On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team has typically had St. Patrick’s Day off for the past decade, which is probably fitting given the team’s ties to Boston’s Irish-American community.
But they also had three impressive wins that day since the start of the “Big Three” era of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, two of which are among the Celtics’ iterations with that trio on the list. The most recent such win in 2017 against the Brooklyn Nets saw a young Celtics roster emerging from a rebuild and secured a tight game with a huge play from forward Jae Crowder.
The Marquette product scored 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting with 12 rebounds to lead all scorers 9 of his total in the last frame alone. Crowder led Boston to a 98-5 win despite point guard Isaiah Thomas resting with knee pain, the Georgian bolstering in his absence.
(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Boston also beat the New York Knicks seven years earlier that day, winning 109-97 with a superb performance from Paul Pierce (29 points) and help from Garnett (22 points).
It was the most points the duo had combined this season as both missed significant time in the second half of the season through injury.
Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports
“There were a lot of toos out there,” Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni said at the time (via Associated Press).
“They were too big, too fast, too good and the road trip was a bit too long.”
(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Boston also defeated the San Antonio Spurs 93-91 on this day in 2008 with an even game from Pierce (22 points and 8 boards), KG (21 points and 8 rebounds) and point guard Rajon Rondo (20 points and 6 assists) . .
Reserve guard Sam Cassell added 17 points and 5 boards from the bench in the win against the then-champion.
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
“The Spurs, they are a well-oiled machine. We knew they were going to come in fired up,” Garnett said at the time (via ESPN).
“They’ve lost a few games lately and every champion will come out with their haymakers.”
The picture (undated) shows the American basketball player Bob Cousy from the Boston Celtics during a basketball session. (Photo by – / AFP)
It’s the 57th anniversary of the retirement of Celtic great Bob Cousy, who left the game at the age of 34 at a ceremony at the Boston Garden famous for a fan breaking Cousy’s awkward silence in his emotionally stifled retirement speech by saying exclaimed, “We love you, Cooz!”.
The legendary Boston point guard even received a message from then-President John. F. Kennedy said, “The game bears an indelible stamp of your rare skill and competitive daring” (about author Gary M. Pomerantz in The Last Pass).
Cousy would win seven titles with Boston, be named the league’s most valuable player, and earn 13 invites to the NBA All-Star Games, one of the biggest games of the game and a first-round Hall of Famer.
(AP Photo/Paul Benoit)
Today is also the birthday of the team president and former Celtics two-time champion Danny Aingewho was born on this day in 1959 in Eugene, Oregon.
A multisport high school star athlete, Ainge was drafted from BYU by the Celtics with the 31st overall pick of the 1981 NBA draft and had to be bought out of his contract with the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball, with whom the native Oregoner had already started playing.
(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Ainge won titles with the Celtics in 1984 and 1986, as well as an All-Star bid in 1988 before being awarded to the Sacramento Kings in 1989.
He returned in 2003 to serve as the team’s general manager after beginning coaching with the Phoenix Suns after retiring as a player.
The BYU grad averaged 11.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists as a Celtic.
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Finally, it’s also the birthday of former Boston and current Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier, who was born in Youngstown, Ohio in 1994.
Rozier played collegially for Louisville, which was drafted by the Celtics with the 16th pick of the 2015 NBA draft.
(AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Rozier played four seasons for Boston before joining the Charlotte Hornets in a double sign-and-trade for Kemba Walker in 2018.
He recorded 7.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game with Boston.
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Source : sports.yahoo.com