Celtics snap Houston’s 6-game win streak
March 18th, 2005by John
Yao throws one down over Boston’s Mark Blount on Friday, but the Celtics got the better of the Rockets, snapping Houston’s 6-game winning streak 103-92. Yao had a decent game, scoring 18 points and grabbed six rebounds. Click here for more photos from the game.by John
FRIDAY, 3/18/05 – Everyone has been talking about Miami and Houston being the hot teams in the league lately, with 11-game and 6-game winning streaks, respectively. But look out for the Boston Celtics, who are quietly showing everyone they are a force to be reckoned with come playoff time.
Having a good mix of veterans (Paul Pierce, Antoine Walker, Gary Payton) and young, fast players like Ricky Davis, Tony Allen, Mark Blount, Al Jefferson, and Marcus Banks, the Celtics used their quickness to spank the Rockets in Toyota Center, 103-92. The victory gave Boston their 10th victory in their past 11 games.
The Rockets hot shooting over their recent winning streak finally cooled off, hitting only 43% of their shots and 29% from three-point land. Call it “Friday Night Blight” from the floor.
The Celtics started out sizzling as they got lots of easy points penetrating to the basket. Their bench of young guns also outscored Houston’s 28-12, carrying them to a 56-42 at halftime. Meanwhile, Houston struggled, hitting only 32% in the first half.
For some reason, Yao only got off three shots in the first two quarters. The Celtics were fronting him well defensively, but the Rockets guards have fallen in love with the three-pointer lately, and they paid for it dearly on Friday, making only 2-of-13 from three-point territory in the first half.
After three quarters, the Rockets trailed 77-61 and really never made a big run until the end of the game when they went on a 17-5 run to close it to 97-88. But Boston responded and closed it out.
The final stat sheet wasn’t a pleasant sight for Houston fans. Yao scored 18 points, but he only attempted 7 shots (he made five). Bob Sura was 3-for-12 with 10 points. T-Mac’s mini-slump continued (8-of-22 for 22 points). Mike James was 1-for-8 for two points. In Juwan Howard’s absence, the two-headed power forward tandem of Scott Padgett and Clarence Weatherspoon scored 8 points and grabbed eight rebounds collectively.
As a team, the Rockets were out-assisted 24-17 by the Celtics. And Houston missed 21-of-32 free throws, with those 11 misses being the final margin of defeat.
Although I hate losing, I can handle a loss to a hot team every once in awhile. The Celtics and coach Doc Rivers deserve alot of respect. I was impressed.
On the flip side, Houston is entitled to a cold shooting game every once in awhile. I’m confident if Houston ever had to face a team like Dallas or Boston in the playoffs, that coach Jeff Van Gundy has the smarts to make the adjustments and put game plans together that would give them a great chance of winning a 7-game series.