November 4, 2007
2:30 PM EST (Comcast SportsNet)
Air Canada Centre (Toronto, Canada)
Announcers: Mike AnGormanagement and Tommy "Want to Touch the" Heinsohn ; Dr. Laura Behnke and Donny Darko (in-studio) ; Greg "Old Saint" Dickerson (sideline reporter)
Celtics Starting Lineup: Rayden, I've Got a Rajon Rondo, Perk'd Off, Kevvy G, Da Troof
Raptors Starting Lineup: TJ "And the Bear" Ford, Anthony "Wishes He Was Tony" Parker, Jason BustaKaponoAss, Osh Kosh Chris Bosh, Andrea LeftHisBargnDoorOpen
The Patriots may be looking to go 9-0 with a win against the Colts later today, but the Celts are working on a little winning streak of their own ... yes, the quest for the perfect 82-0 season continues!
Okay, maybe that's just a tad bit unrealistic, but after a pretty convincing victory against the always-humble What's Eating Gilbert Arenas? and his Washington Wizards on opening night, nothing has been done to dissipate those sky-high expectations that Celtics fans have built up for this club. And what better opponent to continue those newfound winning ways than against the defending Atlantic Division champion Toronto Raptors?
We're a long way from Rome, but this whirlwind tour of the "Not Big Three" had its beginnings against these same Raptors in their very first game together ... However, this contest will actually count in the record books, so don't count on our boys' intensity level dropping.
FIRST QUARTER
It's Perkins and Bosh jumping it up for the opening tap, as Chris gets the better of the situation and Parker winds up with the loose ball; he gets it to Ford, who passes back inside to Bosh and the big man tries to work his way around Kendrick but the refs whistle Perk for the blocking foul. Kapono then inbounds to Ford, who passes to Bargnani inside covered by Pierce; he misses the turnaround jumper over Paul, and KG saves the rebound from going out of bounds by knocking it over to Ray. Allen then takes it the other way and finds Pierce for the 3-point attempt, but that misses and Bargnani collects the rebound.
Back we go the other way, as TJ Ford makes a nice spin move around Rondo, but misses the hook shot and Perkins snatches his first rebound of the night; he gets the ball to Pierce, who takes it back the other way and finds Allen spotting up in the corner. Rather than letting the shot fly, he finds Perkins in the paint, and he tries the fallaway jumper over Bosh; that misses, and Bargnani comes away with the loose board. He gets the ball up ahead to Parker, who passes inside to Bosh; he's immediately double-teamed, and tries to kick the ball out to one of his teammates, but instead sends it right into KG's hands, who passes upcourt to Ray and he finishes with the layup (2-0 10:15).
Bargnani then misses, but gets his own rebound and passes out to Parker; his shot also fails to connect, and Pierce snatches the loose carom. He gets the ball upcourt to Rondo, who spies Allen behind the three-point line; his pass finds its mark, and Ray buries it (5-0 9:38).
A basket by Ford puts Toronto in the scoring column, while at the other end KG is double-teamed so he passes to a wide-open Perkins for the uncontested (and loud) two-hand slam (7-2 8:56).
I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing that play ... Meanwhile, the Celts are also looking good on the defensive end, as Bosh misses the outside shot (Toronto is just one-for-ten from the field thus far) and Garnett pulls down the rebound. He gives the ball to Rondo, who takes it upcourt and tries to makes the bounce pass inside to Pierce, but it goes off his foot instead and Ford picks up the loose ball. He takes it back the other way, and Rondo reaches in to try for the steal, but the refs whistle him for the foul (Rajon's second already). He stays in the game, and Ford decides to take the ball right at him; Rondo backs off (doesn't want to pick up his third), so TJ pulls up at the free throw line and buries the jumper (7-4 6:35).
Ray answers with another trey (I guess he's looking for his shot today, with eight of Boston's first ten points), then Bosh mishandles a pass from Ford and Allen comes away with the ball; at the other end he gets the ball inside to KG for the hook shot over Bargnani (12-4 5:47).
