December 19 was a day on which twelve teams brought their talents on the court - a day that witnessed a mixed bag of close games and lopsided romps. Here is brief review:
Boston Celtics 99 - Indiana Pacers 88
Paul Pierce had his career first triple-double, as he powers the Boston Celtics to their 13th straight win by trouncing the Indiana Pacers 99-88 at TD Garden in Boston.
"I pride myself in trying to be a complete player," "Throughout the course of my career I've worked on a lot of things on both sides of the ball,” Pierce said.
Five Boston’s player scored points in double figures. Pierce had team-high 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists in his seventh career triple-double. Nate Robinson and Glen Davis also registered 18 points in the Celtic’s 22nd victory of the season.
Danny Granger led all scorers with game-high 19 points for the Pacers in the season’s 14th defeat. Roy Hibbert contributed 17 points and 14 rebounds for Indiana, who lost four of their last five games.
Indiana kept the game tight for the majority of the second half, but Pierce once again took charge in the fourth quarter, scoring six of Boston's ten points during a 10-2 run. The outburst pushed the Celtics lead to nine with 7:33 to go in the final frame.
The Pacers did not get closer than six for the rest of the way.
Indiana head coach Jim O'Brien appreciated the outstanding fourth quarter’s performance of the rivals, "They're a heck of a basketball team, and they're stingy in the fourth quarter. We didn't stop them enough times to give us our chance to make a run."
New Jersey Nets 89 - Atlanta Hawks 82
The New Jersey Nets saved their 27 best shots for the final stanza and earned their second home win of the season by defeating the visiting Atlanta Hawks, 89-82 at the Prudential Centre.
Devin Harris posted game’s highest 22 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds for New Jersey in their only eighth win of the season. Brook Lopez chipped in 16 points for Nets in the home victory. Sasha Vujacic had his best point production of the season in the
second game with Nets, scoring 10 points off the bench.
Nets coach Avery Johnson applauded the contributions of struggling Nets’ players, "Everyone just has to be on the edge of their seats, ready to play," he said. "They all made critical shots at big times. If we had to give a game ball tonight, it would definitely
go to Murphy. He was solid for us. Sasha knows how to play and gets his nose in there. He looks like a fighter and always thinks the next shot is going in."
Mike Bibby did all he could and scored team-high 19 points for Atlanta in the defeat. Al Horford and Josh Smith added 15 apiece for the Hawks, who lost for the fourth time in six games.
"We have to be able to take the good with the bad," Bibby said. "We had a chance to put them away early and didn't do it. We missed shots that our guys usually make."
Atlanta Hawks played the first quarter fantastically and led the Nets by 7 points (30-23). However, Nets balanced the score at the halftime, 43-43.
Both teams began the third quarter at a crisp pace, using 19 possessions apiece and kept the score equal before the final stanza, 62-62.
Out of a timeout, Travis Outlaw drilled a corner 3-pointer to give the Nets an 83-73 lead late in the fourth quarter. The closest the Hawks got after that was five.
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