Ray Allen shook off a horrible shooting night (3-14 FG, 2-4 FT) and nailed a go-ahead three pointer with 41 seconds left in overtime which helped propel the Celtics to a 98-95 win over the Blazers.
After LaMarcus Aldridge missed a jumper, Ray scooped up a loose ball and found Tony Allen for a dunk with 12 seconds left. The Celtics escaped with the win after Rudy Fernandez missed a pair of desperation threes in the final seconds.
Kevin Garnett had 13 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks in 30 minutes. I did not notice any problems with the knee.
Despite KG's presence, the Celtics were beaten badly on the boards. Portland – a mediocre rebounding team – had 16 offensive rebounds and 22 second chance points. Juwan Howard had 12 rebounds. Yes, that Juwan Howard.
The Cs went ahead 91-86 on a spectacular play by Rajon Rondo who grabbed a rebound, went behind his back with the dribble and raced up the court for a lay-up.
But the Celts final few possessions were disgusting. While Martell Webster was nailing clutch jumpers for Portland, Rondo had a turnover and missed lay-up, Paul Pierce air-mailed a jumper with 19 seconds left and was called for a charge as he crashed into Andre Miller with 1 second on the clock.
Had the Cs not pulled out the win in overtime, this would have gone down as an epic choke.
Andre Miller lead Portland with 28 points. Jerryd Bayless – who was filling in for Brandon Roy – had 12 points at the break, but did not play in the second half due to a sprained ankle.
The bench played well in the first half (21 points), but the guys struggled in the second half. Rasheed Wallace finished with 14 points, Tony Allen had 8.
A win is a win, but the KG-inspired Celtics did not impress me tonight.
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