In an emotional game where Delonte and Wally starred against their former team and Ray Allen returned to Seattle for the first time since the draft night trade that sent him to Boston, the Celtics prevailed 104-96. It was the second of back to back games on the road and the Celtics showed some fatigue at times, but they were able to pull out the win at the end. Whenever the Celtics would pull ahead, the Sonics would come right back, often behind the play of two former Celtics.
At the end of the first quarter, Delonte hit a 3 to pull the Sonics to within 5 at 24-19. Perk had a strong first period with 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block and 1 assist in the quarter. Midway through the second period, the Sonics tied the game at 32 behind a 3 by Wally. They tied it again at 37 on a drive by Delonte. At the half, the Celtics led by only 1 at 47-46. The Celtics shot only 36% in the first half, but took care of the ball turning it over only once.
In the third, the Celtics outscored the Sonics 23-21 to take a 70-67 lead into the third quarter. Pierce got hot in the third quarter and scored 13 points in the period. KG was looking tired midway throught the third and sat out the end of the quarter. The Celtics as a team turned up the defense in the final period and Pierce and House both hit some big shots in the 4th as the Celtics pulled out the 104-96 win.
Rondo had only 1 point to go with 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Ray Allen was honored by the Sonics before the game but struggled with his shot once again shooting 4-13 and finished with 10 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists in 38 minutes. Eddie House hit some big shots in the 4th quarter and finished with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Tony is showing more and more explosiveness in drives to the hoop although he is still having trouble finishing. He finished with 2 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists.
Paul Pierce was the player of the game as he hit some big shots in the second half and willed the Celtics to the win. He finihsed with 37 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal in 43 minutes of play. KG had yet another double double and filled up the stat sheet with 23 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in 33 minutes. Perk had a very solid game with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block in 23 minutes. Posey was a spark off the bench with his defense and he contributed 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. Pollard finished with 4 fouls and 1 turnover in 13 minutes. Scal played only 44 seconds and Powe, Davis and Pruitt all registered DNP's.
The two former Celtics had some good things to say about Boston and the organization before the game and both were big factors for the Sonics off the bench. Dwlonte finished with 19 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists and played with the heart that made him so special to many Celtics fans. Wally finished with 14 points and 3 rebounds.
A quick look at the stat sheet might give you the impression that the Celtics lost this one as they shot only 39.5% and allowed the Sonics to shoot 45.7%. They were out rebounded by Seattle 50-42. But the Celtics committed a season low 5 turnovers while Seattle had 12 TO's and the Celtics defense at the end of the game allowed them to pull away for the win. The Celtics are 2-0 on the road trip but there are still naysayers who point to the fact that both teams they beat have losing records and they still haven't faced the elite teams. They face a bigger test in the final 2 games of this road trip when they face the 16-14 Jazz who are 10-2 at home and the red hot Lakers who have won 8 of their last 10 games.
[Box Score]
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