Celtics nip Lakers. C2
The Celtics beat a Kobe-less LA team, 87-86, in their first game after the deadline. Boston won despite scoring only 11 points in the fourth quarter and making only 61.5 percent of its free throws. It was a night in which Ray Allen shot like a man who was happy he hadn’t been traded (10 for 15, 24 points). It was a night when the Celtics reminded Basketball America that they are still capable of neutralizing West Coast front-runners with East Coast Powerball.
Through the years, when the Celtics and Lakers were conference kingpins, these twice-a-year regular-season meetings resolved bragging rights and provided some measure of where each team stood. All of that stuff is out the window this year. At this hour, the mission of the old Celtics is to find their old soul. Winning two in a row after the break is a start. Portland and Denver are next.
“This has been a good stretch for us,’’ said coach Doc Rivers. “We needed one of these like we won tonight. We’re a little more healthy, but we’re not there yet.’’
In the weeks after Christmas the Celtics became a wounded and unlikable band of underachievers. They were big on attitude, small on work ethic. Impressed with past achievements, convinced they could summon the old dominance any time they pleased, they blew 10 double-digit leads. They became the kind of team we scorn here in Boston. Now they are in the process of trying to earn our love again.
The All-Star break and the passing of the deadline were crucial moments for the Green. With the deadline gone, the uncertainty is behind them. Danny Ainge has decided to go for it with this group one last time. Allen is still here. Big Baby is still here. Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler are not walking through that door.
Nate Robinson will be walking through the door. That means Eddie House is gone. The departure of House stings a little. Along with James Posey and P.J. Brown, House was an important piece of the title team of 2007-08.
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