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BOSTON, Massachusetts: The Boston Celtics strong-armed another
Western Conference team on Friday, downing the New Orleans Hornets
112-92 in a National Basketball Association contest.
Paul Pierce had 27 points and 9 assists, and
Kevin Garnett chipped in 21 points and 13 rebounds as the Celtics
beat the Western Conference leaders.
The Celtics trailed by 4 points at halftime, but
outscored the Hornets 32-15 in the third period to take charge.
“Great win for us on both ends,” Celtics
coach Doc Rivers. “I thought our offensive execution—I mean when
you shoot 60 percent, basically, or 59 percent and score 112 against
a good defensive team, you’re thrilled to death, and our
second-half defense was absolutely terrific.”
The Celtics shot 68.5 percent and held the
Hornets to just 4-of-12 shooting in the third quarter as they
improved to 25-5 against Western Conference foes.
In a match up of Most Valuable Player
candidates, Garnett had a stellar game for Boston while Chris Paul
collected 22 points and 10 assists for the Hornets.
The Hornets fell to 49-22 and saw their lead
over Houston, the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio atop the West
dwindle.
The Spurs moved within percentage points of the
Hornets on Friday with a victory over Minnesota.
Late in the third period, Boston went on a 12-0
scoring run capped by Rajon Rondo’s 18-foot jump shot against
Paul.
The Hornets trailed by six after the first
quarter, but exploded for 36 points in the second quarter against
the NBA’s top defensive team.
Bonzi Wells came off the bench and scored eight
points in a 17-6 run which put New Orleans ahead for the first time.
Peja Stojakovic’s 13 first-half points led the
Hornets, who didn’t commit a turnover in the first 28 minutes of
the game but couldn’t put the brakes on the Celtics.
“I thought we were kidding ourselves in the
first half, they had 45 points in the paint out of the 56, we talked
about protecting the paint in the second half, we just did a
terrible job individually and from a team standpoint of guarding
those guys,” Hornets coach Byron Scott said.
In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant’s season-high 53
points for the Los Angeles Lakers weren’t enough to fend off the
Memphis Grizzlies.
Rudy Gay scored 28 points for the Grizzlies as
they overcame Bryant’s big game to post a 114-111 victory over the
Lakers.
The Lakers missed a chance to claim a share of
the lead in the Western Conference.
Darko Milicic scored 22 points with 12 rebounds
and Mike Miller added 10 and 10 rebounds as the Grizzlies handed the
Lakers their third defeat in four games.
Bryant scored at least 40 points for the sixth
time this season, surpassing his previous season-high of 52 points
against the Dallas Mavericks in March 2.
Lakers center Pau Gasol of Spain missed his
eighth straight game with a sprained left ankle.
Gasol, who was traded to Los Angeles from
Memphis on February 1, missed his first chance to face the team with
which he spent his first six and a half NBA seasons.
-- AFP
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