Celtics 90, Spurs 83

Despite what many will consider a breakout game for DeJuan Blair, and a massive rebound differential, the Celtics managed to pull out a victory on the road.

DeJuan Blair only played 20 minutes off the bench, but yet shot 9-11 from the field, scored 18 points, and racked up 11 rebounds. Most of his contribution came down the stretch, where the Spurs were amassing a comeback. Myself, I was in awe at how the second-rounder out of Pittsburgh was driving to the hole and powering himself against KG. He set new career highs in points and rebounds tonight in the loss.

The one thing that hurt the Spurs tonight were turnovers. The Celtics took full advantage, scoring 19 points off of 19 turnovers, including 4 straight possessions at the beginning of the 3rd quarter. The Spurs were able to bring the advantage to 4 with 3 minutes left in the final period, but Rondo’s shot put the Celtics up by 6 with 2 minutes to go. Michael Finley could have made it a one possession game with seconds to go, but was called for having his back foot on the line.

KG led all scorers with 20 points. Rajon Rondo chipped in 12 points and 12 assists, matching a season high. Rough shooting nights for both Pierce (8 points, 2/9 field goal shooting) and Ray Allen (15 points, 0-4 3-point shooting).

HRBL Stat of the Game - I thought the battle of the bad redheads would be fun to watch, but literally it was uneventful. Matt Bonner finished with 2 points and 9 rebounds to Brian Scalabrine’s 2 points and 1 rebounds, making Matt Bonner the best redheaded monster in the NBA. Thrilling. I’ll just have to pray for this storyline should the Spurs face the Celtics in the NBA finals…

-Duts