C’s roll over Cavs
Garnett, Allen lead way in 92-87 victory
NBA. There were homecomings all around last night.
The evening began with Boston’s signing of free-agent forward P.J. Brown, proceeded with the return of former Celtics Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak and concluded with the C’s knocking off the Cavaliers, 92-87, in their first game at the TD Banknorth Garden in two weeks.
LeBron James battled through a right ankle injury to register 26 points, but the rest of the Cavs couldn’t match a pair of strong performances by Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
Garnett had 18 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in his first game at the Garden since straining his abdomen over a month ago, and Allen added 22 points. Paul Pierce added 12 points and five assists for the C’s.
Neither West (20 points) or the oft-booed Szczerbiak (12), who were traded to the Sonics in part of the Allen deal last summer and then acquired by Cleveland last week, had much of a memorable performance in their first game back in Boston.
The Celtics stormed out to a fast start in front of another sold-out crowd. Garnett and Allen combined for 15 first-quarter points — while James was a one-man team with 10 points — to help the C’s build a 25-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.
But the Cavs drew closer without their star in the second. James drove through the paint and converted an easy lay-up to cut the deficit to 37-27 with 4:42 remaining in the first half, but James landed awkwardly and sprained his right ankle, according to the Cavaliers. He missed the remainder of the second quarter, which finished with the Celtics leading 47-40 after a last-second put-back by Kendrick Perkins.
James returned at the start of the third quarter after undergoing X-rays in the locker room, which came out negative, and the Cavs trimmed the margin to 49-44. But the C’s gave themselves a little more breathing room with a 20-10 spurt that was capped off with a Perkins dunk with three minutes left in the third.
The Celtics built as much as a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter, and the Cavs couldn’t respond with James limited with the injured ankle.