Parker then misses, as Perkins grabs the rebound and gets it to Hugh Laurie (who's just come in for Rondo) who passes to Ray, and he slices down the lane between three defenders and ends up getting fouled by Parker. That puts him at the line, and he makes both free throws (14-4 5:15).
During the stoppage of play, Rasho Nesterovic's Funky Bowling comes in to replace Bosh, while Ford knocks down the pullup jumper with five minutes remaining in the quarter to get Toronto back within single digits. Pierce then slices down the lane and misses the layup attempt, but Perkins is right there to tip it in (16-6 4:47). Ford scores at the other end, then House misses a three-point attempt and Nesterovic grabs the rebound; he gives the ball to Ford, who takes it upcourt himself and tries to pull up over House for the jumpshot, but Eddie knocks it out of his hands. However, TJ is able to recover and passes inside to Rasho for the reverse layup (16-10 3:48).
Pierce and Parker trade baskets, then Perkins tries to make the pass inside to Paul but Anthony breaks it up; he gets the ball up ahead to Ford, who finds Kapono slices down the lane for the layup (18-14 2:15).
Boston calls a timeout to try and quell this sudden offensive outburst, and when play resumes Parker Posey comes in for his first action of the season after serving that one-game suspension (Pierce takes a seat on the bench). Meanwhile, KG misses the pullup jumper over Bargnani, and Jose HeCalderonThePhone pulls down the rebound; he takes it upcourt himself, then finds Andrea for the three-point attempt. That one's wide of the mark, and Perkins hauls down the rebound. He gets the ball to House, who takes it back the other way and finds Posey in the corner. He makes a move to the basket (which draws in the defense) before kicking it back out to House, who swings it around to Ray for yet another three-pointer (21-14 1:21)!
Bargnani then misses a layup attempt (!) and Nester can't score on the follow-up dunk attempt (!!), so the little man house steps in amongst the trees and comes away with the loose rebound; he takes it upcourt and finds Posey, who makes a nice pass inside to Garnett for the layup (23-14 :51.3). Boston is now 9-for-19 from the field; meanwhile, Juan MasonDixonLine shoots up an airball (Toronto is shooting 7-of-24) and the loose ball goes off Nesterovic out of bounds. The Celts regain possession, but the Raptors play some nice defense and Posey has his shot blocked by Bargnani as the shot clock expires.
So, Toronto has a chance for the final shot with 11 seconds remaining in the quarter, as Calderon goes for the pullup jumper over Posey. That misses, but Dixon comes away with the offensive rebound and gets a shot off as the buzzer sound; it's no good, as the quarter ends with Boston ahead by nine (23-14).
A nice 12 minutes of action from the Green, thanks in large part to Ray Allen's 13 points (he must not have liked Pierce and Garnett grabbing all the headlines in the previous game) ...
SECOND QUARTER
It's Scotty 2 Hotty, KG, House, Ray, and Posey in to start the second quarter ... Meanwhile, Garnett plays some great defense on Bosh to force the miss and Posey comes away with the rebound. He gets it upcourt to House, who passes back to KG, and he tries to get the ball inside to Pollard but it's too high and sails out of bounds (that's Boston's fourth turnover). Toronto regains possession, but Kapono misses the jumpshot and Ray grabs the loose board; he tries to take it coast to coast for the layup, but the refs call him for a double dribble (huh).
That gives the Raptors another chance, but Rasho misses the outside shot over Pollard and KG nabs the rebound (his fifth); he gives the ball to Ray, who again takes it upcourt himself and pulls up for the three-point attempt. That fails to connect, and Bosh gets the board and finds Calderon up the floor; he tries some fancy dribbling to lose his defender, but then opts to just give it to Carlos "Isle" Delfino behind the three-point line and he buries it (23-17 9:42).
