In a game that was reminiscent of the 1988 Eastern Conference Finals where Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins went head to head, LeBron James and Paul Pierce battled from start to finish of the Celtics 97-92 win. As in that classic game of yesterday, LeBron won the duel but Pierce got the win.
The Celtics came out strong and played aggressively, taking the ball to the basket and crashing the boards. They build a 12 point lead to start the first quarter, but the Cavs came back to pull within 18-13 at the end of 1. Neither team shot well in that quarter with the Celtics shooting just 38% and the Cavs shot even worse at 28%. Both LeBron and Pierce had 9 points at the end of one.
Doc started the second quarter with Eddie House, PJ Brown, Leon Powe, Ray Allen and James Posey. Eddie House brought great energy off the bench. One play stood out in this quarter as the Cavs had the ball knocked away into the back court and House raced two Cavs all the way to the baseline for the ball. House got to the ball just before it went out of bounds and flipped it to Posey who was fouled and made both free throws. Both House and Delonte West were given technicals when House went to the floor to try to recover a ball and Delonte dove on top of him, grabbing him around the neck and a scuffle ensued but was quickly broken up.
A scary moment came just before the end of the second quarter when Pierce was fouled hard and landed on a camera man. He was slow to get up and was obviously hurting. He made his free throws and at the next dead ball he went to the locker room. He was still limping slightly after the game so hopefully this won't affect him in the Pistons' series. The Celtics ended the half up 50-40. Both teams picked up their shooting in the second quarter as the Celtics shot 47% for the half and the Cavs shot 39%. The Celtics were being aggressive on the boards, out rebounding the Cavs 22-14 in the first half. Although it seemed as though the Cavs were getting the benefit of way too many calls, the Celtics shot 20 free throws to 15 for the Cavs.
The Celtics came out a bit sluggish to start the 3rd quarter as they allowed the Cavs to score the first 5 points and after a 9-2 run, the Cavs pulled to within 3 points at 52-49. The Celtics led 73-68 at the end of 3. The Cavs out played the Celtics in the period, increasing their field goal percentage to 46% and out rebounding the Celtics 10-5 in the period
House, Rondo, PJ, Pierce and Posey started the 4th quarter for the Celtics but with less than 1 minutes gone by, Doc brought KG back in. The game stayed close throughout the 4th quarter. The Cavs got as close as 1 point at 89-88 with just 2:20 to play. PJ Brown was big down the stretch with good defense and a couple of huge rebounds and put backs. The Celtics hit their free throws down the stretch to come away with the win. The Game was tied at 2 and again at 4 and the Celtics led the rest of the way to the 97-92 win.
Paul Pierce was the player of the game as he finished with 41 points on 13-23 shooting to go with 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. Kevin Garnett scored only 13 points, but he pulled down 13 rebounds and was a factor on defense helping to shut down Ilgauskas who scored only 8 points on 2-8 shooting. PJ Brown was the only other Celtic in double figures with 10 points to go along with his 6 rebounds.
Eddie House once again got the call off the bench at the back up PG and played alongside Rondo at times when Ray was on the bench. House scored just 4 points, but energy was a big factor in the game. James Posey also brought energy off the bench and took over the defense on LeBron for periods to give Pierce a break on the defensive end. Ray Allen once again struggled with his shot going 1-6 from the floor for 4 points but he hit 2 clutch free throws, as did Eddie House, to help seal the game. Ray did play solid defense on Wally who was scoreless in the game.
Rondo had a solid game with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. Leon Powe finally got the call but played only 6 minutes, finishing with 4 points. PJ Brown was playing so well that he was playing down the stretch. Perk played just 20 minutes and finished with 8 points, 1 rebound and 1 block.
The Celtics shot 48% for the game and the Cavs shot 45%. The Celtics won the all important rebounding battle 39 - 29 as they out rebounded the Cavs 12-4 in the final 12 minutes. LeBron finished with 45 points and the only other Cav in double figures was Delonte. Now, it's on to the Eastern Conference Finals where Detroit has been waiting since Tuesday. Hopefully the Celtics have learned from the lessons of the first two rounds because the Pistons are going to be tougher than either the Hawks or the Cavs and the Celtics need to be ready for them. In the meantime, Celtics can bask in this win that is sure to become a classic as did the Celtics/Hawks game 7 of twenty years ago.
