In a must win game 5 the Celtics played good enough to win, and I guess that is all that matters. A couple guys were the reason this happened Kendrick Perkins, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, and Doc Rivers. Lets start with Perk who pulled down 16 rebounds and scored 18 points. Perk seems like he hasn't progressed that much but you can see Kevin Garnett's influence on the big fella. Perk is creating his own shot and while not the best jumper he was able to get to almost every ball for the rebound. If Perk continues to be a force on the inside that will open up a lot for Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce.
Kevin Garnett had the most points on the team with 33 but none came bigger than at the two free throws he knocked down with the time dwindling down. Even though Rasheed Wallace scored 18 points, he had zero points in the paint and that I believe is his strong point. And when I am on Rasheed Wallace he got a momentum killing technical when the Pistons were on a run, and believe the technical could be another reason they lost.
Rajon only scored 7 points and 3-14 from the field but he did have 13 assists, 1 turnover, and played a game high 46 minutes. That 46 minutes can be praised to Doc Rivers who played Sam Cassell for only two minutes and realizing he can not take the defensive full court pressure. Also, to Docs credit I liked in the final minute when the Celtics were up by three he chose to foul the Pistons to make them shoot at the line rather than possibly giving up a game tying three pointer. I have been critical of Doc this year but he coached the game masterfully yesterday
That brings us to Jesus Shuttlesworth aka Ray Allen who scored 29 points on 9-15 shotting and was 5-6 behind the line. Ray looked very confident and back to himself and hopefully it will continue. He also hit two critical three throws and an inbound jumper to basically put this game out of the reach of the Pistons. Some side notes:
Jason Maxiell only played 11 minutes after playing a great game the night before
Rip Hamilton hurt his right arm and had an MRI that was negative, but is in a sling today.
Rasheed Wallace is one technical away from being suspended from a game.
Box Score
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