Pierce powers Celtics to 4th straight win
Basketball Betting Lines
01/27/2012 -
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Temporarily, the Celtics may not have Rajon
Rondo or Ray Allen in the lineup, but they still have Paul Pierce.
As the Pacers cut Boston's lead to two in the third quarter, Pierce put the
team on his back, netting 17 of his 28 points in the stanza as the Celtics
took down Indiana, 94-87, for their fourth straight win.
"We had unbelievable energy," Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said. "We thought
the key was to force them into playing versus our half court defense. Thought
we did that."
Pierce also added 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Celtics.
Rondo sat out his fifth consecutive game due to a wrist injury, while Allen
missed his third straight contest with a jammed left ankle.
But Pierce has really stepped up in their absence, averaging 23.4 points, 8.2
assists and 6.4 rebounds over his last five outings -- including Friday
night's game.
Danny Granger netted 21 points to lead the Pacers, who went 1-of-19 from
beyond the arc.
Indiana, which came into Friday's game averaging 12.8 offensive rebounds per
game, outrebounded the Celtics by just a 10-9 margin on the offensive glass.
"They're the number one offensive rebounding team in the league. We
concentrated on that and got some second chance points ourselves," Pierce
said.
An 8-2 Pacers spurt to start the second half, capped by David West's jumper,
trimmed Boston's lead to 44-42.
But Pierce poured in nine points as the Celtics countered with a 15-4 run to
increase the advantage back to double-digits, 57-46, midway through the third.
Boston took a 71-61 lead into the fourth.
"I like to come out in the 3rd quarter and be aggressive," Pierce said. "I
focus on trying to get better as the game goes on."
The Celtics led by as many as 16 in the final stanza as the Pacers were unable
to rally down the stretch.
Chris Wilcox had six points as Boston led 23-17 after the first quarter. The
Pacers turned the ball over six times in the opening stanza.
Boston used a 10-0 run in between the first and second quarters to take a
27-17 advantage with 10:51 remaining in the half. Boston's bench provided the
spark, going 4-for-4 from the field during the spurt.
West nailed a jumper at the first-half buzzer to cut Indiana's deficit to
42-34 heading into the locker room. Boston held Indiana to just 30 percent
shooting from the floor in the opening half.
Game Notes
The Celtics snapped a three-game losing streak against the Pacers...Wilcox
finished with 14 points and Kevin Garnett added 13 points and eight rebounds
for Boston...Boston outrebounded Indiana 45-42.
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27 points and 10 assists as the Nets held off the Cavaliers 99-96 at Quicken
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<< Short-handed Mavericks down Jazz
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to power the short-handed Mavericks to a 116-101 win over Utah.
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96-81 at Pepsi Center.
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Pacific-10 Conference odds
Teams that should be in: Stanford
 Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.
Should be in:
Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.
| Southeastern Conference odds |
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State
 It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.
Work left to do:
Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.
Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.
Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.
Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile. |
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