Portland Trail Blazers vs. Boston Celtics – Atlanta Hawks vs. Detroit Pistons – NBA Roundup
Boston Celtics 104 – Portland Trail Blazers 86
The Boston Celtics battered the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night, handing them a resounding 104 – 86 defeat. The Celtics dominated the game from start to finish and the final margin could have been much more crushing had they not taken their foot off
the pedal.
After an even start to the game the Celtics slowly took control, racing away in the first quarter to finish with a double digit lead, 27 – 17. Things would only get for the visitors after the break as Boston kept on pouring points, with the Trail Blazers
helpless to resist.
At halftime, the match looked decided already with the score line 65 – 30 in Boston’s favour.
The Trail Blazers didn’t look remotely threatening even after the break, and posed no problems for the Celtics in the third period. It was only in the final 12 minutes that Portland found some rhythm, doing well to narrow the margin of their defeat, 104
– 86.
The only player that went past the 10 points margin for the Trail Blazers was LaMarcus Aldridge, who scored 22 points. Two other players finished at exactly 10 points.
Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan was incensed with his team’s performance.
"That's unprofessional approach. There was no basketball played out there tonight."
Ray Allen and Paul Pierce both scored 22 points each for the Celtics, while three other players also made it into double digits.
"I just thought we played extremely well, and they struggled. You could see they missed shots early and they got frustrated. There was a stretch for us; our ball movement was absolutely sensational." Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said after the game.
Detroit Pistons 86 – Atlanta Hawks 85
The Detroit Pistons hung on for a narrow 86 – 85 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in a thriller at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The game flowed back and forth throughout and the Pistons were lucky to seal the deal in the end.
Greg Monroe top scored for the Pistons with 20 points while Jason Maxiell had a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Tayshaun Prince scored 17.
Josh Smith led the Hawks with a game high 21 points, he also had 7 rebounds. Joe Johnson also played well for his 18 points and Marvin Williams had 16.
The Hawks looked stronger in the first half. They edged out the Pistons in the opening segment 27 – 24 and did well to build on their advantage in the second quarter. At the break, Atlanta looked in control at 50 – 41.
The game though turned on its head after the break. Detroit came out firing in the 3rd quarter and outscored the Hawks 26 – 12. They entered the final 12 minutes with an advantage but it was Tayshaun Prince’s clutch shot at the death that gave
them the win.
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