Bibby, Hawks No Match For Celtics

The Celtics pushed out to a 2-0 series lead with their 96-77 win over the Atlanta Hawks at the Garden last night.

Bill Doyle has things getting physical at the Garden last night as the Celtics rolled to a game two win. Marc J. Spears has the Celtics and their fans making a loud statement last night. Mark Murphy has Mike Bibby achieving his goal of becoming the lightning rod for his team, though it didn’t seem to help out any. Kevin McNamara has the Celtics sending a loud, painful message to the Hawks towards the end of last night’s game. Scott Souza notes that the way things are going, Bibby not have to worry about facing the Celtics crowd again this season. Jeff Howe wonders if the league has a mercy rule.

On the BSMW Full Court Press, Kevin Henkin says Game 2 had a very familiar feel to it.

Bob Ryan says that the Celtics are like a tide that just keeps coming in and coming in and coming in. Lenny Megliola has the Celtics defense shutting down the Hawks and preventing Atlanta from even being competitive in this series. Peter May examines Kevin Garnett receiving the Defensive Player of the Year award last night and how the pre-game ceremonies might’ve thrown his game off. May says we don’t have to worry about an MVP award distracting Garnett this spring – he believes that race is a Kobe love-fest. Steve Bulpett says that even when KG is off, he’s on.

Mark Murphy has Rajon Rondo completely outplaying Mike Bibby once again, and adds that if Atlanta’s plan is to let Rondo beat them, they’re doing a good job of it. Robert Lee says that Bibby isn’t doing a very good job as a villain in this series. Julian Benbow also reports on the earful that Bibby got from the Boston fans last night. Bulpett also looks at Bibby’s strategic move backfiring on him. Jennifer Toland has more on Bibby taking it from the Garden crowd. Tim Weisberg has the Boston bandwagon jumping fans leaping onto the Bash Bibby Express.

Bill Reynolds says that Paul Pierce is finally realizing his goal of being an elite NBA player on a championship contender. Buckley has a look at the hard foul on Pierce in the first quarter. Mike Fine has Pierce saying he’ll play in game three. Steve Buckley talks to the scalpers outside the Garden last night.

The Globe notebook has a look at the hard foul on Paul Pierce early in the game that led to the Captain having to leave the game for a while to get treatment on his back. Murphy’s notebook has assistant Tom Thibodeau on the hotlist of head coaching candidates around the league. McNamara’s notebook has more on KG being honored prior to the game. Doyle’s notebook reveals Rondo’s hidden side as a video fanatic.

Red Sox

Amalie Benjamin has the Red Sox winning streak coming to an end last night with a 6-4 loss to the Angels. Rob Bradford has germs doing to the Red Sox what the Indians, Yankees and Rangers couldn’t do. Jeff Goldberg has more on the flu bug finally getting the better of the Red Sox. Paul Kenyon has the Red Sox winning streak coming to an end at the hands of injuries and the flu. Bob Stern has Jon Lester and Craig Hansen serviceable, but not quite good enough last night. Garry Brown also has a look at the Dice-K-less Sox falling at Fenway. Bill Ballou has the Sox hoping that things can get much worse.

Alex Speier has a look at Justin Masterson, who will get the call this afternoon to make his major league debut and get a spot start in the Red Sox rotation with the flu bug having knocked out Daisuke Matsuzaka yesterday. Kevin Thomas has more on the Sea Dogs pitchers, who is having a dream come true today. Nick Cafardo has a look a the sick bay that is the Red Sox clubhouse. Steven Krasner wonders if competition is bringing out the best in Julio Lugo. Joe Haggerty has Lugo as a man on a mission as of late. Speier has the Sox mastering the art of late-inning magic in recent games. Carolyn Thornton has a look at the ups and downs that David Pauley has experienced this week.

Benjamin’s notebook has more on Masterson getting the call today. Bradford’s notebook has Craig Hansen coming up to Boston as a different pitcher and person, and rediscovering the nasty slider which made him such a hot prospect. Goldberg’s notebook has Hansen looking pretty good last night. The ProJo notebook has more on Masterson getting the call today. Brown’s notebook has more on Hansen. Ballou’s notebook leads with Masterson’s callup.

Patriots

On Patriots Daily, Scott Benson tries to figure out if the Patriots will be able to make a trade for the 7th pick.

Christopher L. Gasper and John Tomase report on the NFL finally reaching an agreement with Matt Walsh for the former Patriots video man to say what he has to say. David Heuschkel and Glen Farley also report on the Walsh deal. The Patriots issued their own statement on the matter.

Mike Reiss has a look at the offensive linemen at the top of the draft. Michael Vega has a feature on Boston College lineman Gosder Cherilus and a look at Bentley guard Mackenzy Bernadeau, who has attracted some interest.

John Tomase has a look at the cornerbacks, with a focus on Leodis McKelvin.

Mark Farinella examines the defensive linemen and linebackers available in the draft. Dan Pires also has a look at the linebackers.

There are still plenty of Bruins stories out there, check them out at BruinsLinks.com.