That's the first three-point basket scored by a Celtics opponent this season, by the way ... Anyhoo, at the other end of the floor, House holds onto the ball a little too long before passing to Ray, and he can't get the shot off in time as Boston is called for the three-second violation. It's Raptors ball as Allan Tony comes into the game to replace the other Allen, while Calderon misses the outside shot but Bosh corrals the offensive board. He kicks it back out to Jose, who finds Rasho in the lane for the little hook shot (23-19 8:58).
Garnett then misses (he's shooting just 2-for-6 thus far) and Dixon gets the rebound. He gets it upcourt to Calderon, who finds Delfino behind the three-point line, and (since nobody on the Celtics makes a move to cover him), he just pulls up and knocks down another trey (23-22 8:31)!
Boston calls a timeout, as the second unit has yet to find a rhythm; when play resumes, The Scals of Justice comes in for Pollard, while Posey scores a three-point shot of his own (26-22 8:09).
Delfino then misses from behind the three-point line, but ends up getting his own rebound (not sure how that happened) and gets the ball to Calderon, who drives down the lane for the layup attempt. However, he can't score, and Tony grabs the rebound and takes it upcourt himself before passing to House, who hits the 15-foot jumper (28-22 7:33).
Not bad, but Pierce is back in with 6:37 remaining (replacing Tony) to try and give the bench players a little more offensive help ... Sure enough, Paul drives down the lane to draw in the defense, before kicking it out to KG for the pullup jumper (30-22 6:27).
Calderon then misses the three-point shot, and Parker is the last to touch the ball before it went out of bounds; Boston regains possession, and Pierce winds up being double-teamed, so he flicks a pass inside to Posey for the uncontested layup (32-22 5:51)!
Bosh then tries to take it inside, but Garnett gets right up in his face and bothers his shot so much that Chris actually airballs a layup attempt (cue the Nelon Muntz "Ha HA!" sound effect); however, the loose ball goes off Pierce out of bounds, so we stay at Toronto's end of the court (with Scals coming back into the game during the stoppage of play as Garnett heads to the bench for his the first time at the 5:26 mark) and Parker ends up hitting the pullup jumper with Paul right on him (32-24 5:09).
Pierce tries to answer by taking it inside against Parker, but Delfino strips him from behind and we go back the other way; Ford tries for the layup and is fouled by House (he wanted the charge called), so TJ steps to the line and hits both free throws to get Toronto within six (32-26 4:45).
Rondo comes back in at this point to replace House, while Pierce just blows by Delfino and goes in for the layup (35-26 4:25). Parker then misses, and Scals gets the rebound; he gives it to Rajon, who brings it upcourt and passes inside to Pierce. Paul again takes it at Delfino, except this time Carlos just gives up and grabs at Pierce to put him at the line, where he obliges by sinking both foul shots (37-26 3:52).
A basket by Ford gets the Raptors within nine with 1:20 on the clock. At the other end, Kapono gets caught napping in the paint and is called for the defensive three-second violation; Ray makes the free throw to get the lead back into double digits, and it's still Boston possession but Scalabrine misses the three-point attempt. Bargnani takes down the rebound and gives it to TJ, who brings it upcourt and passes inside to Bosh; he tries the little spin move on Scals, and the refs call him for the foul, putting Chris at the line where he makes both free throws (38-30 :39.4).
Ray then tries to pass inside to Garnett, but Bargnani is able to get a hand on the ball; Kevin recovers and goes for the quick turnaround jumper, but that misses and Kapono snatches up the rebound. He gives it to Dixon, who dribbles some time off the clock before trying to drive past Rondo; however, he gets tripped up and Rajon is whistled for the foul (his third, ouch). Tony Allen comes in to replace him as TJ goes to the line and makes one-of-two free throws (38-31 :08.4).
Boston goes for the last shot, as Pierce tries for the fallaway jumper (with Delfino all over him) and misses as the buzzer sounds, leaving us with a 38-31 Celtics lead at halftime ... A rather low-scoring affair, as Boston's defense limited the Raptors to just 27 percent shooting (12-44 FG) in the first half.
