reflections
January 21st, 2007 Celtics Come Down From 21, Lose In OT

Caron Butler

On Friday night, the Celtics went to D.C. to play Agent Zero (Gilbert Arenas) and the red hot Washington Wizards. Gilbert Arenas did not have one of his best games, but the Wizards went on to win anyway. However, it was no easy win. The Wizards jumped on the C’s early, and were up by as much as 21, but the Celtics came back. A late game rally, energized by Ryan Gomes, Allan Ray, and Rajon Rondo, forced overtime in D.C. Unfortunately, the Celtics made some mistakes in OT, and they lost the game 115-110.

Gilbert Arenas shot the ball inefficiently (10-26), thanks to Rajon Rondo’s excellent defense, as he finished with 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. The stats look nice, but he was completely out of rhythm in the second half. Caron Butler had himself a great game, as he did it on both ends, coming up with 23 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals. In my opinion, Caron Butler should be an All-Star this season. Antawn Jamison, another All-Star caliber player, ended the game with 23 points of his own, hitting 4 of 7 from deep, including a dagger in overtime. DeShawn Stevenson brought a ton of energy, as he finished with 13 points and 5 assists. Brendan Haywood ended up finishing with 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Off the bench, Antonio Daniels led the way with 12 points and 5 assists, and Etan Thomas played excellent defense. Thomas finished with just 4 points and 4 rebounds, but also 5 blocks.

Leading the way for Boston was Ryan Gomes. He scored a career high 31 points and also grabbed 9 rebounds, as he was outstanding in the fourth quarter. Rajon Rondo had a near-triple-double with 10 points, a career-high 10 rebounds, and 7 assists, but he also completely shut down Gilbert Arenas in the second half. Al Jefferson racked up yet another double-double and 20/10 effort, as he finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Delonte West, who is from Maryland, had a double-double of his own with 13 points and 11 assists. He also grabbed 4 rebounds and came away with 3 steals. Gerald Green struggled and did not play much, just 18 minutes, as he scored 9 points and grabbed 2 rebounds on 4-10 shooting.

One guy that went unmentioned in the above paragraph is undrafted rookie Allan Ray. He came away with his second 20 point effort in the last 3 games, as he finished with 20 points off the bench, hitting 4 of 6 from deep. Ray has been playing excellent basketball lately, and I’m sure most GM’s around the league are kicking themselves for letting this kid go undrafted in June.

Players of the Game: Ryan Gomes & Rajon Rondo

Ryan Gomes Rajon Rondo

Gomes: 31 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists

Rondo: 10 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists

Next Game: Monday (1/22/07) at home vs. San Antonio at 7:30 pm ET. Wally Szczerbiak and/or Brian Scalabrine could possibly play in this game. If not, they are shooting for Wednesday vs. Atlanta.

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