Celtics 120, Cavaliers 88 (Celtics lead 3-2)

Wait…what? Did anybody see this coming?

I, who had hopes of Boston maybe stretching this series to 7, never thought this was possible. But the Boston Celtics used a balanced attack of their Big Three to completely romp Cleveland on the road. They now have a 3-2 series lead and could wrap up this series with a win at The Garden Thursday night. It was Paul Pierce’s turn to lead Boston with the attack tonight, scoring 21 points and picking up 11 rebounds (he was a few assists from a triple double). Ray Allen’s hands were white-hot, shooting 6-9 from beyond the arc and finishing with 25 points to lead the team. Rondo was relatively quiet compared to previous outings, but didn’t need to dominate the floor.  He finished with 16 points and 7 rebounds.  KG also had a solid 18/6 to round out the starting five.

The point here is this – Boston doesn’t have a consistent “go-to” guy. They  have different players step up at key moments. This has been witnessed throughout the playoffs. If its not Rondo in Game 4, its Rasheed Wallace in Game 2, or Pierce in Game 5. They play fundamental team basketball, and don’t have a gameplan centered around one player. So far in the 2010 NBA playoffs, its paid off. It also doesn’t hurt to have a much healthier squad compared to the regular season.

I don’t have the opportunity to say this too often – but TRBL LeBron, TRBL. Held without a field goal in the first half, he finished 3-14 from the field and only scored 15 points. The only person on the Cavs who was impressive was Shaq – not because he led the team with 21 points, but because he shot 70% from the free throw line (7/10).

The game started off close, and then Boston outscored Cleveland by 11 and 15 points in the 3rd and 4th quarters, respectively. Cleveland did not look like a playoff basketball team tonight. To be honest, they appeared to look disinterested in the game at times, as if they expected game 5 to be handed to them. Rather, the Celtics out-rebounded the Cavs (+10 rebounds) and dominated in the paint (+14 points).

But, let the speculation begin – Was this the last home game we see LeBron in a Cavaliers uniform?

Either way, Tommy points to the men in Green. Nice job tonight.

-Commish