THIRD QUARTER
As we start the second half, Rondo tries to drive down the lane past Ford, so TJ hacks at his arms and (unintentionally) pulls Rajon down to the floor where he head just bounces off the court like a basketball. That was painful to watch, but Rondo appears to be okay as he's able to get up and hit both foul shots (40-31 11:42).
Bargnani then buries a jumper (he's now 1-for-8 from the floor!), while at the other end Pierce is double-teamed, so he kicks it out Garnett who finds Ray open for the three-point shot. That misses, and Kapono comes away with the rebound; he gives it to Ford, and he dribbles up the floor before giving it back to Kapono, who drives down the lane and scores on the layup (40-35 10:52).
Garnett then takes it inside against Andrea, but his shot attempt is blocked by Bosh. Perkins is able to grab the loose ball, and tries to take it inside for the layup, but he bumps into Bosh and the refs call the offensive foul! That's a bad call, Bosh was totally in the circle ... Whatever, Toronto regains possession, as Bargnani ends up just inside the three-point line with Perk coming over to cover him. Seeing an opportunity, Andrea gives the upfake to get Kendrick in the air, then leans in to draw the contact, and the refs oblige by whistling Perk for another foul; this one sends Bargnani to the line and he makes both free throws (40-37 10:14).
The crowd is starting to make a little noise, but Ray quiets them down right-quick with another three-pointer (he now has 18 points); at the other end, Ford misses the short jumper and KG pulls down the rebound. He finds Rondo upcourt, and he passes to Pierce, who (in turn) swings the ball around to Ray and he passes inside to Perkins. I like the ball movement, as Kendrick kicks it back out to Rondo, who tries to make a shot for himself, but he takes too much time dribbling (all that passing ate up a lot of the clock) and the refs call for the 24-second violation.
It's Raptors ball again, but Rajon makes up for his previous error by stealing the ball from Ford. He then takes it coast to coast before finding Garnett inside, and the big man finishes with the emphatic two-hand slam (45-37 8:58)!
At the 5:51 mark, Perkins rebounds a missed shot by Pierce and has his putback attempt goaltended by Bosh, putting Boston's lead back into double digits; Toronto calls a timeout, and when play resumes, Bargnani tries for the pullup jumper over Pierce and misses. Ray comes away with the rebound, as he takes it upcourt himself and then gets the ball to Paul; he passes inside to Garnett, who misses the jumpshot and Perk ALMOST tips it in but can't quite get it. Parker comes away with the loose rebound and gets the ball to Ford, who slowly takes it upcourt but then just puts his foot on the gas and explodes past Rondo and goes in for the layup. He also draws the contact on Perkins, so that places TJ on the line and he makes the free throw to complete the three-point play (50-43 5:02); that's a five-point swing right there.
It's also Perkins's fifth foul, but he stays in the game as Pierce takes it in over Kapono and draws the foul; Paul makes one-of-two from the line to give Boston the eight-point advantage with 4:46 left in the quarter. Ford then takes it strong to the basket again, and this time is able to draw the foul on Rondo (his fourth) while scoring the basket, so it's back to the line and he makes the free throw for yet another three-point play (51-46 4:34)!
House buries the trey to once again quiet down the crowd, while at the other end Bargnani tries to answer but misses the three-point shot; Bosh then trips over his own two feet going for the offensive rebound, but all the refs see is that he hit the deck with Pierce in the general vicinity, so that's good enough to call a foul on Paul! Ugh, Chris makes both of his ill-gotten free throws, and the Raptors are back within six (54-48 3:52).
At the other end, Garnett tries to back down Bargnani, and the wily Italian tries for the flop job but the refs don't bite (I'm surprised). That leaves a wide-open lane to the basket, and Bosh is forced to commit the foul, so Kevin steps to the line and makes both of his well-deserved free throws (56-48 3:33).
