SAN ANTONIO (AP)—The Boston Celtics finally got a big win and their big
man back. They may also reclaim the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
And the San Antonio Spurs, at this dismal rate, may give first place in the
West away.
Rajon Rondo(notes) had 22 points and 14 assists, center Jermaine O’Neal(notes) returned
from knee surgery, and the Celtics ended a miserable March by not slipping
further from first in the East, beating the slumping Spurs 107-97 on Thursday
night.
Paul Pierce(notes) added 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Kevin Garnett(notes) scored 20.
The Celtics won for just the second time in five games and, ending the month at
9-7, moved within two games of Chicago for the No. 1 playoff seed with eight
games to go.
“This is a good place to try and gather some momentum,” Pierce said. “You
talk about the team with the best record. What better place to get back on track
than here?”
Yet these days, San Antonio’s luster isn’t what it used to be.
The Spurs lost their fifth straight—their longest skid all season—and
the timing couldn’t be worse. San Antonio has seven games left but is in danger
of falling out of first place after comfortably being No. 1 in the West all
season.
San Antonio’s woes have renewed hopes the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas have
of taking the top spot. The Lakers were 3 games back and hosted the Mavericks—
who were 3 1/2 games behind the Spurs—later Thursday night.
“Of course we want to be No. 1. We don’t want to give it way just because
we like being underdogs,” Spurs guard Manu Ginobili(notes) said. “We want to win it.
We put ourselves in an unbelievable situation.”
Tony Parker(notes) led the Spurs with 23 points. Tim Duncan(notes) returned after missing
the last four games with a sprained ankle and finished with 20 points and 13
rebounds.
The Celtics celebrated the return of their own big man: O’Neal. The 14-year
veteran played for the first time since January after having arthroscopic
surgery on his left knee. He scored five points in 11 minutes and hit his only
two shots.
He turned his last into a three-point play after getting fouled, a play that
swung the momentum back to Boston after the Spurs had gotten within seven early
in the fourth.
O’Neal said he felt winded at times and said he was shocked at the pace of
the game. It was just the 18th game for O’Neal this season.
“We need him back,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers, alluding to his
depleted frontcourt that is still without Shaquille O’Neal(notes). “And we need the
minutes.”
Glen Davis(notes) scored 16 points as Boston had four players in double figures.
The Celtics broke open a tie game at halftime behind a 12-0 run in the third
quarter. The Spurs never got closer than six after that.
The Celtics arrived in San Antonio after losing to Indiana, Charlotte and
Memphis in three of their last four games. Two weeks ago, Boston (52-22) was
tied for first place in the East.
Miami has also crawled back into contention for first, sitting a half-game
behind Boston, but a big win against the toughest opponent they’ve seen in weeks
kept the Celtics ahead of the Heat.
Then again, the Spurs aren’t looking so tough lately.
San Antonio (57-18) didn’t panic after losing four games with Duncan
sidelined. But not even its starting five back and healthy could help the Spurs
stop their season-worst skid.
The Spurs had nine losses at the All-Star break. They’ve dropped more than
half that number of games in the past week alone.
“It happens to everybody. And this is about the worst time it could happen,
at the end of the year,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said before tipoff. “If it
has to happen, you want it to happen 30 games in so you can get back and
recover. So we got to step on it.”
Ginobili, who sat out Monday’s loss against Portland with a left quad
contusion, had nine points on just 4-of-13 shooting. Richard Jefferson(notes) added 14
points.
Notes: Boston swept the season series 2-0 and will be the only team the
Spurs didn’t beat this season. … Spurs F Antonio McDyess(notes) tweaked his left
ankle in the second half but was cleared to return.
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Celts send Spurs to fifth straight loss (AP)