Rajon Rondo scored 12 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out 22 assists, and stole the ball six times as the Boston Celtics defeated the San Antonio Spurs at home, 105-103.
Rondo stole a Manu Ginobili pass with 1:59 left in the game with the Celtics leading 98-96, and the new possession eventually turned into a Ray Allen three-pointer from the left wing (courtesy of Paul Pierce), putting Boston ahead 101-96. After Glen Davis drew a charge on a driving Richard Jefferson, Rondo converted a high-arching floater in the lane, good for a 103-96 Celtics lead. Ray Allen stole the ball from George Hill and converted a layup in transition (105-96), but Ginobili buried a three-pointer and Tony Parker stole the ball from Pierce and converted a layup, trimming the Celtics' lead to just four (105-101) with 42.1 seconds to play. The Celtics turned it over on their next possession on an errant pass by Nate Robinson and Jefferson converted two free throws (105-103). Robinson, however, responded by rebounding a Pierce miss and feeding an open Allen who was fouled with 8.1 left on the clock. Unfortunately, Allen missed both free throws, leaving the Spurs 7.4 seconds left to tie or win the game. Ginobili attempted a three-pointer to win the game, but Pierce blocked the shot to seal the win for Boston.
- Shooting 60.7 percent from the field through three quarters, the Celtics carried a 77-72 edge into the final frame, and a Nate Robinson jump shot at the 10:36 mark increased Boston's lead to 79-72. The Spurs clawed back however, behind Manu Ginobili, who poured in 20 points in the fourth quarter.
- Ray Allen, despite missing two free throws in the final seconds, still had a terrific shooting night: 13-16 from the field for 31 points. San Antonio struggled all night defending him as he weaved his way around mammoth screens from Glen Davis and Shaquille O'Neal.
- Glen Davis was key on the offensive end all night, burying a slew of jump shots and converting a few buckets inside during the second half. He finished with a season-high 23 points on 10-18 shooting.
- Paul Pierce was excellent from the field as well, shooting 70 percent for the game (7-10), and finishing with 18 points.
- I really want to highlight Pierce and Rondo's respective efforts on the glass tonight, particularly with Kevin Garnett still out of the lineup. They combined for 17 of Boston's 36 rebounds.
- Marquis Daniels came on strong late, scoring all six of his points in the fourth quarter.
- Despite the comeback, the Celtics held the Spurs to just 39.1 percent shooting in the fourth quarter. They shot 12-19 (63.1 percent) in the fourth quarter themselves.
- The Celtics finished with 34 assists (Rondo had 22 of those (and that's not even a season-high for him)) on 46 made baskets.