The Boston Celtics offered a display of precision and pace against the Denver Nuggets, a display which left Iverson, Anthony & Co. helpless. Teaching how to defend and how to attack and both during the same game, the Celtics (3-0) rocked the visiting Nuggets 119-92.
The Celtics were led in scoring by Paul Pierce with 26 points; while Kevin Garnett had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Ray Allen finished with 22 points keeping Boston’s record clear of losses.
"Not a lot to complain about tonight. We came out ready to play and we played well," said Celtics head coach Doc Rivers. Any coach would be proud of his team if they would shoot a 64.5 per cent from the floor as Boston did.
Anyway, despite their display of excellence, the Celtics actually believe they can play better than last night.
"We're just scratching the surface of where we can be," Pierce said. "I look up and see a lot of positives, but we're by far nowhere near where we want to be. But we're scratching and getting better every day."
Allen Iverson was once again the one with the scoring touch and he collected 22 points, while Carmelo Anthony, the other scoring machine of the Nuggets, was contained by the Celtics defense and held to just 11 points.
"From the start, they jumped right on us and they were able to take care of business," Iverson. "You have a couple of games like this throughout the year that you have to deal with and we are just glad it's early rather than late in the season."
After a rocking start, the Celtics were 38-22 at the end of the first quarter and at the half time the gap widened to 77-38. The Celtics were just spotless as they shot 72 per cent from the field (31-of-43) over that stretch of time.
The Nuggets offered little resistance while the Celtics were hungry for more. So, by the end of the third quarter, the gap swelled to 91-50 on a dunk by Garnett.
Elsewhere in the NBA:
Utah Jazz 103, Cleveland Cavaliers 101
LA Clippers 104, Indiana Pacers 89
Philadelphia 76ers 94, Charlotte Bobcats 63
Atlanta Hawks 105, Phoenix Suns 96
Orlando Magic 105, Toronto Raptors 96
San Antonio Spurs 88, Miami Heat 78
Memphis Grizzlies 105, Seattle SuperSonics 98
Portland Trail Blazers 93, New Orleans Hornets 90.
