Pierce Drops 30 in Toronto as Celts Top Raptors

After losing consecutive games to the Pistons and Hornets, the Boston Celtics bounced back tonight, knocking off the Raptors 93-79.

Paul Pierce led the way with 30 points on 10-15 shooting from the field. The Captain made all three of his attempts from downtown, pulled down seven boards, and handed out four dimes to boot. 

Ray Allen contributed with 23 points and converted on 10-18 attempts as he and Pierce combined for nearly 57% of Boston's scoring in KG's absence. 

Glen Davis provided his best performance in recent memory scoring 15 points, while pulling down 11 boards and notching eight assists. Yes, you read that correctly. His previous career high was only four dimes and he had accomplished that twice (thanks to Chris Forsberg for the stat).

Rajon Rondo looked rusty in his return. After missing seven games, the C's point guard turned the ball over four times. He did, however, make all of those before the 4th quarter. Rondo scored four points and tallied eight assists. 

DeMar DeRozan scored a team-high 27 points for Toronto, but only  connected on 11-25 attempts. Joey Dorsey and Amir Johnson each recorded double-doubles down low, but the perimeter players didn't show up for the Raps. As a team they shot 37.8% from the field and made only one of their three-point attempts. Toronto also shot an embarrassing 45.5% from the foul line.

Though Boston only led by one at the half, the Celtics opened up their advantage in the 2nd half. Pierce and Allen were making shots left and right, and Glen Davis joined in on the action knocking down jumpers. The C's extended their nine point edge going into the final frame to a 14 point one mostly thanks to a 7-0 run with a handful of minutes left in regulation. 

Pierce threw down a pair of tomahawk jams to put the icing on the cake--the 2nd of which left him limping off the court--and Boston finished ahead 93-79. 

With the win, the Celts improve to 25-7, while Toronto falls to 11-22. The Raptors will have a chance for revenge very soon, however, as the two teams face each other again Friday in Boston. The C's play again tomorrow night, when the T-Wolves visit Beantown. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM ET.
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Stephen Bailey designed Beantown Banter, writes the majority of the pieces for the site, and controls the social networking among other things. Bailey is currently a freshman at Syracuse University majoring in Sport Management. He is a diehard Celtics and Red Sox fan, but also actively follows the Bruins and Patriots. Additionally, he serves as a contributing writer at Celtics Life. Earlier in 2010, Bailey interned in the Sports Department of the New Haven Register, interviewed multiple athletes, including ex-Celtic Ryan Gomes, and worked as part of a team to get the section done every weeknight. He covers both Swimming & Diving and Women's Tennis for The Daily Orange, SU's school paper. In his free time, Bailey enjoys playing pickup basketball, beating his floormates in NBA 2K11, and sporcling for hours on end. Although he is unsure exactly what he wants to do for a career, it has always been his dream to cover the Celts and Sox.