The Boston Celtics have a few days off to prepare for the second round of the NBA playoffs and a matchup with LeBron James.

Dwyane Wade has all summer to recruit him.
Ray Allen scored 24 points, making five 3-pointers in the second half to help Boston beat Miami 96-86 on Tuesday night and eliminate the Heat in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series. The Celtics will play James and the Cavaliers in a seven-game Eastern Conference semifinal series that will open Saturday in Cleveland.
“I think it’s a great matchup. It’s great for basketball — such a classic series,” said Paul Pierce, who scored 21 points on Tuesday. “They’re the team to beat right now. They showed it through the course of the season the way they played. We know this is going to be a tough series, another really, really tough series.”

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPNBoston.com

Too many men on the ice — a painful reminder of franchise futility for a generation of Bruins and their fans — is finally a reason to celebrate in Boston.

Miroslav Satan scored a power-play goal after Buffalo was called for having too many men on the ice in the second extra period, and the Bruins beat the Sabres 3-2 at 27:41 of overtime on Wednesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.

“Finally, it’s over,” said an exhausted Satan, who was stopped by Olympic MVP Ryan Miller in the first overtime on what seemed like such a sure goal that the scoreboard operator even sounded the horn. “We have a 3-1 lead, so it’s a little more breathing space, but the whole series has been good hockey from both sides and great goaltending, and we know that’s not going to change.”

The Bruins rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the third period to force overtime, and it was still 2-2 when in the second OT when Drew Stafford was caught on the ice as a sixth skater and was unable to scramble back to the bench in time to avoid a penalty. There were just 9 seconds left in the power play when Satan got a pass from Michael Ryder in front of the net and put it past Miller.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Even without Kevin Garnett, the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat.

Easily.

With the good-humored but hard-playing Glen Davis filling in while the Celtics’ emotional leader served a one-game suspension, Boston rolled to a 106-77 victory Tuesday night that Miami coach Erik Spoelstra called “embarrassing.”

It gave the Celtics a 2-0 lead in their playoff series and Davis a chance to reprise the nickname he hung on himself last year when he replaced the injured Garnett — known as the “Big Ticket” — in all 14 playoff games.
“The ‘Ticket Stub’ came,” Davis said. “Whenever they need the ‘Ticket Stub,’ he’ll be there.”
Davis had 23 points and eight rebounds, and Ray Allen heated up in the third quarter and scored 25 points. Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 29.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Marc Savard is one step closer to returning to the Bruins’ lineup.

Tthe Bruins forward passed his neuro-psyche test Tuesday afternoon and has been cleared to rejoin the team. He has skated on his own the last two days and now he’ll be able to continue his conditioning with the rest of his team. It is still unclear when he’ll be able to return to game action. It’s likely the Bruins will be cautious in deciding a timetable for his comeback.

“I have to be realistic here, and when I’m 100 percent condition-wise and mentally positive I can do this, I’ll be ready to go,” Savard said.

During his twirl on the ice Tuesday morning, Savard was able to work on stops and starts and said he felt pretty good.

The neurological test was done on a computer and consisted of choosing the right numbers and colors when asked, according to Savard.

Click here to read the full article – By Joe McDonald of ESPNBoston.com

As the Boston Red Sox continue to struggle early in the season, one has to wonder, when does the front office begin to panic? The most publicized issue that the team faces is what to do with designated hitter David Ortiz, who has been awful in the first month of the season. David Ortiz is hitting just .158 with no homeruns and 2 RBI while striking out in 40% of his at bats. If Ortiz continues to struggle, the Red Sox will be forced to sit him down and go out and somehow acquire a bat. There were rumors all winter that the club was trying to trade for Padres 1B Adrian Gonzalez who would provide a much needed boost to the middle of the Red Sox lineup.

While Ortiz’s struggles were somewhat expected, the Red Sox did not anticipate that their starting rotation would have issues as well. Josh Beckett has recovered from a tough first outing against the Yankees, but Jon Lester and prized free agent acquisition John Lackey have struggled. Entering the season, many experts pegged the Red Sox starting rotation to be the deepest and best in baseball, but they have not come through for the team in the early goings. In order for the Red Sox to stay in contention in the toughest division in baseball, their starting pitching must carry the team until the front office goes out and upgrades the lineup.

by Josh Weiner at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Celtics forward Kevin Garnett has been suspended for Game 2 of Boston’s first-round playoff series against the Heat for landing an elbow to the face of Miami’s Quentin Richardson in a fourth-quarter fracas during Game 1 on Saturday.

The announcement was made Sunday by Stu Jackson, NBA executive vice president of basketball operations.

Richardson was fined $25,000 for his role in the altercation.

Garnett earned a double technical and ejection in the melee that unfolded after Paul Pierce tumbled to the ground near the Miami bench with 40 seconds left in Boston’s victory at the TD Garden.

Click here to read the full article – By Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com

Boston Bruins assistant coach Craig Ramsay is expected to rejoin the team for practice on Friday, a day after being taken to a Buffalo hospital, where he was diagnosed with the flu.

“He’s doing better,” coach Claude Julien said Thursday, after Ramsay missed the Bruins’ playoff opener, a 2-1 loss to the Sabres. “There’s probably a good chance we’ll see him back here tomorrow.”

Bruins spokesman Matt Chmura said Ramsay was feeling ill about an hour before the game. Escorted by a Bruins trainer, Ramsay walked under his own power to the ambulance and was driven to Buffalo General Hospital, Chmura said.

Assistant Doug Houda, who regularly watches games from the press box, filled Ramsay’s role behind the bench.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPNBoston.com

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Every so often, the scar that runs down Doc Rivers’s right thumb reminds him about the importance of games at the end of the season.

He got the wound on the last day of the 1992-93 season, in a game that was more or less meaningless aside from the fact that the two best teams in the Eastern Conference — his Knicks and Michael Jordan’s Bulls — were playing on national TV.

The Knicks had wrapped up home-court advantage in the playoffs and were sitting on 59 wins. It wasn’t getting to 60 as much as league pressure that led coach Pat Riley to play his regular rotation.

“They basically threatened that back then you had to play,’’ Rivers said. “Everybody had to play. Jordan had to play in the game that was completely meaningless.’’

Click here to read the full article – By Julian Benbow of The Boston Globe

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