Bill Walton gushes over Shaq (during his Phoenix days. So. Funny. And much more deserving of the top spot of this post than any highlight from last night)
This was not a pretty win, to say the least. This was a back and forth game until the end of the third, when the Celtics went on a 12-2 run, which spilled over in to the beginning of the fourth frame. In the fourth, Rondo set the pace, Ray Allen hit back to back three pointers and Von Wafer came off the bench with some energy and spark. The Celtics went up 10 with 9 minutes remaining. Portland clawed back in to it, but the game was never really in danger.
The Celtics won this game because they're better than Portland, and that's about it. Boston had 21 turnovers, leading to 22 points, and allowed Portland to grab 18 offensive rebounds, leading to 15 points (that's 37 total points because the Celtics were playing scrubby). Fortunately for the Celtics, the Blazers just weren't able to take advantage of that, and ended up scoring just 41 points outside of the 37 aforementioned points they made of Boston mess-ups. The Blazers shot 36 percent from the field for the game. Eek. Boston was able to win by simply outperforming that miserable stat: the Celtics took 26 less shots, but were 46 percent from the field for the game. They also attempted 33 free throws, to Portlands 13... But I gotta add that the Blazers committed what were in my mind, a couple of over the top and unnecessarily rough fouls. Rondo spent half the game on the deck, and Ray Allen took a couple of hard hits, as well.
Injury updates after the jump
Paul Pierce injured his thigh late in the fourth and hobbled off the court. You'll recall he tweaked his ankle against Cleveland Tuesday, so needless to say, the Captain is a little dinged up. He is questionable for tonight. I'm all for sitting him. Pushing it and risking more severe injury just isn't worth it. This is the half point juncture of the season, and the Lakers loom on Sunday. It is my ESTEEMED medical opinion that he should sit tonight. Phoenix is a run and gun team, and Marquis and Von Wafer can fill in for one night. In other injury news, Shaq might be back tonight. That would be nice, because Perk played too many minutes last night (21). The good news is that he looked great out there.... But it's just too much at this point, especially since they have to go again tonight.
At the end of the night, Bill Walton is what made this game somewhat enjoyable to watch. He is so funny, and his choice of words is priceless. I look forward to his commentary tonight.
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