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Kevin Garnett, Jeff Green lead C’s in revenge win over DeMarcus Cousins and the Kings 01.30.13 at 9:50 pm ET
By

Avery Bradley (0) and the Celtics used a big second quarter to blow by Isaiah Thomas and the Kings Wednesday. (AP)

Brandon Bass, Jeff Green and Jason Terry each scored 12 points off the bench as the Celtics beat the Kings, 99-81, Wednesday night at TD Garden. The Celtics, who won their second straight after six straight losses, gained revenge for a humbling 118-96 loss in Sacramento on Dec. 30, a game in which 22-year-old DeMarcus Cousins registered a triple-double. Boston was able to contain Cousins Wednesday, holding him to 13 points and six rebounds.

Paul Pierce came on in the second half to lead the Celtics with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Kevin Garnett added 13 points and nine rebounds. Boston’s bench outscored Sacramento’s reserves, 50-26.

The Celtics raced out to an 8-0 lead to start the game as Garnett was red-hot early. The Celtics lost their starting power forward Jared Sullinger to back spasms just four minutes into the game. He received ice treatment in the locker room but could not return and was ruled out late in the second quarter.

The Kings recovered quickly and outscored the Celtics 24-14 to end the period as the visitors led, 24-22, after 12 minutes.

The Celtics couldn’t miss in the second quarter. They made a season-best 16-of-20 shots from the field, scorching the Kings with 80 percent shooting and outscoring the Kings, 37-14, in the period to take a commanding 59-38 halftime lead. The Celtics hit their first 14 shots of the quarter.

Green and Garnett were a combined 10-for-10 from the field in the first half, combining for 21 of Boston’s 59 points. The Celtics were able to do most of their damage without Paul Pierce, who was held scoreless until his layup and subsequent three-point play with 2:55 left in the first half.

Looking to avoid a meltdown like the one that cost them a 27-point lead last Friday in Atlanta, the Celtics actually expanded their lead to 28, 74-46, midway through the third.

But the Kings did make a run at the Celtics early in the fourth, cutting Boston’s lead down to 15, 82-67, on a flagrant-1 foul by Leandro Barbosa on Tyreke Evans. But the Celtics managed to stop the bleeding there and Pierce came down and responded with a basket to restore the lead to 17.

The Kings cut the lead back down to 14, 90-76, and had a rebound with a chance to narrow it more but committed a turnover in transition. But the Celtics looked awful in the next possession as Pierce held onto the ball near mid-court for a 24-second violation. The Kings would not get closer than 14 down the stretch.

The Celtics are off Thursday before returning to action on Friday against the Magic at TD Garden. The Celtics conclude their four-game homestand with a game against the Clippers on Sunday at 1 p.m. For complete coverage from the Garden from the team of Mike Petraglia and Ben Rohrbach, visit the Celtics team page at weei.com/celtics.

Read More: Boston Celtics, Brandon Bass, Jared Sullinger, Jason Terry Print  |  Email  |  Bark It Up!  |  Digg It
  • mr Butterworth

    nice kid, to bad

  • GoNavy

    Go Navy, Beat Army… really wanted to see USNA represented in the NFL again and this shipmate has the ability and the attitude.  Unlike the 4 or 5 guys in the late 90′s, the Navy stopped allowing graduate players to get out of their military duty.  This guy did 3 years of his 5 year commitment and will complete his commitment in the Reserves.  With 3 years off and only 2 months of off-season workout/preseason he still did well in the last preseason game and was among the last to be cut.  Hopefully another team will see that drive and bring him on for the practice squad.  I doubt we’ve seen the last of him.

  • Titletown1

    Games minus Rondo: 2
    Celtic wins minus Rondo: 2

    Hmmmm……..interesting.

    • DrunkBruinsFan

       THIS IS ONLY THE START. RONDO HAS ONLY DRAGGED THE CELTICS DOWN, SAVE FOR HIS PRECIOUS NATIONAL TELEVISED GAMES.

      MARK MY WORDS.

      • Dbag

         Yeah typical Boston douch e “fan” blame every loss on Rondo and the wins were despite him, correct?

    • Dbag

      “Hmmmm……..interesting.”

      Really?!? Post again in 20 games and then we’ll have a better sample size.

    • Sicko

       If you take the season as a whole the Celtics are 4-3 without Rondo.

    • Bruinman86

       Are you expecting them to run the table now?

  • Uncle Buck

    Allow me to flop a little chum off the stern and ask, anyone think this will last ?  Can the Celtic’s actually flourish with out you know who ?  I think I see a boil off to the East !  I would keep my cash in my front pocket though.  

    • Fab4ever

      Good advice…but it’s still a game, it remains fun to watch…despite it being the NBA….I watch the C’s but won’t watch any other game for the most part….Storage Wars offers more enjoyment…and like the NBA, it ain’t real either….

  • Bruinman86

    Solid win.  Not against a great team, but a win is a win.

  • Baker

    My 2 Cents:
    1) Agreed, 2 games is (obviously) too small a sample size to gauge this team without Rondo.
    2) I saw a few comments in the past days that have been 100% true. When Rondo is running the offense, too often are guys waiting around (usually behind the 3pt line) for him to penetrate and kick it out. It’s frustrating to us fans and to Rondo (I see him yelling at guys all the time to cut to the basket) himself.
    3) Even if this team wins more without Rondo, can we attribute this to “inspired play” due to his absence, or perhaps even the new defensive intensity will the Lee/Bradley tandem (even Green is picking up his D)?
    4) Regardless of how this season ends, Rondo is a playmaker and an All Star. How quickly people forget the performance he put on in last year’s post season. (Averaged 17.3ppg 11.9apg 6.7rpg)
    5) A solid win by 18 points, I hope there is more to come.

    • Sicko

      You’re wasting your breath my friend, people come on here all the time to bash Rondo and could care less about the team. Check some of the IDs that have been posting lately and you’ll notice they’ve only come out of the woodwork to hate on Rondo. While I agree the team is frustrating to watch when Rondo runs down the court alone game after game with the rest of the team walking. Not sure if the team just got in a rut with Rondo controlling the ball too much or just got complacent. The offense has looked better with more guys running up the floor but my point is why didn’t they do it with Rondo on the court? Or, was it an issue with the offense Doc tried to implement with the new guys? We will know more in 15 or 20 games without Rondo and maybe some of these questions will be answered.

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