Ford then misses, and Pierce grabs the rebound; he takes it upcourt himself, then drives down the lane and spins around Kapono before finishing with the layup (58-48 3:00); it should be noted that Pierce now has nine points for the night. While that might not seem like much, you should also know that (with those 8th and 9th points) he has now passed Sam "I Am" Jones for sixth all-time on the Celtics scoring list (15,412 PTS). Congratulations Paul!
Anyway, back to the game ... Bargnani makes two foul shots to get Toronto within eight, but at the other end House buries the three-pointer (61-50 2:20). Calderon then scores, and House tries to score again but misses the jumper; however, KG takes the rebound from in between two Raptors and immediately kicks the ball out ot an open Ray Allen for the trey (64-52 1:16)!
Jorge Garbajosa Disposal answers with a three-pointer of his own to get the Raptors within nine, then Pierce tries to take it to the rim around Parker and draws the foul call; he makes both free throws to extend the Celts' lead back into double digits (66-55 :43.5).
With the quarter winding down, Calderon misses a three-pointer (Toronto is now 4-for-13 from three-point range) and Scals pulls down the rebound (the 1000th of his career, yay Scalabrine!); Boston holds for the final shot, but Pierce misses the three-ball (Boston is still 8-for-17 for three's) as the buzzer sounds, so we head into the final stanza with the Celts up 66 to 55.
FOURTH QUARTER
Bosh takes the charge from KG to open the quarter, and the refs whistle Garnett for the foul (that's his fourth). That gives Toronto possession, and Bosh tries to take it right at KG to draw another foul; unfortunately, he is able to succeed, as he scores the layup while drawing the bump from Kevin, and makes the free throw to complete the three-point play (66-58 11:06).
With five fouls, KG has to take a seat; Scalabrine comes in to replace him, and immediately goes for a three-point attempt that misses badly. Calderon scores the rebound, then brings it upcourt himself and finds Delfino behind the three-point line; his shot misses (that would've got the crowd pumped) and Ray nabs the loose board. He gets it upcourt to House, who then passes right back to Allen for the outside jumper (68-58 10:25).
Bosh is then hacked by Scalabrine and makes both foul shots (Perkins comes back in to replace Scals), while at the other end Ray is covered nicely by Dixon so he pulls up for an awkward-looking shot but hits it anyway (70-60 9:40)! That's 25 points tonight for Rayden ...
Perkins then blocks a shot by Calderon, and House collects the loose ball; we head back the other way, as Eddie gets it to Ray, who finds Posey in the lane. He's double-teamed, so James kicks it out to a wide-open Pierce for the three-point attempt which misses (ooh, I wanted that one) and Bosh pulls down the rebound. He gets it upcourt to Calderon, who just pulls up behind the three-point line and buries it (70-63 8:55).
Posey tries to answer with a deep three-point shot, but that's wide of the mark and Jose grabs the rebound; he gets the ball to Bosh, who is immediately double-teamed, so he kicks it back out and the Raptors swing it around to a wide-open Dixon for the trey (70-66 7:50).
The crowd is rocking as Boston calls a timeout; when play resumes, Pierce drives down the lane to draw in the defense, then passes to Perkins who gives a couple of upfakes while surrounding by three defenders. Now, it sure looks to me like Perk got hacked, but the refs decide to call him for travelling instead (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!?); the Raptors take back possession, but Garbajosa misses a three-point attempt and Delfino fouls House going for the loose rebound. That means it's once again Boston ball, and Pierce ends up wide open for the three-point attempt, but his shot misses and Perk fouls Bosh going for the rebound (his fifth).
Scals comes back in to replace Kendrick (KG is still on the bench), as Kapono uses the behind-the-back dribble (!) to lose Scalabrine and Ray is called for the reach-in foul; Boston is over the limit, so that puts Jason at the line where he makes one-of-two free throws (70-67 6:43).
