Full Court Press: 2/13/05 Celtics vs. Kings
By Tom
Kings 104 - Celtics 100
February 13, 2005
It was as if it was a beach ball in the bleachers at Fenway and Chris Webber was Bob Stanley with the rake. With 15 seconds left, Webber corralled a Mark Blount missed 11 ft jump shot (after the ball was volley-balled for what appeared to be 5 minutes) and threw a perfect lead out let pass to some guy named Maurice Evans. Evans then iced the game with 2 free throws. This critical play exemplified what was Celtics fans biggest fear about losing Al Jefferson to an ankle injury. This game exemplified what this Celtics teams chances are without the young, athletic big man.
The Celtics had no answer for Webber (14 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists) because they did not anyone on the floor that could match his size and athleticism. Webber is the type of player (minus the pot smoking, grand jury lying and total lack of heart in the big playoff games) that Celtics fans dream that Jefferson can become. On a night where Peja Stojakovic left in the first half with an injury, Webber provided the lift his team needed to end a season long losing streak.
I was fortunate enough to attend this game, sadly only my second of the season. This was a very entertaining game to attend for a variety of reasons. First, it’s always fun to see a crowd lined up outside the gate and hour before the game. This is a tell tale sign that a good team is in town, especially when it is a school night. Second, there is the Cougar Factor(and the comedy that accompanies) which seems to double in size whenever a good team from the West Coast makes its one visit to town. I can state will full confidence that the Cougar Factor was at an all time high last night. You always know when there are a lot of groupies at a game when other women in the stands are commenting about it. Lastly, Bob Cousy was providing color commentary for the television feed which is a sure sign that a very entertaining team is playing (or the Knicks).
There were a few factors that favored the Celtics going into this game. They have won 18 games at home which is only one off of the total wins they had home all of last year. This was the 3rd game in 4 nights for the Kings who had lost 4 straight. Those factors appeared to increase when Stojakovic left the game after only playing 5 minutes. Little did Celtics fans know that the Ghost of Vinnie Johnson would appear in the body of Maurice Evans, a player who has averaged 6 points a game coming off the bench. Evans kept the Kings in the game in the 2nd period, hitting consecutive 3 point shots and being active on both ends of the floor. Evans would end the game shooting 5-9 from the floor, 3-4 from 3 point land while making all 4 of his free throws. It was the type of game that one would expect from Stojakovic and it was the type of game the Kings desperately needed from their bench.
The game was tied at 54 at halftime when the Celtics opened up the 3rd period on a 10-0 run, highlighted by a Raef LaFrentz (25 points, 9 rebounds) 3-point basket. It would be careless not to point out how well LaFrentz has played for the Celtics lately. He has shot the ball extremely well and his rebounding has been surprisingly superb.
This was the highlight of the night for the fans in attendance especially myself. The team had played a little defense and also attacked on the offensive end. During the timeout, my friend and I debated who the real winner of the little kid slam dunk contest that was held on the court. I went with the 4 year kid who did a 360 and then dunked while my friend felt the 9 year old girl that cart wheeled before getting the ball and dunking was the winner. This concluded with my friend challenging me to a postgame cart-wheeling contest which luckily we never did.
The Celtics extended the lead to twelve before the Kings climbed back into it. Once again it was Evans in the middle of things hitting another 3 point jumper while noted Celtics killer Cuttino Mobley tied the game with a driving dunk. The interesting (or maddening) aspect of this run was that Doc Rivers did not call a timeout to try to stop any momentum. The fourth quarter featured the outstanding play of Mike Bibby, who along with Webber, Stockton and Malone’d the Celtics to death.
The key to this game was bench points, which Sacramento won 23-19. This is
usually the key stat when attributing a team playing 3 games in 4 nights and winning. The Celtics had chances in the 2nd and 4th quarter to build momentum with their stronger bench and did not.
The night ended for us with a quick stop at the Fours to check out the Manning Bowl capped off with a half sprint to the car to avoid the tow truck. In all, it was a good night for basketball despite the outcome of the game.
