It's not Celtics basketball unless a 20 point 3rd quarter lead dwindles to single digits. But tonight the bench weathered the storm and the Cs beat OKC 92-83.
The Celtics raced out to 58-37 lead at halftime thanks to some aggressive offense. They had 30 points in the paint, 15 assists and just 6 TOs.
Different story in the 2nd half. The offense got really timid and jump shot happy. The result? The Celtics scored 1 FG over the final 6 minutes of the 3rd quarter. Kevin Durant got red hot (14 of his 34 points). The 22 point lead was down to 6 (73-67) early in the 4th.
With the Celtics on life-support, Glen Davis (8 points, 5 rebounds) and Semih Erden (9 points, 4 rebounds) keyed a 15-4 run. Big Baby nailed 3 jumpers and Erden swished 4 free throws to cool off the Thunder and seal the win.
The Celtics bench outscored OKC's second unit 33-12.
Ray Allen had 19 points, 5 rebounds in 40 minutes. Rajon Rondo tallied a double-double (10 pts, 10 assists) in 36 minutes. With Dallas looming Monday night, Doc was able to preserve KG and Paul - 32 minutes each.