kittles for 15 foot j (36 61 943)!
Crowd is just STUNNED at what’s happening right now, as Pierce miss j (he’s 1 11 FG) and Kenyon rebound and to Kidd who up court and back to Kenyon who tries to pass inside to MacCullough but Ewill intercepts pass and to Kenny who back other way and finds Antoine for 3PTer (39 61 922)! However, at the other end Kidd makes great pass inside to Van Horn who is wide open for layup, and going back up the floor the camera catches Antoine yelling at Battie about leaving his man and forcing Walker to cover for him and leave Van Horn open; now is NOT the time to start bickering with one another!
However, the team doesn’t listen and continues to let the frustrations grow, leading up to a technical foul on Rodney Rogers with 148 remaining for arguing a foul call! Kidd misses the FT, and NJ retains poss but Kidd is called for traveling violation trying to make move around Pierce and both players end up getting tangled up after the fact and start jawing and refs end up calling double technical foul! BOS regains poss and Rogers goes in for layup attempt that rims out (sheesh!) but Rodney hustles to get his own rebound and ends up getting fouled by Aaron (nice hustle) so BOS retains poss but Pierce miss pullup j (he’s now 2 14 FG) so NJ regains poss but Aaron called for offensive foul pushing off Rogers away from ball! Nets giving BOS plenty of opportunities to build SOME kind of momentum, as BOS again regains poss and Delk slices down lane and fouled by Aaron so to the line and both FTS (51 74 :49).
Kidd miss 3PTA and Battie rebound and to Pierce who up court and to Kenny who tries to go in for layup attempt but refs call him for offensive foul for knocking down Kidd (even though he was stepping under him) so NJ regains poss with 26 seconds left but Kidd ends up dribbling ball off his knee and Rogers ends up with loose ball with six seconds left and to Delk who quickly up court and back to Rogers who makes his way around two defenders for layup (53 74 :0.7)!
As teams return to the court, the announcers let us know that Antoine really let his teammates have it during the break; he was yelling at Pierce to "stop whining to the referees" and that the Nets were laughing at them! Let’s see if this can motivate the team to pick things up … Well, right off the bat Pierce blows right past Harris and goes in for the layup, so that’s a good sign; Delk then STL ball from Harris (!) and to Antoine who backs down Van Horn before he just spins around the flat-footed Keith and in for another easy layup (57 74 1120)! Jefferson then misses shot (crowd is perking up) and Pierce rebound and back the other way and again turns on the jets to leave Harris in the dust and goes in for layup but ALSO Jefferson tries to come in to knock ball away and refs whistle him for foul just as ball drops in so to the FT line and makes it to complete 3PT play (60 74 1031)!
Harris then miss outside j and Jefferson tries to come in for the putback slam but HOLD IT refs call offensive goaltending! BOS regains poss and Pierce again just abuses Harris and leaves him in the dust for the layup (62 74 1005)! Crowd is now on their feet, as NJ forced to call timeout; when play resumes Kittles miss j and Battie rebound and to Antoine who makes full court pass to Pierce who is covered nicely by Van Horn (wouldn’t bite on the upfake) so back to Antoine who tries to back down Kittles and refs whistle Kerry for the foul. BOS still poss and Kenny left open for pullup j and hits it (64 74 910)!
Two FT by Kittles gives NJ 12 PTS lead with 640 left in game, other end Pierce slices his way between two defenders and in for layup (72 82 627); Pierce now 11 PTS in quarter! Kittles then miss 3PTA but Kenyon offensive rebound and fouled by Antoine trying to go back up for hook shot (his third) so to the line and (72 83 605) 1-2 FT. Kenny then blows past Harris and Kittles tries to reach in for STL but refs whistle him for foul (NJ over limit) and to the line and (74 83 600) both FTS to get deficit into single digits!
Crowd on their feet, but Aaron upfake to lose Rogers and steps into the paint and bumps into Antoine while hitting the pullup j (Walker’s fourth) so he goes to the line and makes FT to complete 3PT play (74 86 546). Kenny then makes the crossover move around Aaron and in for the layup (!); other end Kittles has shot BLK by Delk (!) and Pierce loose ball and court and back to Delk who tries to go in for layup but ball bounces out of rim (NOOO) and Aaron rebound and to Kidd who up court and miss pullup j and Delk rebound and up court and pulls up for 3PTA (?) and miss but Antoine offensive rebound and passes inside to Rogers who is fouled by Aaron (his fifth) so Rodney to the line and both FTS (78 86 441)!
Harris back rims j but Kenyon offensive rebound and back out to Kidd who finds Kittles for outside j (78 88 406). Delk then miss layup (!) but Rogers offensive rebound and Kidd commits foul trying to reach in for STL so that’s another trip to the line for Rodney and (80 88 355) both FTS. Kenyon then tries hook shot over Antoine and miss and Delk rebound and up court and to Kenny who is double teamed so back out to Pierce who slices down lane and hit by Kittles but no foul called (!!!) so ends up missing shot badly and Aaron rebound but tries to make outlet pass to Kidd but Rogers intercepts pass for the STL (!) and goes in for layup but is tied up from behind by Kenyon (VERY close to a flagrant foul there) so again to the FT line and makes both FTS (82 88 310)!
