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Wednesday, Dec. 8 7:00pm ET
Boston blows out Nuggets | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
BOSTON (AP) -- The Denver Nuggets aren't going to let one bad game change their minds about Ron Mercer. The former Celtics first-round draft pick returned to Boston on Wednesday night for the first time since he was traded to the Nuggets over the summer. But he was slowed by a sinus infection and shot 1-for-6 from the field as Boston beat Denver 115-90. "Mercer wasn't the Lone Ranger tonight. We were all awful," Nuggets coach Dan Issel said. "It wasn't an ideal situation for him, that he hasn't played or practiced for a week. We certainly aren't going to trade him back." Tony Battie had 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Celtics took a 10-point lead in the first 2:10, stretched it to 21 at halftime and made it 30 midway through the third quarter. The 115 points and 25-point margin of victory were season bests for Boston. But the big lead was no comfort for the Celtics, who led Milwaukee by 21 points in the third quarter on Nov. 26 before losing 114-112. "We didn't slack off like we have in the past. That's what I was happy about," said Paul Pierce, who had 15 points and eight assists. "We put them away." Mercer, one of Boston's first-round draft picks in 1997, was traded for Danny Fortson because the Celtics feared they wouldn't be able to sign him. Mercer leads the Nuggets with a 20 point scoring average, but he missed the previous three games with a sinus infection. "I definitely wish it was a close game," he said. "But we get to play them one more time." Antoine Walker had 20 points and eight rebounds before sitting out the fourth quarter of the blowout, like most of the starters on both teams. Walter McCarty scored 14 points for Boston. Antonio McDyess had 20 points and eight rebounds for the Nuggets, and Raef LaFrentz scored 12 with 12 rebounds. Chauncey Billups, who was also a Celtics first-round pick in 1997, scored 19 points for Denver. The Nuggets snapped a two-game road winning streak that was its longest since 1995. In fact, with two road wins they've already won as many road games as they did in each of the last two seasons. The Celtics' biggest margin of victory before Wednesday was 13 points, and the blowout even caught coach Rick Pitino off-guard. When the referee made a bad offensive goaltending call on a third-quarter basket by Kenny Anderson basket -- the call was eventually reversed -- Pitino threw one of his trademark fits. "I acted like a fool on that play, and then Dan said, 'Hey, you're up 29,' " Pitino said. "I apologized and said, 'That's the first time we've been up 29.' " The Celtics scored the game's first eight points and Walker had nine in the first 2:10 as Boston took a 13-2 lead. Denver cut the lead to 24-22 with one minute left in the quarter. The Celtics answered with a 16-4 run that gave them a 42-27 lead with 7:28 left in the half. Game notesThe Celtics had 33 assists and 19 steals. "There's nothing I enjoy more than passing and good defense. And we had both tonight," Pitino said. ... There are four former Celtics on the Nuggets: Billups, Mercer, Roy Rogers and Popeye Jones. There are three former Nuggets on Boston: Eric Williams, Battie and Fortson. ... Everybody on the Celtics roster scored, the last being Doug Overton with 3:30 left. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Denver Clubhouse Boston Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 115 Denver 90
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