For the second straight game, Boston let most of a big lead slip away before hanging on for a win.
The situation on Friday night was actually more dire than the one against Phoenix on Wednesday, when the Celtics gave up 18 straight points but still had a 10-point cushion. This time, Boston held an 84-67 lead, but Golden State scored 32 of the next 48 points -- 22 of those by Monta Ellis -- to pull within 100-99 with 3:30 to go. Paul Pierce then went to work, scoring a three-point play by hitting a jumper while being fouled by Reggie Williams. The defense also dug in, with Jeff Green and Rajon Rondo securing steals. The game wasn't won, however, until Boston, leading by two, got a crucial offensive rebound from Ray Allen off a Kevin Garnett miss with 12 seconds left. Allen hit two free throws to provide the final margin.
Lost in all the talk of the trade and the new guys is how well the old guys are playing. Garnett didn't have a great game Friday night, but he's had an excellent season and is close to being at 2007-08 form. Paul Pierce has been taking over games less than he has in the past, which is terrific; he's having the most effiicient season of his career from the field and is still there, as he was on Friday, for a key bucket when you absolutely need it. Rondo's assist numbers aren't quite as gaudy as they were to start the season (he did, however, have 16 against the Warriors), but he still has the ability to control the game on each end of the court like few, if any, of his peers.
Then there's Allen. He's been in the headlines relatively recently due to becoming the all-time three-point king, but such milestones overshadow his general excellence. At 35, he's shooting significantly better than he ever has from the field (50.5 percent) and the three-point line (46.5 percent). He's having the best season of his Celtic tenure, and the best season ever by a shooting guard at his age. He's just a marvel. On Friday, he hit his first seven shots, and his first five triples, on his way to 27 points. Ray has faded a bit in the playoffs since his arrival in Boston, not playing poorly so much as shooting inconsistently. He's shown no signs of slowing down this season, however.
As for the new guys, Jeff Green broke through with 21 point, getting extra minutes in the absence of Glen Davis, who will miss a week or so. Nine of those points came when he was playing with Boston's starters in place of Nenad Krstic, and while he did hit a couple of long twos, it's clear that he's most effective well inside the three-point arc. Reactions to his offensive performance should be tempered somewhat simply because it came against defense-allergic Golden State, but it was still an encouraging step forward. He did have just one rebound, however.
Krstic may be reviving his career in Boston. He had 11 points and six rebounds, with most of his damage coming in a very active first quarter. He's going to move to the bench eventually, when Shaq comes back (which could be Wednesday), but I hope he won't be forgotten once he does. The ball doesn't stop in his hands the way it does with O'Neal, and while defense is not his strong suit, he doesn't indiscriminately foul penetrators the way Shaq does.
Troy Murphy went 0-4 from the field, missing both of his shots from deep, and has yet to make a field goal as a Boston Celtic. Here's hoping it's due to his being rusty, and not that he did really lose his shooting touch overnight in the offseason.
Sasha Pavlovic, signed Thursday off the waiver wire, didn't play. He's a good three-point shooter who was almost certainly signed just in case disaster hits the backcourt in terms of injuries. It's hard to see him having much of an impact.
And, catching up with a few old friends: Kendrick Perkins is slated to miss another week or two with his knee injury; Nate Robinson will miss four to six weeks with a knee injury of his own, and Semih Erden continues to sit for the Cavs with injuries that were bugging him as a Celtic. Seems like the injury bug stays with the Celtics this season, no matter where they go.
On the bright side, Luke Harangody had a career-high 18 points Friday night in Cleveland's shocking win at Madison Square Garden, and Leon Powe signed with Memphis for its playoff run. That last one isn't exactly the "bright side," as I had hoped Powe would re-sign with Boston, but I'm definitely happy that Leon caught on with a playoff contender.
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