Tuesday National Basketball Association Capsules.
October 30th, 2008 Posted in NBA basketball newsTuesday National Basketball Association Capsules.
BOSTON 90, CLEVELAND 85
BOSTON After wiping away the tears, the defending champion Boston Celtics were able to smile.
Paul Pierce scored 27 points and Leon Powe punctuated the win with a thunderous dunk as the Celtics held off the Cleveland Cavaliers, 90-85, in a game with playoff intensity on the NBAs Opening Night.
Rajon Rondo scored 14 points and Powe added 13 for the Celtics, who raised their 17th championship banner after a stirring ring ceremony prior to the game.
LeBron James made 1-of-2 free throws to cut his teams deficit to two with 10 seconds left, but the Celtics successfully were able to avoid getting fouled in the backcourt on the ensuing possession.
Pierce quickly threw the ball ahead to the cherry-picking Powe, who absorbed the contact and slammed it over Anderson Varejao to make it 88-84 with 5.3 ticks left. Powe missed the ensuing free throw, but Boston was able to hold on for the win.
James collected 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists but missed four free throws in the fourth quarter for the Cavaliers, who also suffered a loss to the Celtics in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference semifinals last season.
The decisive seventh game in May pitted James against Pierce in a classic scoring duel. The duo wasnt as prolific in this one but something just as poignant happened at TD Banknorth Garden.
Prior to the contest, NBA commissioner David Stern and the Cetlics ownership group handed out championship rings to each member of last years championship club. In an emotional moment, Pierce fought back tears as he was introduced to the crowd last.
Bostons captain and the reigning NBA Finals MVP, Pierce also thanked the crowd for its support and held the championship trophy over his head as the fans gave him a standing ovation.
Holding a seven-point lead after a physical first half, the Cavaliers were outscored by the Celtics, 24-13, in the third quarter to lose control of the game.
In the fourth, Boston continued to apply the pressure and got the crowd involved when Powe slammed home a monster dunk over the diminutive Delonte West. The jam elicited a primal scream from Powe and gave the Celtics an eight-point advantage with 9:01 left in the game.
After James threw in an eye-popping slam off a lob pass from Mo Williams – the Cavaliers newly acquired point guard – the Celtics answered with two free throws from Kevin Garnett, who gave his squad a six-point lead with 1:36 left.
But Williams nailed a 3-pointer to make it 86-83 with 1:13 remaining. He scored 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-5 from the arc in his debut for Cleveland.
After an empty possession for Boston, James came back quickly, powering to the basket but missing a fadeaway bank shot from three feet as the clock ran under one minute. Pierce then missed a jumper with 15 ticks left to set the stage for the final sequence, which featured James folly from the foul line.
Garnett had 11 points and six rebounds and Ray Allen scored just eight for Boston, which will aim to repeat as champion for the first time since 1967-69.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 15 points and eight rebounds for Cleveland, which shot just 3-of-15 from the arc.
LA LAKERS 96, PORTLAND 76
LOS ANGELES Kobe Bryant scored 23 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 96-76 victory against the Portland Trail Blazers in the season opener for both teams.
In his NBA debut, Blazers rookie center Greg Oden left the game in the third quarter with a sprained right foot and did not return.
Bryant, the reigning league MVP who led the Lakers to the NBA Finals last season, picked up right where he left off. The 30-year-old guard made 9-of-17 shots from the field, adding 11 rebounds and five assists.
Pau Gasol had 15 points and seven rebounds for Los Angeles, which held Portland to 34 percent (29-of-84) shooting.
Travis Outlaw led the Blazers with 18 points while rookie Rudy Fernandez, who gained notoriety for his performance with Spain during the Beijing Olympics, scored 16 points in his NBA debut.
CHICAGO 108, MILWAUKEE 95
CHICAGO – Derrick Rose had 11 points and nine assists as the No. 1 overall pick helped Vinny Del Negro win his coaching debut for the Chicago Bulls, 108-95, over the Milwaukee Bucks on the NBAs Opening Night.
Luol Deng led six players in double figures with 21 points and Tyrus Thomas added 15 and 10 rebounds for Chicago, which shot 51 percent (35-of-69) from the field and knocked down 33-of-44 free-throw attempts.
Ben Gordon scored 18 points and Kirk Hinrich totaled 15 and seven assists off the bench for the Bulls.
In his first season as coach in Milwaukee, Scott Skiles suffered the loss against his former team. Michael Redd led the Bucks with 30 points and Richard Jefferson added 15.
