The start of the game looked familiar. The Celtics were outhustled on the boards. They struggled to find their groove behind the arc. Heading into halftime, it looked as if the undermanned Warriors had a legitimate shot at upsetting the Celtics.
But the Celtics found their step again in the third quarter and pulled ahead, exposing the Warriors' lack of depth and inexperience. Led by Rajon Rondo, the Celtics played aggressive basketball to run away with a 109-95 victory. (Recap.)
In the process, they offered plenty to digest:
A FREE THROW BROUGHT THE RETURN OF RONDO
Over the years criticism, of Rajon Rondo has centered around his jumpshot. But after finding his stroke on the floor, Rondo faced a different struggle this season – free throws.
He entered the night 0-for-10 in his last five games, dating back to November 4 against the Timberwolves. Prior to that he went four consecutive games without even getting to the line. On Wednesday, he snapped the skid and hit one of four from the charity stripe. The extra point came at the perfect time – a three-point play during a third-quarter run that solidified the Celtics lead.
“He let his first free throw of the game kind of affect his whole style of play, I thought,” said Kendrick Perkins. “Then after a few easy baskets, he really got going.”
During the third, Rondo also scored the Celtics’ first fast-break points of the game, kicked the ball cross-court for a Paul Pierce trey, and drained his first three-pointer of the season.
Kevin Garnett pointed to him as the spark the Celtics needed.
“I thought he changed the momentum of the game,” Garnett said. “I thought he was a lot more solid than the first half. He consolidated the ball. He was aggressive. He picked up the energy, starting picking up full court, like he just changed the whole momentum. I thought his energy when he was solid – I just think he set the tone for the second half.”
Rondo posted 14 points in the second half – 12 coming in the third quarter alone – to finish as the second-highest Celtics scorer of the night with 19. He took 12 shots, his most attempts since the Celtics’ November 6 loss to the Suns. Rondo also led all players with 12 assists while chipping in seven rebounds.
IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE PRETTY
The Celtics’ veteran experience makes them one of the most dangerous teams in the league. At the same time, their age has been exposed by younger teams who want to run them out of the game. The Celtics understood they could not afford to lose any steps against the Warriors.
They had learned their lesson against the Suns and Hawks and knew they were susceptible to up-tempo teams, even on their home court. The C’s were determined to take control against the Warriors, even after a rocky first half in which they were outrebounded 21-14 and led by just one at halftime.
“I thought the whole game we were pacing ourselves, and then we turned it up when we needed to turn it up,” said Perkins, “and you really can't do that against NBA teams, not Golden State. You know they average like 110 points a game or something like that. I just felt like we needed to turn it up from the beginning.”
The Warriors came into the game averaging a league-high 111.6 points per game, to be exact.
“That team scares the hell out of you,” Doc Rivers said after the game. “You want to sub your guys out with five minutes left and you're worried about them making a 20-0 run in two seconds. I mean, they're a hell of an offensive team, I'll tell you that.”
The lead was swapped eight times in this game and the teams were tied on four occasions. The fact that the Warriors’ biggest lead was only only point and this game was still close for two-and-a-half quarters is indicative of the back-and-forth basketball.
This victory may not be one for the Celtics to brag about, but at the end of the day it still offered another check in the win column.
“In the second half we got a little gun shy and shooting and playing into their game a bit,” said Garnett. “I thought on the floor with Rondo being aggressive in the third, getting fouls, getting to loose balls, rebounding better, rebounding as a crew, stretched the game out a little bit which gave us a nice cushion for as far as going into the fourth and it was pretty much even from there. But we had already had the cushion from then on.
“It wasn't pretty, wasn't perfect. We're still a team in progress. But a win is a win.”
CURRY LOOKS FAMILIAR TO ALLEN
Ray Allen has plenty of fans in the stands, and tonight he had one on the court. Warriors rookie Stephen Curry has looked forward to playing against Allen for years after watching his father, Dell, play with and against him. They were teammates on the 1999 Bucks.
Allen looked forward to seeing Curry play as well. He reveres Dell as one of the best shooters he has ever encountered.
“It doesn't make me feel old,” Allen said before the game. “It just makes me feel privileged to be able to play in two generations of players. I always say Dell was the one guy I feared playing against because he shot the ball so quick. And then when I played with him, it was a privilege because he was the one guy that I loved watching.”
Over the years, Dell has pointed to Allen as an example from whom his son could learn.
“We would watch the Celtics play and he would point out how well Ray would move without the ball and how quickly he could get his shot off,” Stephen Curry said. “I don't think he figured out how to defend him so he couldn't give me any advice. But you've just got to be able to chase him around the court because Ray Allen's going to find a shot.”
Allen did find his shot against the Warriors. He connected on 6-for-10 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from the line (15 points). Curry was aggressive with the ball, attempting 10 field goals and four treys (13 points).
Allen believes it will be a few years before the league figures out how to guard the offensively savvy Curry, but in the meantime he has a high standard to live up to.
“Dell was a pure shooter. Dell's a big guard. Dell was pretty slow, Stephen is quicker. But his jumpshot doesn't compare to his dad's,” Allen said. “As good as Stephen's jumpshot is, people ask me who the best star is and I say Dell Curry and Dale Ellis, that I've seen. And so you're talking about 30 years combined of great shooting, so that's lineage that Stephen has to live up to.”
Curry understands the significance of his last name in the NBA. He's up for the challenge, and he tackled a big one defending Allen.
“All the All-Stars that you know, you see on TV a lot, you get a little pumped up to play against those kind of guys just because that's your first opportunity and you want them to remember you too,” he said. “So that's something that should be important for you to play hard and do what you've got to do.”
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