Sunday afternoon games have typically not yielded winning results during the New Big 3 Era. In fact, many times there has been a lethargic effort put forth. Yesterday afternoon was a huge exception however, as the Celtics issued a classic wire-to-wire shellacking in New Jersey against the Nets.
Prior to the game, we learned that Rajon Rondo would sit out the game as that left hamstring was nagging him too much. Nate Robinson took the reigns as the spot-starting point guard again and played very well. At halftime, we learned that Shaquille O'Neal would sit out the remainder of the game with a sore calf because he forgot to take his anti-inflammatory medication. Perhaps the Nets took his cue and forgot to drink some Chaser or 5-Hour Energy. Check out the clips below for the video details.
Q1: The game starts off with an outside shot of the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ as Kevin Garnett makes his entrance. Shaq then tells us i na unique way that it's game time. Other highlights include:
- Shaq wins the opening tip, and Nate Robinson drills the three to start the offense
- KG grabs the missed Paul Pierce three, passes to Ray Allen who knocks down the baseline jumper
- Shaq grabs the rebound, outlets it to Nate who takes it coast-to-coast for two
- Shaq with the nice give-and-go bounce pass to Pierce who gets fouled... Pierce makes 1 of 2 free throws
- Fantastic 24 seconds of defense, leading to a Nate pull-up three in transition... Dana Barros style
- Another 24 seconds of defense leading to a Ray lay-in
- KG 'doin work on Kris Humphries in the post
- Ray with the steal
- Ray with the nice bounce pass to Big Baby who finishes strong
- Pierce 'doin work in the post on Anthony Morrow
- Ray with the nice spin move on Morrow in the paint for two
- KG with the block on Derrick Favors down low
- Another great 24 seconds of defense, eventually leading to a Pierce lefty lay-up in transition
- Pierce up-fakes it, takes it to the hoop and draws the foul on Brook Lopez... Pierce makes both free throws
- Ray again with the nice bounce pass to Big Baby who finishes strong
- Great 24 seconds of defense, forcing the violation
Q2: The second quarter begins with Avery Bradley displaying some of that solid defense, drawing an offensive foul. Other highlights include:
- Big Baby breaking up the attempted NJ alley-oop
- Big Baby 'doin more work on Favors in the post with another strong move
- Von Wafer with a nice move to the basket for two
- More Bradley defense, with great lateral, one-on-one coverage on Jordan Farmar
- Marquis Daniels with the tip-in
- Two more solid defensive efforts by Bradley, bothering shots just enough to alter them into misses
- Quis with the around the back dribble, then gets fouled... Quis makes 1 of 2 free throws
- Devin Harris fumbles the lazy inbounds pass, turns it over, and Quis makes the lay-up
- Ray to Shaq for two and a foul... Shaq makes the free throw
- Big Baby with the jumper over Lopez
- Quis with the nice block from behind on Humphries, then KG and Humphries battle for a jump ball
- KG to Quis for the lay-up
- Yet another solid 24 seconds of defense, forcing a Travis Outlaw missed bomb
- Big Baby with the huge offensive rebound off the Nate missed jumper
- Good defense, forcing a missed jumper by Troy Murphy
- Big Baby with the nice poke-away steal, creating a fast break opportunity
- Nate with great defense on Farmar, forcing him to travel and turn the ball over to the C's
- Ray with the floater in the lane
- KG with the pivot move for two
- Ray taking it to the basket for two
- Big Baby hits a bomb to end the half
Q3: The third quarter gets started with Ray forcing Morrow to miss a shot in the lane. Other highlights include:
- KG knocking down the straight-away jumper prompting Avery Johnson to call a timeout just 0:30 seconds into the half
- Big Baby again backing down his man in the post (this time Humphries) and finishing strong with the left hand
- Great defense forcing the turnover, then KG outlets to Nate who recovers the ball after it bounces off his foot for the lay-up
- Ray with the offensive rebound, then lays it in
- Another solid team defensive set
- Pierce gets bumped, and Tommy Heinsohn gives some hilarious commentary about it
- Nate drilling the jumper off the Big Baby screen
- KG with the jumper
- Nate knocking down the three
- Big Baby and KG 'doin work on the boards
- Pierce to KG for the up and under lay-in
- Big Baby drawing the charge on Favors
- Nate tosses it to KG who gets fouled and gets a bit angry when missing the potential "and 1." KG makes 1 of 2 free throws.
- Another solid 24 seconds of defense, forcing Farmar to throw it away
- More good defense, forcing Outlaw to miss
- Nate with the lightning quick lay-up
- Pierce and Nate working the '4-5' play to perfection, Nate finishes with the lay-up to end the quarter
Q4:The final quarter begins with a Nate to Quis alley-oop. Other highlights include:
- Wafer jumping in the passing lane for the steal then gets fouled on the break... he would make both free throws
- Semih Erden with the nice pass to Big Baby for the lay-in
- Semih with the nice help-side block, KG loves it
- Wafer with an even better help-side rejection
- Luke Harangody diving for the loose ball
- Bradley's first NBA field goal, a right-wing jumper
- Quis finding Semih who is rolling to the hoop and gets fouled... He would make 1 of 2 free throws
- More great one-on-one defense by Bradley
- KG giving some animated encouragement to the third string players during a timeout
- Wafer with the nice spin-pass to Semih who gets fouled and makes 1 of 2 free throws
- Harangody again diving for the loose ball off the Erden missed free throw
- Quis stepping in the passing lane for the steal, misses the lay-up but Bradley tips it in
- Then on the very next defensive set, Bradley forces the jump-ball with some more fantastic one-on-one defense
- Wafer with the deep jumper from the top of the key
- Ray saluting the camera
- Bradley finding Semih for the jumper
- More good defense causing the turnover
- Wafer attacking the basket for two
