Even with star forward Kevin Garnett sidelined by a suspension, the NBA champions, Boston Celtics, had more than enough power to handle the New York Knicks.
Paul Pierce scored 22 points, while Kendrick Perkins added 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen each scored 15 points as Boston beat New York 110-101 on Tuesday.
The Celtics, who improved to 6-1 at home, had to play without Garnett because he was suspended for making two flailing swipes in retaliation to Milwaukee center Andrew Bogut on Saturday. He lost US$200,000 as a result.
PHOTO: AFP
Australian Bogut’s two swipes to the face of Garnett late in the fourth quarter earned an ejection but Garnett remained in the game. That made Celtics coach Doc Rivers wonder about the sense of banishing Garnett.
“You don’t replace Kevin Garnett. Everyone just has to pitch in and do a little bit more,” Rivers said.
“I was just surprised. I thought it was a ridiculous suspension. Anybody who’s been around the game long enough, whether you’ve played it or not, you’ve got your head sideways and someone strikes you not once but twice. Your reaction? Your reflex is to flail,” he said. “I guess that constitutes a punch. Clearly, he’s not a good fighter if that’s the case, if that’s a punch. There’s nothing you can do about it.”
Rivers compared Garnett’s foul to a flagrant foul that Phoenix center Shaquille O’Neal committed on Detroit’s Rodney Stuckey, which brought him no suspension, only a US$25,000 fine.
“I just want more consistency from our league. I think they have to look at things differently,” Rivers said. “I hate to call out Shaq, but that was a hard foul, where a guy was suspended in the air and comes down on his face. Those two things don’t go together, and we have to pay the price.”
The Celtics had their comfortable 15-point fourth-quarter lead cut to just four before steadying to beat the Knicks.
Brian Scalabrine, who started in place of Garnett, hit a three-pointer with 1:14 left to push the margin back out to seven points and put the game in Boston’s keeping.
Wilson Chandler, aided by the absence of Garnett, scored 23 points to lead the Knicks, while Zach Randolph added 18 points and eight rebounds.
The defending champion Celtics, who were playing without Garnett for the first time this season, became the first team in the new campaign to reach 10 wins.
CAVALIERS 106, NETS 82
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Cleveland won its eighth straight, cruising past New Jersey.
Cleveland’s LeBron James scored 31 points, showing the New York area teams what might be available on the free agency market in 2010.
James added eight rebounds, four assists and a remarkable blocked shot in the third quarter when he chased down Devin Harris on a fastbreak and prevented a dunk.
MAGIC 103, RAPTORS 90
In Orlando, Florida, Orlando withstood a season-high 40 points from Chris Bosh to beat Toronto.
Jameer Nelson scored a season-high 22 points for the Magic, who built a 13-point third-quarter lead before hanging on for its eighth win in nine games.
Bosh also had 18 rebounds, but the Raptors had 24 turnovers.
LAKERS 116, BULLS 109
In Los Angeles, the home team rebounded from its only loss of the season to defeat Chicago.
Pau Gasol scored 24 of his season-high 34 points in the first half for the Lakers, who had three days to contemplate a loss to Detroit.
The Bulls are winless in four road games.
NUGGETS 114, BUCKS 105
In Denver, the home team recorded a season points high in beating Milwaukee.
Linas Kleiza scored 25 points and Carmelo Anthony had 17 for the Nuggets, who got double-digit scoring from all their starters and two bench players.
The Bucks played their eighth straight game without star Michael Redd (ankle).
PACERS 113, HAWKS 96
In Indianapolis, the home team notched a fifth straight home win over slumping Atlanta.
Danny Granger scored 34 points to lead the Pacers.
After a 6-0 start, Atlanta has lost four straight.
WARRIORS 111, TRAIL BLAZERS 106
In Oakland, California, Stephen Jackson scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as Golden State overcame Portland.
Three free throws with five seconds to play finally secured the Warriors’ victory.
Greg Oden had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Trail Blazers in just his fifth game.
In Tuesday’s other games it was:
• Grizzlies 109, Kings 94
• Mavericks 100, Bobcats 83
• Heat 94, Wizards 87
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB