Boston 92, Philadelphia 91 - Rajon Rondo's Triple-Double Propels Celtics to Victory
The Celtics defense was stifling in the fourth quarter shutting down the 76ers attack up until the final minute. Taking away the final five points they scored as time was running out, Boston held Philadelphia to just 15 points in the fourth.
A Rondo jumper with under four minutes to play gave the Celtics their first fourth quarter lead at 83-82. It also gave him his second triple-double of the playoffs.
Garnett completed a three-point play with under three minutes to go, giving the Celtics a two-point lead. Then he drained a patented jumper to extend the lead.
Paul Pierce, who had been quiet all night followed that up with a bucket of his own to push the lead to six with 90 seconds remaining.
The teams traded baskets from there. A Rondo foul gave the 76ers two freebies, cutting their deficit to just one with just 3.4 ticks on the clock.
The inbounds pass went long to Rondo who outran a foul-minded Evan Turner as time expired and the Celtics escaped with a game one victory.
Boston played rather poorly for lengthy periods in the first half. However, after trailing by double-digits after one quarter they used a late run to cut the deficit to five at halftime. They were able to shave another point off the lead after three, entering the final quarter trailing 71-67.
Garnett, who was coming off an other-worldly night against Atlanta Thursday finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds while going 12-20 from the field. Rondo's eighth career playoff triple-double lined up like such; 13 points, 12 rebounds and 17 assists. Ray Allen tallied 12 points off the bench and Pierce scored a hard 14, shooting just 3-11 from the field.
As a team the Celtics shot just 44% for the game including a miserable 2-18 from beyond the three-point arc. That is something that will have to improve as this series continues.
Game two will be played Monday night at 7:00 in Boston.
