In one of the more surprising results of the season, a should-have-been-worn-down Celtics team went into Portland and ran a should-have-been-fresh Blazers team out of their own building. Portland was complicit in the whole thing, not really putting up a fight until the end of the third quarter, but it certainly a nice change of pace to sit through a Boston game in which the good guys put forth a consistent effort and won comfortably.
Things got a little dicey at the start of the fourth quarter, as the Blazers cut what had been a 21-point lead to just nine. But Glen Davis drew charges on Rudy Fernandez on consecutive possessions, Ray Allen scored eight straight points, and Boston was never threatened again.
Allen was the hero of the evening, leading all scorers with 21 points. As important, he remained in the game with the second team to start the fourth quarter and led that unit as it salted the game away. As a result, Boston's four other starters didn't have to get off the bench in the final period. That meant a lot to Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce, who played more than 44 and 41 minutes, respectively, in Thursday's win over Los Angeles. With a tough game coming up at Denver on Sunday, that rest is invaluable. Of course, playing 75 minutes over the course of a back-to-back isn't ideal for the 34-year-old Allen, but hopefully, second-team steward will be a role he no longer has to play once Nate Robinson -- who isn't expected to play until Tuesday as he battles a stomach virus -- makes his debut in green.
The Denver game in on national TV, at a time that should be palatable for East Coast viewers: 3:30 p.m. Eastern.
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