The Sun
Raptors schooled
Toronto's 16-point lead and its hopes of dealing the Celtics a shocker at home ended in a 94-87 loss. As fast as the Raptors dried up, such as Jermaine O'Neal's season-high 19 points in the first half limited to four afterward, Pierce came alive with 22 in the final quarter. With Garnett jawing and gesturing at Raptors point guard Jose Calderon and whipping the TD Banknorth Garden into a frenzy, Boston showed why its 7-1 so far in search of a repeat.
KG the perfectionist
aww !@#$! it ... I'm not quoting this @#$!
Nuggets waive McDyess a week after trade
The Nuggets waived Antonio McDyess one week after they obtained him from Detroit along with Chauncey Billups and Cheikh Samb in a swap for Allen Iverson.
The Star
Pierce rips up Raptors
On a night when Garnett stationed himself in the shirt of Toronto all-star Chris Bosh for the duration, Raptor coach Sam Mitchell countered by essentially ignoring Bosh on the offensive end. "As a decoy," was Bosh's kind terminology for his role.
But seven months after openly criticizing his coach's tactical decisions in a five-game playoff loss to Orlando, Bosh wondered aloud about last night's strategizing.
"I think I can be utilized – utilize myself – a lot better, and put (Garnett) in the post and just (see) what happens," said Bosh. "I think we could have ran some more cross screens. We ran the cross screen (for Bosh) one time and we got a foul, and we didn't go back to it. We kept doing the same thing."
The Globe
Raptors Pierced
"We just didn't make plays at the end of the game," Mitchell said. "We turned down a host of shots. We didn't make plays and [the fourth quarter] is when guys have to turn it up and make plays."
"They gave us opportunities to attack the gaps and we stopped being aggressive and attack the seams," Mitchell said. " We know Kevin is not going to leave Chris, but that gives us a chance to step into the seams and make plays and we stopped doing it."
The Post
Celtics show heart of champion in comeback victory over Raptors
Paul Pierce scored 22 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter to lead Boston. His performance overshadowed Jermaine O'Neal's best performance as a Raptor: 23 points and 11 rebounds.
Warriors F Harrington placed on inactive list
Perhaps in an attempt to quiet his clamoring for a trade, Golden State Warriors forward Al Harrington was placed on the inactive list with a strained lower back prior to Friday's 109-104 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Boston Globe
Their captain became a quarter-master
It was, as Doc Rivers said, the kind of night the Celtics had been waiting for out of their captain. Every shot seemed like a big one in a quarter that saw Pierce hit seven of nine attempts and drill two from 3-point range.
Kendrick Perkins crashes Jermaine O’Neal’s party
According to Perkins, these confrontations with O’Neal are getting serious.
“There’s always words exchanged,” he said. “We do have something personal. That’s how we’ve been since we’ve been matching up. But you know, it is what it is.”
Australia News
Jawai's NBA career rests on heart test results
His manager, Aaron Fearne, says Jawai had more tests last week.
"He's obviously scared ... to have someone say that 'you've got to shut it down and not do anything for now' is definitely concerning, because you just don't know where your career is going," Mr Fearne said.
"I'm sure there'll probably be further tests down the track but I'm sure these ones will give us a lot of answers."
