Last series I called Game 5 the "The Rajon Rondo Game" and Game 7 "The Paul Pierce Game". Last night was a team victory. Check out the stats/highlights:
Rajon Rondo - 11 points, 7 assists, 5 steals, 1 turnover, and his 3-pointer with 1:47 left in the game sealed the deal.
Paul Pierce - 22 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and, despite 5 turnovers, continued to play at a higher level than he did during the first 13 playoff games
Kevin Garnett - 22 points and 9 rebounds. He also took it to the hoop at times, which was nice to see
Kendrick Perkins - KG's rebounds were cut into because Perk grabbed 10.
Eddie House - Nailed a three as the third quarter came to a close.
Doc Rivers - Give him credit. When the Pistons cut into the lead at the start of the 3rd Rivers did not hesitate to go back to Rondo, Pierce and KG. Well done.
The Defense - Just an awesome display of effort and execution.
Since the Pistons have been to the ECF 6 years in a row I tend to give them a lot of credit. Last night I thought the following at points:
- The Pistons keep hanging around.
- They're so damn calm.
- Chauncey Billups isn't giving them much and they're still in it.
I still think all of that is true. But the Celtics deserve a ton of credit. That's the team I remember from the regular season.