Celtics 104, Cavaliers 86 (Series tied 1-1)

The Celtics give me heart trouble worse than a Double Whopper. Over the years, June Jubilation has given me “Playoff Palpitations”. There seriously is no safe lead when it comes to the Boston Celtics – it’s like they almost enjoy making it interesting.

Up 91-66 with 9 minutes to go, it appeared the C’s had it in the bag. JJ Hickson and LeBron had other ideas, scoring a combined 15 points in 5 minutes. Meanwhile, Boston was held without a basket during this period.

With the score 93-83 and about three minutes left in the 4th quarter, I had to shut off the TV. I thought to myself,  I just watched Cleveland score 15 points in a row. Oh no, not again…I can’t watch another lead go by the wayside…

But, unlike most times in the regular season, Boston responded to a Cavalier 15-0 run in the fourth quarter to take a game on the road in the Eastern Conference Semi-final. The Celtics closed the game on a 10-3 run, eliminating any chance of a massive comeback.

Rajon “The Game Changer” Rondo had 19 assists (yes, assists) to go along with his 13 points, which led to 6 players scoring in double figures. Ray Allen led the C’s with 22 points, and KG picked up a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

For the Cavs, I feel like they played a solid 5 minutes tonight. And that was during the 4th quarter when they went on a 15-0 run. LeBron’s 24 points led the Cavs, but only Jamison (16) and Hickson (13) scored in double figures after that. Perhaps they were all tired from taking pictures of each other at Lebron’s press conference…

This wasn’t the performance I expected out of a team after such a distinguished award gets handed out. Let’s see if they can bounce back as they travel to Boston for games 3 and 4.

INCRBL Player (I can’t believe I’m doing this)- I’ve been hating on Rasheed Wallace all year long – but tonight, I give you credit. Yes, I give you credit for scoring 17 points, shooting 3-4 from the charity stripe (where I usually cringe when you shoot from there), and keeping Boston in the game when the starters got into early foul trouble.  Thank you, you finally exceeded expectations. Better late than never…

- This is the Commish, and I’m probably going to need CPR by the end of this series.