Sunday, December 7, 2008

Boston 122, Indiana 117 (Overtime)

Man, I am sick of Indiana. Twice in five days, and three times already in the young season. At least we don't have to face them again until the end of February.

[recap] [box score]

This is one we probably should have lost. We didn't play any defense until the final minutes of the fourth quarter, and as well as Indiana shot -- 50.6% for the game, and that includes a 4-for-17 finish -- they would have blown us out had Danny Granger hit a few jumpers.

As it was, we needed a clutch Paul Pierce three -- after a huge offensive rebound by Eddie House that he probably won't get enough credit for -- just to send it to overtime, where the Pacers' shooting percentage finally regressed toward the mean. Credit Ray Allen and his 35 points the most for this one (Ray's been shooting the hell out of the ball lately), but in reality, a lot of people chipped in. That happens when you score 122 points.

The thing I liked most about this win was that we stuck with it. On the road against an opponent that doesn't really matter, we hung in, despite the fact that they were throwing everything in (including Marquis Daniel's halfcourt shot that beat the halftime buzzer). A lot of teams would have packed it in, and while I'm sure no one is satisfied with the overall performance, we got a win.

A rare three days off for Boston now, followed by a back-to-back Thursday and Friday at Washington and against New Orleans. I went to many a Celtics-Wizards game when I was living in DC, and I can remember us coming away with a win like once. We never seem to play well there, at least when I'm in attendance. Now that I'm out in California, maybe things will be different. Or maybe things will be different because the Wizards suck. This one's on TNT, so mark it down in case I forget to remind you later in the week.

Friday against the Hornets should be good, even though the Bees have played well below expectations this year. It'll also be the return of James Posey to Boston -- an emotional night to be sure. This game wil be televised on ESPN.

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