6 Thoughts
1) I mean, that's how the streak was meant to end, right? You play your arch-rival, a franchise whose entire reason for existence is to suck the fun out of as many peoples' lives as possible, in their building, on the second night of a back-to-back. Further, the one player on their team the other Celtics despise the most, Kevin Garnett, pretended he had the flu so that his daddy, Chris Bosh, couldn't take him apart again, giving the rest of the Celtics players a huge energy boost because they were so elated to be freed from Garnett's annoying in-game antics. Most inspired was Garnett's backup, Jeff Green, who went nuclear with 43 points. You get down 17 early, battle back to take the lead in the third quarter, then get back down 13 again with under 9 minutes to go in the game. The in-bred Boston fans are going freakin' mental, knowing that they will have at least one exciting victory to talk about while mud-bogging for clams on the Cape this summer after the New Jersey Nets humiliate them in the second round of the playoffs. I mean, that's how it should end, that's fitting, right?...I just got one question for the Boston Celtics, and Celtic fans everywhere. Do you, umm, like apples? Did you hear me? I said: DO YOU LIKE APPLES!!! STREAKS!!! 23!!! LET IT FLYYY!!!
2) Jeff Green really played one of the best games I've seen a dude play in a super-long time, except for KJ James and Dwyane Wade, who each play that way fairly regularly. You don't win 23 games in a row running Norris Cole-Udonis Haslem pick-and-rolls, you know. Green had 22 points with 9 minutes left in the second quarter! The Celts kept running this complex set where they gave the ball to Green at the top of the key, he would drive right, either Udonis Haslem or Shane Battier would bump into him, and the refs would call a foul as he dropped the ball politely into the hoop. Then, when he got bored with that, he went back behind the three point line and started dropping triples. With 8 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, and the Celts up 13, he had 43 points. He came out for a brief rest right about the time KJ James came back into the game. Oops. From that point on, James scored 13 points - and also posted up and found shooters, especially a huge Mario "3io" Chalmers bomb from the top to put Miami up a point with 2:40 to go. Twice in the closing moments, Green tried to get to the rim: the first time Chris Bosh slid across the lane and blocked his shot (a solid 8 minutes of defensive effort from Christopher tonight), and the second time, with 7 seconds to go down 2, he tried to take Shane Battier off the dribble, only to have Battier block it. After about a thirty minute break while the referees tried to figure out if the ball had gone off Battier or Green (I mean, it's the same two or three replays. No matter how many times you look at it, it isn't going to change - make a call and let's move on), Pierce missed a triple with KJ standing in his chest, Battier clowned Pierce by throwing an inbounds pass off his back to end the game, and KJ was the hero, while Jeff Green became a historical footnote. Still Green was unbelievably fantastic, a career night for the ages: 43 points on 14-21 (5-7 triples), 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks, although the only cool Celtic fan I know, WebMinutos, wasn't pleased: "Jeff Green should have tried harder."
3) No Rondo, no Garnett (although the dark cloud of negativity and disappointment they breed could still be felt throughout the arena, like a deathly, poisonous haze). Now if only Paul Pierce skips the next game too, Boston might beat us...
4) It was a good win, a solid win, but let's face it, it was just another game for the Heat, while it was the Celtics' championship - they probably won't play a more meaningful game all year, if only because they won't have another chance to collectively a ruin a whole group of fans' joy so profoundly. The Heat will move on to the next city and forget about this one, while it will sting the Celtics for awhile, this will haunt them when they are shoveling the snow off Kevin Garnett's driveway tomorrow (his orders). Still, they are a professional basketball team - well, okay, they aren't professional about it, but they do play for money, and eventually they will move on and forget this one. Oh, all except for this guy:
5) KJ James on the dunk: "I seen him down there. I guess he didn't see me." Jason Terry: do you like apples?
6) Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn is dating former professional golfer Tiger Woods. You remember him, he's the guy whose wife tried to kill him with a golf club one Thanksgiving a few years ago. Hide the ski poles, Tiger: HIDE THE SKI POLES!!!
-----
Not sure when the next game is. Wednesday, against Cleveland, I believe. I hope we lose to them, just to spite Boston! If you need me before then, I WILL BE EATING APPLES!!!
-----
