FINAL: Celtics 114, Pacers 96
It’s all over (FINAL: Celtics, 114, Pacers 96)
This one’s in the books. In a game that was all about the starters, Rajon Rondo made his All-Star case even stronger with 16 points, 17 assists, and 13 rebounds tonight. Ray Allen led the Celtics in scoring with 31 points.
We’re headed to the locker rooms for notes and quotes, so stay tuned.
Gino time (2:03 fourth quarter, Celtics, 110-94)
This one’s officially in the bag. Gino’s got his groove going. One of the luxury box patrons even has with her a giant Gino sign on a stick.
Alley-oop! (5:17 fourth quarter, Celtics, 105-86)
Rajon Rondo floated a pass to Kevin Garnett that could have gone out of bounds, but Garnett used his gadget arm to reel it in and throw it down. He’s long, as Jay Bilas might say.
Stat check (6:31 fourth quarter, Celtics, 98-82)
Two points apiece from Leon Powe and Glen Davis constitutes the only scoring for Boston’s bench so far in the game.
Good subs (7:46 fourth quarter, Celtics, 95-82)
Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett proved to be good substitutions for the Celtics. With the lead at single-digits, Doc Rivers inserted two of his Big Three, and the dividends were immediate. Garnett sealed off Troy Murphy down low for his patented fade, and Allen nailed a three-pointer on Boston’s next possession to increase his point total to a game-high 29.
Timeout, Pacers.
Uh, oh (10:22 fourth quarter, Celtics, 88-79)
Here come the Pacers, down only nine points with plenty of time left. Danny Granger’s three forced Doc Rivers to take a timeout. Grance leads Indiana with 20. The crowd is a wee bit nervous here now that the lead has dwindled. Mr. Roboto helped a little, but it’s not a cure.
THIRD QUARTER
One more to go (END third quarter, Celtics 88-73)
It’s all over for the shouting. Or is it?
Indiana trailed the Lakers 101-86 heading into the fourth quarter of last night’s game, and the Pacers won that one at the buzzer. You think Doc Rivers is reminding his boys of that at this very moment?
Rondo departs (1:30 third quarter, Celtics 85-65)
Eddie House is in to give Rajon Rondo a breather. Rondo’s statline: 13 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes of play so far.
That escalated quickly (2:44 third quarter, Celtics 83-61)
This one really got out of hand fast. The Celtics have outscored the Pacers 26-10 in the third quarter. Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett have seven points in the period, Kendrick Perkins has five, and Rajon Rondo is playing out of his mind.
Indiana is just 6-of-20 from the floor this quarter.
Stat check (7:45 third quarter, Celtics 70-55)
The last Celtic to have a triple-double was Ryan Gomes. Gomes had 10 points, 10 assists, and 12 rebounds in a 110-108 win over visiting Charlotte on Nov. 8, 2006.
TRIPLE-DOUBLE FOR RONDO (10:07 third quarter, Celtics 62-53)
It didn’t take long for Rajon Rondo to get that triple-double. Rondo rebounded the ball on the offensive end and found Kevin Garnett for a layup, giving Rondo his 10th rebound and 10th assist all in the same motion.
Rondo also had a triple-double way back in high school, at Oak Hill Academy. Click on the link to check out the footage. It’s pretty cool.
SECOND QUARTER
Halftime lead (END second quarter, Celtics 57-51)
Rajon Rondo is one rebound and two assists away from a triple double. For one half!! Rondo has 10 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds at the break, and if he hadn’t been popped in the mouth early, he may have had more.
Ray Allen has torched the Pacers so far for 19 points. The way Allen has been playing lately, wouldn’t he have made a nice addition to the US Olympic team that won the gold over the summer? He could have filled that complementary Michael Redd role, except I think much more effectively.
Kendrick Perkins (8 points, 6 rebounds) has also been stellar for the Celtics. Despite all this, it’s a 6-point game.
Crowd to its feet (3:49 second quarter, Celtics 48-40)
Three more scores by Boston give the Celtics their largest lead of the game, prompting an Indiana timeout.
On a side note, thought Larry Bird might be in the building tonight to watch his Pacers/catch a glimpse of banner No. 17, but haven’t seen him yet.
From his back (5:08 second quarter, Celtics 42-40)
Paul Pierce wasn’t granted a foul call on his drive to the hoop, but he managed to corral the rebound after falling to the ground and throw a successful bounce pass to Rajon Rondo, who found Ray Allen wide open in the corner for a three.
Indy on the run (7:58 second quarter, Pacers 37-32)
These Pacers aren’t going away. With Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett on the bench, Indiana has started the second quarter on a 10-4 run. Rookie Roy Hibbert has 4 points, using his size to hook it right over Glen Davis.
FIRST QUARTER
Hard to believe (END first quarter, Celtics 28-27)
The Celtics tried awfully hard to spot the Pacers the lead, but Boston has the edge after the first. Ray Allen is leading the Celtics with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including a couple of daggers from long range.
Danny Granger has nine points for the Pacers.
Pace yourselves (2:46 first quarter, Pacers 26-21)
Indiana is shooting scorching 58 percent (11 of 19), while the Celtics are at 44 percent (8 of 18). Can they keep up this pace?
Wacky possession (6:45 first quarter, Pacers 15-12)
The Celtics are doing their due diligence on the glass. Kevin Garnett was surrounded by 5 Pacers and missed a bucket in the paint, but Kendrick Perkins rebounded and kicked it out to Ray Allen, who missed a three. Garnett got that rebound and passed it to Rondo, who drove and found Pierce for another three, which also missed. Garnett got that rebound and layed it in.
Rondo back (8:02 first quarter, Pacers 11-9)
Mouth intact, Rajon Rondo is back in the game for the Celtics, replacing Eddie House. Rondo scored a layup on his first possession on the floor.
Rondo out (10:23 first quarter, Pacers 6-4)
Rajon Rondo went to the bench holding his mouth. He might have taken a pop. He’s currently being tended to by trainer Ed Lacerte.
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