December 13, 2008
The Garden crowd showed up last night with numbers on the brain.
The Celtics were riding a league-high 13-game win streak, which was also eighth best in franchise history. Their win at Washington on Thursday was good for a 21-2 start, the best in franchise history.
But neither feat was on the marquee last night, not with Rajon Rondo matched up against New Orleans star point guard Chris Paul.
``The thing I'm happy about is that they're calling it a matchup,'' Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. ``Last year when they played against each other they didn't call it anything. The fact that they're calling it a matchup means that Rajon has moved up.'' Rondo also moved out with surprising haste after picking up his second foul with 4:18 left in the first quarter.
Paul had just poked the ball away from him, and the Celtics point guard, in an attempt to make up for his carelessness, fouled him. Though Rondo also had given Paul this kind of trouble, picking up two steals before that pick, the Celtics had early trouble with New Orleans' quickness.
The Hornets took an early 18-10 lead while the Celtics were losing control with four straight turnovers as part of a seven-turnover quarter. They came back to tie the score at 21 when Paul Pierce buried a 10-footer in the face of his old teammate, James Posey. Posey, however, scored facial points of his own with a 3-pointer over Pierce, who had pinned him against the sideline.
The Hornets kicked out with another run early in the second quarter with Paul on the bench.
A Sean Marks dunk triggered a 6-0 spurt that was good for a 27-24 New Orleans lead with 8:44 left in the half. In turn, two treys from Pierce and one from Ray Allen ignited an 11-2 burst that gave the Celtics a 35-29 edge that would have been more, save for Tony Allen's inability to finish on three strong drives.
But neither side was able to carve out space during the first 24 minutes. The Hornets took a 38-37 lead thanks to five straight points from Paul, including a three-point play and a fast-break drive after Ray Allen lost the ball under pressure from Posey. Hornets power forward David West then dunked with 1:37 left. Garnett answered from the baseline, and the Hornets carried a 40-39 lead into halftime.
The score was every bit as ugly as the shooting behind it, with the Celtics going at a 40 percent from the field with 11 turnovers and the Hornets shooting at 39 percent with six turnovers. Pierce and Garnett each finished the half with 10 points, while West had a game-high 11. And that matchup between the point guards? Paul had nine points, six assists, two steals and two turnovers. Rondo had four points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal and two turnovers.
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