reflections
December 30th, 2006 Delonte Returns, Celtics Lose In Oakland

Andris Biedrins

On Friday night, the Celtics headed to Oakland to face the Golden State Warriors for the third game of the 5 game West Coast trip. Celtics guard Delonte West returned to action, and started, after missing the past one and a half games due to back pains (after a hard fall in Denver on Tuesday night). The Celtics made some runs, but they weren’t at the right times. The Celtics ended up losing the game 110-100.

For Golden State, Andris Biedrins was outstanding. He scored 20 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, blocked 4 shots, and he played good defense around the basket. Baron Davis was the game’s highest scorer with 27, but he also had 6 rebounds and 9 assists. Mickael Pietrus also added 26 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals. Jason Richardson and Matt Barnes scored 13 each, and Mike Dunleavy Jr. dished 8 assists off the bench.

Delonte West had an excellent game for the C’s. He finished with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, and he shot the ball very well and brought a ton of energy. Tony Allen had yet another outstanding game, as he filled the stat sheet with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and he also made some great hustle plays. Ryan Gomes brought the aggressiveness back as he tallied 17 points and 8 boards. Al Jefferson struggled at first due to excellent positioning by Biedrins, but he caught on in the second half. Big Al finished with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Wally Szczerbiak really had a tough night, as he came off the bench to shoot 3-17 as well as play some pretty atrotious defense and commit some bad turnovers.

My heart goes out to Leon Powe, however. At the end of the game, when it was a sure Warriors win, the fans in Oakland started to chant “We want Powe!” Powe got to play 2:49 seconds, and he finished with 5 points and 4 rebounds in that little time. My heart goes out to Leon due to everything he has gone through in his life, to grow up and be a successful professional athlete who has 15,000 fans chanting his name in his hometown.

This was a tough loss for the C’s, but it was somewhat anticipated. The Warriors did an outstanding job with upholding the pace of the game, and converting off Boston’s turnovers.

Player of the Game: Delonte West

Delonte West

16 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists

Next Game: Sunday (12/31/06) @ Seattle at 10:00 pm ET. Note that this will be the last game the Celtics play with the “new” ball.

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