Great game yesterday, watched the replay last night. Celtics really nodded off and got themselves in a hole at the end of the 3rd, but it was impressive the way they were able to score under pressure and put the squeeze on the Bobcats at the end.
I'm pretty worried about the Celtics getting past Orlando and Cleveland without a healthy KG, but they are still tough offensively with Pierce and Allen on the wings.
Time and again this season, I've watched teams pick their poison. The Bobcats decided they were going to keep Allen under lock and key all game and so Pierce went off for 30 points.
Come overtime, the Bobcats gave Allen just the smallest openings for those two critical threes and he absolutely nailed them for it. The first one he got the switch on the screen, so that the less mobile Okafor was on him, and got just enough space to get the shot off. Then, for the gamewinner, Wallace did a great job of recovering and got his hand right up to challenge Allen, but it was just a split second late. Game over!
Eddie House had another great game too. His shooting is what got them close enough to strike in regulation. He would have to be close to the fastest shooter in the league.
After committing some bone-headed fouls and TOs earlier in the game, Perk really redeemed himself late with some great blocks, defence and rebounding. Clifford Ray and Garnett have really taught him well. Just wish they would chew him out for arguing with the refs on every call - you can see how much it p*sses them off and results in 50-50s going against Perk at critical times.
The Bobcats have been one of my favourite teams for the past couple of years, mainly because of the way they always take it to Boston. There have been several epic games between the two in recent times, and this is not the first time Allen has burnt them with a three at the end. I feel sorry for them, because they have improved tremendously this year under Brown, beat the Lakers yesterday and deserved to beat a careless Boston too. I hope they are able to scrape into the 8th seed and get a taste of post-season action for the first time.
