CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Celtics Defense Takes the Night Off

by FLCeltsFan 7:38 AM

The Celtics are the number 1 team in the league defending the 3. On the other hand, the Raptors are the number 1 team at hitting 3's. One or the other had to give in their meeting last night. It turned out to be the Celtics defense as they left the visitors open for 3's all night. The Raptors shot 58% from the field and 71% from beyond the arc along with hitting 19 of 19 from the free throw line. It seemed at times that they hit every shot they threw up, but they did miss 6 of the 21 3's they took. The Raptors shot as well as any team can and the Celtics defense just wasn't there tonight. The Raptors didn't defend particularly well as the Celtics scored inside seemingly at will (56 points in the paint), but their jumpers weren't falling.

KG did a bit of everything, finishing with 26 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. Pierce also had a good all around game with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals. Like the other 2 of the Celtics Stars, Ray Allen did a little of everything, finishing with 19 points on 7-16 shooting to go with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Perk finished with 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Rondo had 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals but got beat by Jose Calderon on defense all night, including a game winning layup and 3 point play with 10 seconds left in the game.

Tony Allen had one of his best games coming off the bench to score 15 points on assorted jumpers and drives. He also pulled down 4 rebounds and dished out 2 assists to go with 2 steals and 2 blocks. While the Raptors were hot, the Celtics struggled as Eddie House was just 2-9 for 4 points to go with 1 rebound, 4 assists, and 1 steal. Scal played well, finishing with 3 points and 5 rebounds including a buzzer beater at the end of the third to put the Celtics up 91-84. Big Baby also played well scoring 8 points and pulling down 2 rebounds in 11+ minutes. Powe was the first big off the bench but played just 5:46 and had only 2 fouls and a charge to show for it. James Posey sat out his second game with a finger injury. The Celtics could really have used him in this game. Pollard and Pruitt also did not play in this game.

This was a game of runs as the Celtics led by as many as 11 in the first half but allowed the Raptors to come back and take a 49-47 lead going into half time. The Celtics led 91-84 at the end of 3 and were up by 8 in the 4th quarter at 94-86. The Raptors then went on a 25-16 run to take the lead at 111-110. Ray Allen hit what could have been the game winner as he hit a 17 footer to give the Celtics a 112-111 lead. Calderon then beat Rondo off the dribble and drove down the lane for a layup and was fouled by Rondo for a 114-112 lead. The Celtics had a chance to win it, but House's 3 was off the mark. The rebound came out to Ray Allen who missed a fall away from the free throw line at the buzzer.

The officiating was bad on both sides but at times it seemed as though Tommy and the Raptors fans were watching 2 different games. Tommy had some choice words for the young official Eli. Both were complaining that the officiating was one sided. Actually, it was. In the beginning, the bad calls were going the Celtics way. In the middle of the game, the bad calls seemed to go in favor of the Raptors. At the end of the game, there were bad calls both ways. There were bad calls all game on both sides. In general, the officiating this season has been some of the worst I have seen in a long time.

The Celtics shot 20 more shots than the Raptors and made 4 more field goals than the Raptors. The Celtics outscored the Raptors 56-16 in the paint. The Celtics had 26 fast break points to none for the Raptors. The Celtics had 12 turnovers to 18 for the Raptors. But, the difference in the game was the Raptor's hot shooting from beyond the arc. They were left open for shot after shot and they made them. Credit the Raptors for playing the Celtics well. They earned the win and the Celtics have their lack perimeter defense to blame for the loss.

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