The Celts are ice-cold right now, but the Raptors can't capitalize (Bosh commits an offensive foul setting the screen on House, Dixon is called for the travelling violation, etc.) and Boston is still leading the game when Garnett and Rondo come back in with 4:53 remaining. As if on cue, KG makes the nice pass inside to Pierce for the hook shot over Delfino (72-67 4:33).
Kapono answers with another three-pointer to get Toronto within two, while at the other end Pierce misses the fallaway jumper over Delfino, and Bosh comes away with the loose board. He passes upcourt to Dixon, who waits for Chris to set up underneath the basket before getting the ball back to him with KG all over him (but not too close Kevin, no fouls!). Bosh then kicks it back out to Kapono for the pullup jumper (72-all 3:23), and we're all tied up!
Not fazed in the least, Posey hits a trey with 3:04 left in the game to break that tie and take the air out of this building (Heinsohn: "I'm on the edge of my seat, are you?"), but then James fouls Bosh trying to keep him out of the paint; that sends Chris to the line, and he makes both free throws to get Toronto within one (75-74 2:45).
At the other end, Ray makes the pass inside to KG, with Bosh covering him; Garnett starts to back him down, and Delfino comes over for the double-team, so he kicks the ball out to a wide-open Posey for another trey (78-74 2:26)!
Bosh hits the little turnaround jumper over Garnett to get Toronto back within two, then KG misses the fallaway jumper over Bosh and Kapono comes away with the loose rebound; he gives the ball to Ford, who takes it upcourt before passing inside to Bosh. He's covered, so Chris passes back out to Kapono (who's like three feet behind the three-point line) and he heaves one up with the shot clock winding down that finds nothing but air.
That's a 24-second violation, as Boston regains possession ... however, as Posey inbounds the ball to House, Eddie tries to quickly bring the ball upcourt and TJ Ford ends up running right into James; now, Posey was standing there the whole time (no moving screen or anything), but the refs still feel compelled to call him for the offensive foul!
What a crap call, as Toronto gets the ball back; Posey ends up guarding Bosh on the switch, and Chris tries to back him down for the layup attempt. However, Posey goes down, and the refs whistle Bosh for the offensive foul!
Sweet justice, as Boston regains possession with 55 seconds on the clock; Pierce makes a bullet pass inside to Rondo, who tries to score on the reverse layup but comes up short. Both KG and Bosh are batting at the ball as it's swatted back towards the rim, then the refs blow their whistles and ... OH COME ON they call Garnett for an offensive goaltending! Seriously, what the hell kind of call is that?
Unbelievable, as Toronto calls a timeout with 31 seconds showing on the clock. When play resumes, Ford inbounds the ball to Bosh, and he gets it right back to TJ who slices down the lane and scores the basket (78-all :27.0).
Now Boston calls the timeout; Ray then inbounds to Pierce, who's defended by Delfino. Paul dribbles some time off the clock, then makes his move with nine seconds remaining; he tries for the pullup jumper and misses (dammit!) and Delfino comes away with the loose rebound. He hoists up a fullcourt shot, but it's not even close, and the Celts are about to embark on their first overtime game of the 2007-08 season!
FIRST OVERTIME
The Celts begin overtime with three players on the court (KG, Perk, Rondo) who have five fouls apiece, so Paul and Ray are gonna have to do most of the hacking from here on out ... Anyway, KG is called for stealing the opening tip (lame), so the Raptors are awarded the opening possession of the fifth quarter. They can't do anything with it though, as Perkins swallows up a weak shot attempt by Ford and Ray collects the loose ball; he takes it coast to coast and scores on the layup over Bargnani (80-78 4:35).
On a night of milestones, I would be remiss to note that Ray now has 17,000 points for his career; congrats Mister Allen!
Bosh then misses, but the loose rebound goes off Pierce out of bounds; it's still Toronto possession, and Ford makes a nice move to elude Rondo before kicking it out to Bosh for the little hook shot over Perkins (80-all 3:56).
