This game was termed as "The Clash of The Titans." It featured the Celtics and Spurs who possess the league's best regular season records. The best of the West meets the best of the East. A monumental matchup. Except Rajon Rondo wasn't playing. He played his own game.
Rondo accumulated a video-arcade-like stat line including 12 points on 6-10 shooting, 10 rebounds, 22 assists and 6 steals in a game-high 43 minutes of action. It was his 11th career triple-double and just his third game back after missing two weeks with an ankle injury.
The MVP-candidate also had some huge baskets as he sunk several mid-range jumpers.
"He did it all," Pierce said. "Rebounded. Assisted. Doc's kind of been on him about taking that shot there. And he steps up when he needs to and knocks down those shots confidently."
For a team that has built its reputation on defense, Rondo made the Spurs look pedestrian.
The crowd certainly knew it too as they chanted MVP.
What did Rondo think of his game? "It was easy," Rondo said of his big assists night. "Ray shot 13-for-16 form the field. Paul shot [7-for-10]. [Glen Davis] took 18 [shots and made 10]. Guys made shots today, so nothing special."
Rondo did it with a little help from Ray Allen who shot 13-16 for 31 points. He heated up early after shooting 5-6 in the first quarter for 11 points.
"If it was practice...I don't know if anyone in the league would hit 13 out of 16. He does it in a game," Spurs coach Popovich said. "I think he's pretty good."
Despite the offensive outburst, the Celtics held on to win by two points, 105-103. After 47 minutes of premium basketball, the Celtics nearly capitulated in the final minute. The Celtics had a lead of 105-96 with a minute of play left but a series of turnovers and missed free throws gave the Spurs a final chance. On the final play Ginobili attempted a three-pointer to win the game, but Pierce blocked the shot to seal the win for Boston.
Celtics coach Rivers stated "the fact that we shot 61% and won by two is scary. That shows they're a really good team."
Again, it was the Celtics' defense that won this game as they held the Spurs to 39% shooting in the fourth quarter while they shot 63% themselves.
Davis scored a season-high 23 points on 10-18 shooting while Pierce chipped in with 18 on shooting 7-10.
The resilient Spurs received contributions from Tony Parker and Tim Duncan who scored 18 points each and a combined 16-28 shooting.
The Celtics lead 77-72 at the start of the fourth quarter. Ginobilli scored 20 of his team-high 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Spurs gained a 92-90 lead with 4:50 to play. However the Celts went into their patent lockdown mode to close the game out.
"You knew it was gonna be a nip-tuck game," Pierce said. "You got two heavyweights battling."
The loss marks the first time the Spurs have lost consecutive games for the first time this season, while the win improves the Celtics record to 27-7 to maintain a half-game lead over Eastern conference rivals, the Miami Heat.
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