Kenyon then miss and Delk dives OOB to save loose rebound right to Antoine (HUSTLE HUSTLE HUSTLE) and up court and back to Delk who swings ball around to Kenny who passes inside to Antoine who is hacked by Kenyon as crowd gets even louder and Walker to the FT line and both FTS (84 88 240)! Kidd then makes a nice pass inside to Aaron who is tied up by Antoine (his fifth foul) so to the line and both FTS (84 90 233). Other end Pierce drives along baseline around Kidd and Jason forced to foul him to prevent layup so Paul gets a turn at the line but only 1-2 FT (85 90 215).
Kittles miss 3PTA and Delk rebound and to Kenny who up court and to Antoine who tries to back down Kenyon and two defenders come over for triple team but still tries fall away j and miss but gets his own rebound (!) and ball ends up going off Kidd OOB. BOS still poss and Pierce slice down lane for another layup (87 90 135)! Harris then tries to go down lane for layup but Rogers steps in to take the charge and the refs dutifully call the offensive foul! BOS regains poss and Pierce again takes ball to the basket and is again fouled by Kidd so to the line and (89 90 106) both FTS!
NJ timeout as announcers exclaim that "the FleetCenter is deafening right now"; when play resumes Kittles misses 3PTA BADLY and Antoine rebound and up court himself and to Pierce who appears to slip and it looks like refs are going to call traveling violation but refs surprise me by calling Kenyon for the tripping foul (his sixth) so Paul to the line and (91 90 :45) both FTS for BOS first lead since it was 1-0 back in the first quarter!
Crowd is reaching new levels of delirium as NJ calls another timeout with 42.1 seconds left; when play resumes Kittles simply loses handle of ball (!!) and Kenny picks it up and goes all the way in for layup attempt and Kittles able to come back to BLK it from behind but refs call goal tending so count the basket (93 90 :29)!!!!!
NJ another timeout as I’m getting ready to lose my mind right now; when play resumes Van Horn goes for the 3PTA but Antoine able to BLK the shot (!!) and Pierce comes up with loose ball and Nets forced to foul him and so Paul goes to the line with 17.6 seconds left but BOS calls timeout as Pierce is holding his right hand (uh oh) and as he takes a seat on the bench the trainer puts an ice bag over his wrist (maybe he jammed a finger?) but able to make it to the FT line and comes up short on first one (oooooh) but makes second (94 90 :17.6).
NJ no timeouts left so have to quickly bring ball up court and Kidd miss 3PTA but Kittles offensive rebound and back to Kidd for another 3PTA and miss but loose rebound goes off Antoine OOB so NJ still poss with five seconds left and Kidd goes for one more 3PTA but Rogers steps in for the BLK (!) but Harris able to control loose ball and back to Kidd for ANOTHER 3PTA but it bounces out of rim as buzzer sounds and CELTS WIN THE GAME!!!
Hey, like I said, this is a rought draft only ... If I was still running my Celtics web site (which I might re-open someday) I would have cleaned things up and added some witty remarks/keen observations to the mix. I have some nicknames for the players, too.
As for the commercials, there are some good ones I could have pointed out ... Like the local McDonald's spot with Antoine and Pierce, where they're eating a great deal of frozen yogurt and slowly freezing to death (FFFF-Fifty seven!)
I'm definitely pulling for the Celtics now in this series. Tough loss today, Pierce picked the wrong time to choke, but if they keep providing games liket his, I'm all for it going seven games anyway.
What, no love on this board for the Nets?
Oh well, I still think this series is going to 7. And it's been a ton fun so far(except for the meltdown on Saturday when I was throwing things across the room.)
And you KNOW that the NBA wants a Lakers-Celts final.
And you KNOW that the NBA wants a Lakers-Celts final.
So do I
Meh, who am I kidding? As long as the Celtics make it to the Finals, I don't care WHO their opponents are ... Although, Boston and LA fighting for the NBA title would help complement that "retro-80s" vibe that has been floating around lately (Hogan anyone?)
(edited by Alessandro on 29.5.02 1013) Alessandro "Hercules" Boondy
CRZ NOTABLE QUOTABLE OF THE MONTH: KANE: Triple H...tonight, I will burn the flesh from your body! MICHAEL COLE: OH MY GOD. KANE THREATENING TRIPLE H, SAYING HE'S GONNA BURN THE FLESH FROM HIS BODY! CRZ: Umm, I heard it the FIRST time! -- WWF Smackdown, 9/9/99
Depends on who Dallas has to give up to get Shaq. If its Dirk/Nash going to LA, then Shaq's supporting cast won't be much better than what he had in LA last year.