Garnett backs down Bosh before hitting the fallaway jumper (that's 15 points for the night) with 3:34 remaining, but at the other end Ford knocks down the three-pointer right in Rondo's face (82-83 3:02) for Toronto's first lead of the game!
The crowd is screaming for defense, but Ray answers with a trey of his own (30 PTS, 10-15 FG)! Not to be outdone, Bosh knocks down the outside jumper to again tie the score (85-all 2:30).
The Celts again go back to Garnett, who backs down Bosh and throws an upfake to get Chris in the air; he absorbs the contact while scoring the fallaway jumper (nice) and makes the free throw to complete the three-point play (88-85 2:08).
The pressure's on Toronto now, as Ford tries to score with the outside jumper, but the ball bounces in and out and Bargnani fouls Pierce going for the rebound; it's Boston possession, and Garnett scores with another fallaway jumper over Bosh (90-85 1:35)!
A three-pointer by Ford with 40.7 seconds remaining gets Toronto within two and makes me sweat a little, but Garnett once again backs down Bosh and executes the little spin move along the baseline before finishing with the reverse layup (92-88 :22.9); that's nine points in overtime for KG!
It's not looking good for the Raptors as they call a timeout, but when play resumes Bosh scores quickly (barely two seconds go off the clock) and the Celts have to counter with their own 20-second timeout. Pierce then inbounds to Garnett, and Delfino has to give the foul since the shot clock is now off; that puts KG to the line with 18.3 seconds left. He makes the first free throw, but misses the second (!!!) and Pierce fouls Bargnani going for the rebound (geez).
Toronto uses their last timeout, and with 17.7 seconds to go Kapono inbounds to Bosh, who in turn passes to Ford with Rondo covering him; Posey switches onto him, so TJ takes it to the basket (NO FOUL! NO FOUL!) and scores on the layup (93-92 :07.8).
That leads to another Celtics timeout, and when play resumes Pierce inbounds the ball to House, and he's immediately fouled by Ford and makes both free throws (95-92 :07.1); exhale everyone!
The Raptors have one last chance to tie the score, which is the perfect time for Comcast's video feed to die (MUTHA FU ... ) so we switch to audio only and I completely miss TJ Ford hitting a three-pointer (95-all :04.4)!
Now it's time for Boston to take their last timeout (I'm going by what the announcers are saying at this point) and I am to understand that Pierce inbounds the ball to Ray in the corner and he knocks down the trey (98-95 :02.6)!
Toronto can't score, and the most exhilirating/frustrating seven seconds in Celtics history come to a close with a 98-to-95 Boston victory ...
FINAL SCORE: Boston 98, Toronto 95 (OT)
GAME RATING:
16
KILLER
BOSTON TOP PERFORMERS:
- R. Allen: 49 MIN, 33 PTS (11-16 FG, 7-11 3PTers), 4 REB
- Garnett: 43 MIN, 23 PTS (9-18 FG), 13 REB, 6 AST, 3 STL
- Pierce: 45 MIN, 13 PTS (4-17 FG), 6 AST, 5 REB, 2 STL
- Ford: 34 MIN, 32 PTS (12-21 FG), 5 AST, 5 TO
- Bosh: 44 MIN, 19 PTS (5-15 FG, 9-9 FT), 10 REB, 5 BLK
- Kapono: 35 MIN, 10 PTS (4-7 FG), 5 REB
POST-GAME NOTES:
- Due to the lost Comcast feed, there was no "Tommy Award" winner for tonight (and I was really digging that fancy new intro graphic for the award too) ...
- You can watch Ray's game-winning shot here (youtube.com).
- The Celts put up another great defensive effort, limiting the Raptors to 37 percent shooting (33-90 FG). The Celts, by the way, were up around 44 percent (34-77 FG).
- On a sad note, Doc River's father passed away suddenly prior to the game at the age of 76. Associate head coach Tom Thibodeau was manning the bench today in his absence, and I'm sure you'll all join me in sending your thoughts and prayers out to the Rivers family at this time ...
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