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Celtics Defeat Raptors in Rondo's Return

Rajon Rondo was back in the starting lineup after missing the last seven games, and the Boston Celtics defeated the Toronto Raptors, 93-79.

  • The Celtics carried a 71-62 lead into the fourth quarter, and after Toronto crawled back to within five midway through, the Celtics essentially sealed things with a 7-0 run beginning at the 4:16 mark, on a ridiculous Paul Pierce dunk/throw-in in traffic. Ray Allen followed that up with a three-pointer (from Pierce) and a jumper in the lane to give the Celtics an 87-75 lead with 3:04 to play.
  • If Pierce's dunk isn't #1 on SportsCenter tomorrow, I'm writing a letter...
  • Rondo looked a tad bit rusty, which was to be expected, and picking up two quick personal fouls in the first quarter didn't help him establish a rhythm. He finished with four points, eight assists, a rebound, a steal, and five turnovers in 34 minutes. 
  • Pierce finished with 30 points, but he looked like he tweaked his right ankle after slamming it home on a fast break with 1:34 to play. It didn't look to be serious, but he left the game to most likely get treatment. 
  • Glen Davis played a complete game tonight, posting 15 points, 11 rebounds, and a career-high eight assists to go along with two steals. It was a nice bounce-back game for him, as he shot 6-14 from the field.
  • Ray Allen finished with 23 points, with 17 of them coming in the second half. He and Pierce shot a combined 20-33 from the field, including 6-8 from three-point nation. 
  • The Celtics shared the ball, as they racked up 30 assists on 38 baskets.
  • More positive play out of Von Wafer (how about those aggressive drives to the rim? I don't care if he's supposed to be a jump shooter...) and Luke Harangody (finally got a jump shot to drop). 
  • Toronto held the edge in fastbreak points (29-15), points in the paint (42-32), and offensive rebounds (19-2), but it was not enough. As a team, the Raptors shot just 1-14 from three-point nation. 
  • Some game-changing plays: With 9:24 remaining, Luke Harangody lost the ball, but dove to the floor and punched it out to Nate Robinson, who swung it over to Ray Allen, who buried a three-pointer along the left wing, making it 74-68, Celtics. Also, at the end of the third quarter, Paul Pierce hit a deep three from the right wing off of a Jermaine O'Neal offensive rebound, which he fought valiantly for. O'Neal finished with six points and six rebounds off the bench. 

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