(Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
This game was freakin' nuts…
The Celtics beat the Spurs 105 – 103 in a game that featured two dramatic momentum swings over the final 2 minutes.
The Celtics execution from the 2:28 mark until the :50 second mark was perfect:
- Rondo dishes to Glen Davis who finds Daniels for a lay-up
- Rondo steal
- Ray Allen nails a three
- Glen Davis takes a charge
- Rondo nails a floater
- Ray Allen picks George Hill's pocket and scores on a lay-up
The 9-0 run put Boston up 105-96 and had everyone thinking the game was over. Wrong.
Aided by a couple of questionable non-foul calls, the Spurs rattled off 7 straight to make it a two point game. After the apocalypse Ray Allen missed two free throws with :08 seconds remaining, the Spurs had one final chance. Fortunately, Paul Pierce rejected a Manu Ginobli to seal the win.
Now to the stars of the game…
Rondo was spectacular: 12 points, 22 assists, 10 rebounds, 6 steals and 1 block in 43 minutes. He was awarded a rebound on the final play of the game after catching the ball following Pierce's block. Kinda cheesy… but he deserves it.
Ray Allen had 31 points on 13-16 FG. The Spurs were incapable of covering him on screens.
Glen Davis had 23 points on 10-18 FG.
Doc Rivers experimented with small line-ups and it worked. He went with Pierce and Daniels at the 4 for long stretches of the 2nd half.
The Spurs reserves dominated in the first half (21 points), but fizzled in the 2nd half (6 points).
