EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The only real question as the Celtics [team stats] systematically abused the Nets last night was whether the gruesome nature of the beating would be enough to trigger the V-Chip in televisions and take the game off the air.
There were no interruptions in the telecast as the visitors eased off in the second half from a thirty-something lead to cosmetically alter the outcome. But if the Celtics’ 111-87 victory over New Jersey can be deemed fit for public consumption, can pay-per-view waterboarding be far behind?
“We know New Jersey was struggling, so we wanted to keep them struggling,” said Paul Pierce [stats] after scoring 24 points in a relatively restful 28 minutes. “We need all we can get right now while we’re injured and depleted. We need all we can get until we get healthy. We’re trying to get through a tough stretch while we’re injured.”
In what was very likely the Celts’ last visit to the Meadowlands, the final snapshot was a surgical strike that kept New Jersey on the turnpike to the worst record in NBA history. The 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers [team stats] (9-73) are about to be taken off the hook.
The Celts were ahead by 21 in the first quarter when a Nets writer turned to a Boston counterpart and said, “This is the point where you’re supposed to tap me on the shoulder and ask how they’ve been able to win three games.”
The Celtics managed to outscore the Nets by better than a 2-1 margin in the first half (71-35), which pretty much sealed their 11th straight win in the series. Even though the C’s stunk worse than the adjacent swamp in the third quarter (19 points on 38.9 percent shooting, six turnovers), doubt never made it through the turnstiles at Izod Center.
“The bottom line is we accomplished what we needed to,” said Doc Rivers. “We got all those guys a ton of rest, and that’s important for us.”
And considering the Celts will be playing their sixth game in nine days tonight (at home vs. the Bulls), a fourth-quarter vacation for the starters was welcome.
Rajon Rondo [stats] had said following the morning shootaround that the Celts needed a blowout, and he helped provide it with 11 points (5-of-7 shooting) and 14 assists.
But the magnitude of this bashing had to raise an eyebrow.
“You never expect to be up by 36 at the half,” Pierce said. “But I’ve been on a team that has a losing mentality. You lose your confidence when a team comes in and gets a big lead. I’ve been on the opposite side of that, and it kind of wears on you. You look up at the score and you feel like there’s no way we can win.
“I just thought we executed. We didn’t look at them like a 3-34 team. We looked at this like a game we’ve got to win coming off a loss.”
The Celtics missed just two shots in the game’s first 9 minutes, and they rebounded both and turned them into points. The lead grew to 21 as the Celts shot 66.7 percent from the floor (12-for-18).
The Nets were toast and they knew it.
“When you’re playing a good team like the Boston Celtics, who have two Hall of Fame guys out there, and basically you don’t come to play, that’s what’s going to happen to you,” said Nets coach Kiki Vandeweghe. “The tale of two teams.”
For the Nets, it was a horror story in a season seemingly authored by Stephen King.
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