Smith leads Hawks past Celtics 83-74; Rondo tossed
By PAUL NEWBERRY
Posted Apr 29 2012 11:27PM
ATLANTA (AP) The Boston Celtics lost Game 1 - and they may have lost their floor leader for Game 2.
Josh Smith scored 22 points and grabbed 18 rebounds as the Atlanta Hawks built a big lead early, then held on for an 83-74 victory over the Celtics in their opener of the Eastern Conference playoffs Sunday night.
塞爾提克輸掉了季後賽首場比賽，並且有可能在第二場少掉進攻發動機Rondo。
But this one will be remembered for what happened in the final minute, not the Hawks' blistering start. While complaining about a call, Boston star Rajon Rondo was ejected for bumping an official and faces a possible suspension when the teams meet again Tuesday night in Atlanta.
"I didn't intentionally chest-bump him, but that's what it appears to be," Rondo said.
The Hawks, who led by as many as 19 in the first half, were clinging to a four-point lead when Rondo lost his cool with 41 seconds remaining. Boston's Brandon Bass was called for a foul on Smith tussling for a loose ball, with both players sprawled on the court out beyond the foul line. Rondo screamed at official Marc Davis, who quickly called a technical. Rondo then bumped Davis with his chest and was tossed out.
這是在比賽結束前40秒發生的事情，當時塞爾提克已將落後的比數追近至四分差，Brandon Bass去拼搶loose ball而被吹了一次犯規，結果Rondo跑去跟裁判理論，先吞下一個T後，又腦充血地衝撞裁判，結果怒吃兩T被請出場。
A suspension could be coming, too.
Rondo, who scored 20 points and dished out 11 assists, clearly appeared to stick out his chest to strike the official. That's a huge no-no and will almost surely draw the wrath of NBA Commissioner David Stern.
這個動作有可能會被禁賽，因為衝撞的動作有可能會惹惱史藤先生。
"It's out of my control," Rondo said. "Obviously, I want to be there for my teammates but other than that, it's out of my control."
Getting in some immediate lobbying, Celtics coach Doc Rivers saw things a bit differently than the replay showed. Not surprisingly, he doesn't think Rondo deserves a suspension.
"I'm always worried, but I would be surprised if that happens," Rivers said. "I thought Rondo was walking toward Marc, and Marc turned back toward him, and that's when Rondo bumped him. ... That's all it was, in my opinion. But we'll see."
"如果Rondo被禁賽，我將會感到惶恐"老塞教練Rivers表示 "那就等待聯盟發落吧"
Rondo had a similar take.
"Obviously I was upset about the call and I said some words to Marc. I deserved the first tech," Rondo said. "As I was walking, I thought he stopped. My momentum carried me into him. I even think I tripped on his foot."
"第一次吃T是我活該啦，我想再跟裁判大人talk一下，就繼續朝向他走過去，怎麼想到他突然急停了，我就撞上去啦"Rondo解釋事情發生的經過
At the beginning, the Hawks looked much quicker and faster than the aging Celtics. With every starter outside of Jason Collins contributing at least four points, Atlanta raced to a 20-6 lead with the game just over 5 minutes old. The Hawks twice pushed the margin as high as 19 points and settled for a 49-35 edge at halftime.
Smith totally outplayed Boston's Kevin Garnett over the first two quarters, going into the break with 15 points, 11 rebounds and two assists. Garnett had only two points on 1-of-9 shooting.
"He was an animal," Atlanta coach Larry Drew said of Smith. "When he's playing with that energy, he just makes us so much better."
Smith had to carry the load. The Hawks' other big gun, Joe Johnson, had a miserable night with 11 points on 3-of-15 shooting, committing more turnovers (four) than he made field goals. He was 0 of 9 from 3-point range.
一開局老鷹打得相當順手，除了大三零之外遍地開花，很快取得20-6的領先，最高曾領先19分，並帶著49-35的領先優勢進入下半場。J-Smooth在上半場完全比下KG，教練說他是隻猛獸，當他被喚醒的時候，會讓全隊充滿幹勁。好險Josh Smith撐住了場面，因為鷹王今日又打鐵了，15投3中，拿下11分，三分球則是9投盡墨。
The Hawks got sloppy with the ball and made only 20-of-60 shots after their blistering performance in opening quarter. That allowed the Celtics to edge back into the game, and it looked as though they might just pull off the comeback until Rondo's big blunder.
要不是Rondo維拉最後的技術犯規跳出來救援，老鷹有可能在下半場搞砸比賽。
"We came out like our jerseys were going to win the game, because we're the Celtics," Rivers said. "You've got to play to win the game."
Smith said he was definitely fouled as he scrambled for the loose ball with Bass.
"That was the right call they made," Smith said of the potentially series-altering play. "I'm not sure what happened with Rondo. That will be up to the league to see what he did wrong. You never know what's going to happen, but we'll definitely factor him in going to tomorrow."
這邊又是雙方對於Rondo的技術犯規的爭辯。
Garnett bounced back to put up 20 points and 11 rebounds. Paul Pierce had only 12 points, going 5 of 19 from the field and missing all six of his 3-point attempts.
"For us to win, I have to be a better player," Pierce said. "I was a really big culprit."
Garnett下半場振作，最終拿下20分11籃板；但老皮只得12分，他很有guts地承認他是戰犯
Both teams were short-handed.
Celtics guard Ray Allen missed a playoff game for the first time in his career, watching from the bench in a suit and tie because of an ailing right ankle. He would've already had surgery if it was earlier in the year, but the 36-year-old member of Boston's Big Three is hoping to heal in time for possibly his last hurrah in Beantown.
The Hawks, meanwhile, started third-stringer Collins at center. Al Horford missed most of the year with a pectoral injury and has been ruled out for the entire series, and the guy who took his place, rugged Zaza Pachulia, went down late in the regular season with a sprained left foot.
Pachulia famously went forehead-to-forehead with Garnett during an opening-round series in 2008, and the Hawks wondered how they would fare without the Georgian's toughness. Just fine, it turned out.
Ray Gun這場比賽還是無法上場，只能看得隊友在場上拼戰，希望在本季可以看到他穿上塞爾提克戰袍奮戰的身影。
而老鷹Al Horford(這系列賽應該都無法上場)與Zaza Pachulia這場比賽也是因傷無法出賽，球迷應該滿懷念他跟Garnett對嗆的畫面。
喜 (1)