Right from the beginning of this game, it looked as through it was the Grizzlies who played last night and the Celtics who had 3 days off. The Celtics came out strong and never looked back. They led by 17 after one, 14 after two, 26 after three and won with a score of 119-89. For the second game in a row, Doc was able to keep the starters under 27 minutes. Even with limited minutes, KG and Ray Allen both hit milestones for their career as KG passed 20,000 points and Ray Allen passed 18,000 points.
Rondo spent part of the game in foul trouble and finished with 3 points, 9 assists and 1 rebound in only 19 minutes. Ray Allen was the game's high scorer with 23 points to go with 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block. Pierce played well with 19 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal. KG scored 17 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal. Perk once again was a beast with another double double as he finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks.
House filled in for Rondo when he went out with 3 quick fouls and had 8 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal in 28 minutes. Tony Allen played well within the game and didn't seem to push things and finished with 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Sam Cassell didn't play in this game but was on the floor before the game running drills and shooting. When he is activated, House will probably lose the most minutes with Tony also losing a few.
Posey was on fire from beyond the arc hitting 5-8 threes for 15 points. Big Baby had 4 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist. He continues to play aggressively, diving for loose balls, giving up his body to take charges and hustling for rebounds. On one rebound, he hit the ground very hard and took awhile to get up. He will probably be sore tomorrow, but hopefully nothing worse than that. Leon Powe continues to make the most of his minutes with 6 points and 4 rebounds in just 12 minutes. PJ Brown played in his second game as a Celtic and finished with 2 points and 2 rebounds in 8 minutes. Scal played the last 6 minutes and had just 2 fouls to show for it.
The Celtics dominated in all areas of this game. They shot 58% from the field while holding the Grizzlies to just 40%. The Celtics shot 50% from beyond the arc while holding the Grizzlies to 26% on threes. The Celtics crashed the boards for a 14 rebound edge. The Celtics continued to move the ball well as they had 31 assists on 47 field goals. A good win over a team they were expected to beat in spite of playing the night before and getting into their hotel rooms at 4 am. It was great seeing the intensity in this game showing that the Celtics know they have to bring it every night regardless of the competition as they are in a battle for home court advantage in the playoffs and with the Pistons just 4 games back, they can't afford to let up.
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