Kevin Garnett Archives February 2008 Kevin Garnett Archives February 2008   KEVIN GARNETT SITS FOR HIS FIFTH STRAIGHT GAME February 7, 2008 - Kevin Garnett was out for the fifth straight game. Paul Pierce was recovering from the flu. And the rest of the Boston Celtics' starters just needed a little breather one day after an overtime loss and a late-night flight back home. "I was really trying to squeeze the game out of the bench today,'' Celtics coach Doc Rivers said Wednesday night after the Boston subs played most of the fourth quarter in a 111-100 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. "I was really happy we could go that long with the bench in the fourth quarter,'' he added. A night after losing by one point in overtime to Cleveland, the Celtics' starters sat out the fourth before coming back in with 49 seconds when the Clippers made it 107-100. Rajon Rondo hit a pair of free throws to give him a career-high 24 points, and Tony Allen sank a pair with 4 seconds left to clinch it. Rondo also had eight assists and five rebounds, coming back from a bloody nose and a flagrant foul that knocked him to the floor to help the Celtics avoid a second straight loss. Ray Allen scored 19 and Pierce had 15, with reserve Leon Powe adding 13 points and 10 rebounds. BOSTON CELTICS VS. LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS GAME HIGHLIGHTS Boston plays Minnesota - a.k.a. the Western Celtics - on Friday, almost certainly without Garnett, the player obtained from the Timberwolves in the summer's blockbuster seven-for-one trade. So the rest will come in handy for a team that already has the NBA's best record (37-9). "I don't know if I should have played yesterday, but I felt good today,'' said Pierce, who scored the game's first nine points. "I enjoy it any time that I get that kind of rest, especially on a back-to-back night, coming off the sickness.'' Rondo was dominating Cassell on the floor - especially in the second quarter, when the Boston point guard scored 12 points. He stole the ball twice in a 60-second span, and that might have been going through Cassell's mind when Rondo drove to the basket with 2:54 left in the first half. Cassell came in from the side and raked his forearm across Rondo's face, knocking him to the floor. Cassell was called for a flagrant foul, and after reviewing the videotape the officials ejected him. - NBA.com   KEVIN GARNETT INJURED AS LEBRON JAMES DEFEATS CELTICS February 6, 2008 - James scored 33 points and barely missed a triple-double as the Cavaliers, playing as well as any team in the NBA, beat Boston for the second time this season with a 114-113 victory on Tuesday night. James added 12 assists, nine rebounds and five steals to pace the Cavaliers. According to Elias Sports Bureau, James joined Wilt Chamberlain (1961-62) as the only players to score at least 30 points in nine straight games against the Celtics. "LeBron's just tough. We let him get too comfortable in the first half,'' Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "When you let a great player get comfortable, you're probably going to lose the game.'' With their ninth win in 11 games, the Cavaliers improved to 15-4 since Dec. 25 and handed the league's best road team just its fifth loss away from home. Cleveland also beat the Celtics here in overtime on Nov. 27. BOSTON CELTICS VS. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS GAME HIGHLIGHTS "It definitely means something,'' James said. "We know we can play with any team in the NBA.'' For a change, James, who leads the league in fourth-quarter scoring, didn't have to do it all by himself down the stretch. Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 21 points, Larry Hughes had 18 and seldom-used Ira Newble had 15 for Cleveland. Also, guard Daniel Gibson made a big steal in the final minute to help the Cavs hang on. Rivers refused to blame Garnett's absence for the loss. "We're not going to use the Garnett thing as an excuse,'' Rivers said. "He's not going to be around for the next couple of games. I'm not going to allow them to use that.'' Pierce, too, was slowed by a flu bug that has been working its way through Boston's roster. For three quarters, a matchup between two of the East's top teams looked more like one between two up-and-down Western Conference teams as defense was very scarce. But with the game on the line in the fourth quarter, both teams tightened things up. - NBA.com