The Celtics came out strong and played aggressively, taking the ball to the basket and crashing the boards. They build a 12 point lead to start the first quarter, but the Cavs came back to pull within 18-13 at the end of 1. Neither team shot well in that quarter with the Celtics shooting just 38% and the Cavs shot even worse at 28%. Both LeBron and Pierce had 9 points at the end of one.
Doc started the second quarter with Eddie House, PJ Brown, Leon Powe, Ray Allen and James Posey. Eddie House brought great energy off the bench. One play stood out in this quarter as the Cavs had the ball knocked away into the back court and House raced two Cavs all the way to the baseline for the ball. House got to the ball just before it went out of bounds and flipped it to Posey who was fouled and made both free throws. Both House and Delonte West were given technicals when House went to the floor to try to recover a ball and Delonte dove on top of him, grabbing him around the neck and a scuffle ensued but was quickly broken up.
A scary moment came just before the end of the second quarter when Pierce was fouled hard and landed on a camera man. He was slow to get up and was obviously hurting. He made his free throws and at the next dead ball he went to the locker room. He was still limping slightly after the game so hopefully this won't affect him in the Pistons' series. The Celtics ended the half up 50-40. Both teams picked up their shooting in the second quarter as the Celtics shot 47% for the half and the Cavs shot 39%. The Celtics were being aggressive on the boards, out rebounding the Cavs 22-14 in the first half. Although it seemed as though the Cavs were getting the benefit of way too many calls, the Celtics shot 20 free throws to 15 for the Cavs.
The Celtics came out a bit sluggish to start the 3rd quarter as they allowed the Cavs to score the first 5 points and after a 9-2 run, the Cavs pulled to within 3 points at 52-49. The Celtics led 73-68 at the end of 3. The Cavs out played the Celtics in the period, increasing their field goal percentage to 46% and out rebounding the Celtics 10-5 in the period
House, Rondo, PJ, Pierce and Posey started the 4th quarter for the Celtics but with less than 1 minutes gone by, Doc brought KG back in. The game stayed close throughout the 4th quarter. The Cavs got as close as 1 point at 89-88 with just 2:20 to play. PJ Brown was big down the stretch with good defense and a couple of huge rebounds and put backs. The Celtics hit their free throws down the stretch to come away with the win. The Game was tied at 2 and again at 4 and the Celtics led the rest of the way to the 97-92 win.
Paul Pierce was the player of the game as he finished with 41 points on 13-23 shooting to go with 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. Kevin Garnett scored only 13 points, but he pulled down 13 rebounds and was a factor on defense helping to shut down Ilgauskas who scored only 8 points on 2-8 shooting. PJ Brown was the only other Celtic in double figures with 10 points to go along with his 6 rebounds.
Eddie House once again got the call off the bench at the back up PG and played alongside Rondo at times when Ray was on the bench. House scored just 4 points, but energy was a big factor in the game. James Posey also brought energy off the bench and took over the defense on LeBron for periods to give Pierce a break on the defensive end. Ray Allen once again struggled with his shot going 1-6 from the floor for 4 points but he hit 2 clutch free throws, as did Eddie House, to help seal the game. Ray did play solid defense on Wally who was scoreless in the game.
Rondo had a solid game with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. Leon Powe finally got the call but played only 6 minutes, finishing with 4 points. PJ Brown was playing so well that he was playing down the stretch. Perk played just 20 minutes and finished with 8 points, 1 rebound and 1 block.
The Celtics shot 48% for the game and the Cavs shot 45%. The Celtics won the all important rebounding battle 39 - 29 as they out rebounded the Cavs 12-4 in the final 12 minutes. LeBron finished with 45 points and the only other Cav in double figures was Delonte. Now, it's on to the Eastern Conference Finals where Detroit has been waiting since Tuesday. Hopefully the Celtics have learned from the lessons of the first two rounds because the Pistons are going to be tougher than either the Hawks or the Cavs and the Celtics need to be ready for them. In the meantime, Celtics can bask in this win that is sure to become a classic as did the Celtics/Hawks game 7 of twenty years ago.
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