Well, at least one Boston team came to play today. The Celtics were able to overcome their (anecdotal) early game blues and defeat the Raptors 114 to 107. This was a game of runs, the Celtics were able to extend the lead into the low teens a few times, and then the Raptors would rattle off a few buckets to bring the gap into the 7-8 point range, just enough so that the Celts could not relax. The Raptors made one last run, dropping the Celtics' lead to four before some clutch free throws from Perkins and a jumper from Pierce sealed it.
Two players really stood out in this one. Rajon Rondo and Rasheed Wallace.
Coming off a Hawks game where Rajon did not appear to be his usual disruptive self, this afternoon Rajon domindated the game, producing a triple double of 22, 10 and 13. Really all that needs to be said is Vote Rondo.
Greg Payne wrote an article after last time the Celts and Raps faced off on how Rasheed Wallace dominates the Raptors. That trend continued today as Rasheed put up is best production with the Celtics, with 29 points (5 of 7 from three) and 8 boards, plus a huge steal with just over a minute to go and the Raptors down six. I wish we could bottle this Rasheed.
Update: Box and video highlights after the jump.
Boston
Starters
Min
FG
3Pt
FT
+/-
Off
Reb
Ast
TO
Stl
BS
BA
PF
Pts
R. Rondo
G
44:18
9-17
1-1
3-4
+4
2
10
13
3
4
0
1
0
22
R. Allen
G
41:53
6-13
1-5
3-5
+13
1
4
5
0
0
0
0
1
16
K. Perkins
C
34:00
6-9
0-1
4-10
+4
5
6
2
4
1
4
1
4
16
R. Wallace
F
34:08
9-12
5-7
6-6
+6
1
8
0
0
1
2
0
4
29
P. Pierce
F
33:58
4-11
1-3
7-7
+11
0
4
4
1
0
0
2
2
16
Bench
Min
FG
3Pt
FT
+/-
Off
Reb
Ast
TO
Stl
BS
BA
PF
Pts
G. Davis
18:16
1-5
0-0
0-0
+3
5
6
0
2
1
0
2
3
2
E. House
16:00
4-10
3-9
0-0
+3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
11
S. Williams
9:02
1-1
0-0
0-0
-3
0
3
0
1
0
0
0
1
2
T. Allen
7:44
0-1
0-0
0-2
-6
0
0
2
1
3
0
0
1
0
J.R. Giddens
0:24
0-0
0-0
0-0
-2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
B. Scalabrine
0:17
0-0
0-0
0-0
+2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Totals
40-79
11-26
23-34
14
41
26
12
10
6
6
21
114
Percentages:
.506
.423
.676
Team Rebounds: 9
Toronto
Starters
Min
FG
3Pt
FT
+/-
Off
Reb
Ast
TO
Stl
BS
BA
PF
Pts
J. Jack
G
31:05
6-10
1-3
2-3
-3
0
3
4
1
1
0
1
3
15
D. DeRozan
G
25:07
3-5
0-0
1-2
-7
1
2
0
1
1
0
1
3
7
A. Bargnani
C
36:46
8-16
4-7
3-4
-9
0
5
0
2
1
2
1
3
23
C. Bosh
F
43:25
9-17
0-0
13-13
-9
5
13
4
5
2
2
1
6
31
H. Turkoglu
F
32:20
2-9
1-3
0-2
-4
0
4
9
0
1
1
1
4
5
Bench
Min
FG
3Pt
FT
+/-
Off
Reb
Ast
TO
Stl
BS
BA
PF
Pts
J. Calderon
22:02
5-7
0-1
1-1
-8
0
1
3
2
1
0
0
3
11
M. Belinelli
21:56
6-12
2-5
0-0
+3
1
2
2
1
0
0
0
0
14
A. Johnson
15:32
0-4
0-0
0-0
+6
4
6
0
2
1
0
1
2
0
S. Weems
8:14
0-1
0-0
1-2
-2
0
1
1
0
0
1
0
1
1
A. Wright
3:33
0-0
0-0
0-0
-2
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
Totals
39-81
8-19
21-27
11
38
23
15
8
6
6
25
107
Percentages:
.481
.421
.778
Team Rebounds: 10