After an intense victory just 24 hours earlier in Cleveland, the C’s welcomed back the nation’s most spirited hoops fans with a balanced attack on offense, including 38 combined points from the Big Three.
Doc Rivers’ crew jumped out to a 42-31 lead at halftime and held the Bobcats to just 10 points — to their 25 — in the third frame to clinch their third straight home-opening victory.
Celtics 92, Bobcats 59
TD Garden, Boston, Mass.
Oct. 28, 2009
Headliner: Rajon Rondo controlled the offense with 10 points and 11 assists for the only Celtics’ double-double of the match. Rondo sank 5-of-6 shots to go with a game-high three steals while playing just under 30 minutes.
Unsung Hero: Paul Pierce drained 15 points for the C’s and knocked in 3-of-5 shots from behind the arc. The captain was the lone starter between both teams without a turnover and dished out four assists in just under 25 minutes played in the lopsided win.
Shelden Williams came off the bench for the C’s to grab 12 points and nine boards while Ray Allen led all scorers with 18 points. In his first game at the Garden since last March, Kevin Garnett dropped 10 points and corralled seven rebounds in over 25 minutes of action.
Scrub: Charlotte's offense as a whole consumed a heaping dose of iron as the Bobcats shot just 23-for-74 (31 percent) from the floor including 0-for-10 from behind the arc. The Bobcats’ 59 points set a new team record for fewest points in a game. Their previous low was 62.
Just one Charlotte player, forward Gerald Wallace, reached double digits in points, while guard Raymond Felton was held to just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting and turned the ball over four times.
Turning Point: With 5:08 remaining in the third quarter, Garnett stole the ball from Charlotte’s Raymond Felton and fed it up to Rajon Rondo who offered it up to Paul Pierce who then posterized Boris Diaw with an impressive dunk from the right side. Bobcats coach Larry Brown immediately called a timeout to cool down Pierce, who had tallied eight in a row for the C’s to make it 62-33.
Up Next: The Celtics will host the second game of their three-game homestand as they welcome in the Chicago Bulls on Friday night. The last time the C’s faced the Bulls, Boston ended coach Vinny Del Negro’s season with a 109-99 win in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at the Garden.
One major missing cog from last year’s roster is leading scorer Ben Gordon, who was signed by the Pistons as a free agent. Expecting to pick up the slack left by the UConn alum will be point guard Derrick Rose, last year’s first overall pick in the NBA draft, who finished with 16.8 points and 6.3 assists per game in the regular season.
Chicago takes on the San Antonio Spurs in its opener on Thursday night after going 6-2 in the preseason.
