San Antonio 87, Boston 86

[recap] [box score]

Crazy game that I wish I could write more about, but I'm waking up in just a few hours to drive to Vegas to celebrate the ending bachelorhood of longtime RwH reader The Assistant Commissioner, so I need my sleep.

The Spurs scored 55 points in the first 19 and a half minutes of the game, mostly with the pick-and-roll that inexplicably seemed to baffle the Celtics. They then scored 13 points over the next 16 and a half minutes, as they went cold from the floor and Doc Rivers' small lineups troubled them. Boston, though, went cold the same time San Antonio did, and could barely catch up, much less distance themselves, during the stretch. The Cs finally did pull ahead, but a couple of big rebounds and shots from the Spurs gave them a four-point lead with less than a minute to go.

Ray Allen, who struggled in his return to action, nonetheless buried a three from the corner, and Boston got the stop it needed. But Paul Pierce couldn't shake Tim Duncan and his 17-footer at the horn was contested, and off the mark. Boston's win streak ended a five games; San Antonio's moved to nine.

Truthfully, Boston gave away this game; there was a long stretch there in the second half where any sort of effective offense could have pulled them away from the Spurs. But too many guys were eager to be the one to hit the tying or go-ahead basket -- the "hero shots" Doc is always ranting about -- and we wasted opportunities.

It feels especially like a wasted opportunity because the Sixers, who lost narrowly in Miami on Tuesday night, got blown out at home by Toronto on Wednesday. That means the Celtics still hold a game-and-a-half lead on them for the Atlantic crown, which is the good news, but the bad news is that Boston missed an opportunity to put another game between them and Philly.

VIEWING ALERT: Boston's got another chance to pick up a half-game on Thursday night in Chicago. That one's on TNT at 9:30 p.m., Eastern, and is supposed to mark the return of Derrick Rose.