CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Celtics Explode in 4th to Beat Sixers 116-89

The Celtics came out sluggish in the first half. The ball movement, aggressiveness and defense just where there. It looked like it was going to be one of those games when Reggie Evans hit the first 3 pointer of his career. At the end of 1 the game was tied at 29 on a 3 from the corner by House at the buzzer. The Sixers then went on a 11-0 run to take an 11 point lead while Doc had his small ball lineup in. The Celtics were getting killed on the boards and were outrebounded 11-12 in the first half.

Doc finally put Leon Powe into the game with 3:04 left in the third and in less than a minute after he entered the game, he grabbed an offensive rebound. He brought energy and much needed toughness and rebounding to the team and the Celtics led 78-73 at the end of 3. The Sixers still had a 34-16 rebounding edge. Behind Powe's energy and rebounding, the Celtics went on a run in the fourth to win by 27 points.

Powe was definitely the difference as he scored 10 points, pulled down 6 rebounds, with 4 on the offensive end, and had 1 block in just 15 minutes. This kid has always made the most of his minutes. He plays well when Doc plays him. I think he made the case for more minutes with his play in this game. He definitely should be getting minutes over Scal. Perk also played well and was the high rebounder for the game. He finished with 8 points, 7 rebounds, 4 on the offensive end, and 3 assists in 22 minutes.

Pierce played only 30 minutes as he sat out the 4th quarter. He was on the sidelines cheering on his teammates though and when Powe grabbed a rebound and was fouled, Pierce grabbed him and was giving him some encouragement. Pierce finished with 22 points, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. Ray Allen had his second straight good offensive game as he finished with 23 points on 9-14 shooting to go with 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and 1 block. He is finally back to playing like we expected Ray Allen to play. KG brought his usual intensity and finished with 11 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 blocks. He was finding Powe, Perk and Baby in the post and passing inside to them for easy scores.

Pruitt played just over 9 minutes and finished with 3 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist. Tony got some time at the point for defensive purposes and finished with 12 points and 2 assists. He is looking more and more comfortable going to the basket. Posey also played well off the bench and finished with 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. Scal played 5 minutes and finished with just 2 points.

The Celtics shot 59% from the field while holding the Sixers to 45%. The Sixers struggled from the line, shooting only 57%. The Celtics shot 76% from the line. The ball movement was back for the Celtics as they had 31 assists on 43 field goals. The Celtics were out-rebounded 39-30 but the gap narrowed considerably after Doc put Leon in. This was a solid win over a team that played very well against us and the Celtics are still perfect against the Atlantic division teams. They will have another Atlantic division matchup on Monday as they face the suddenly hot Knicks.

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