Celtics-Pistons Game 5: Boston Holds on, Takes 3-2 Series Lead

Thankfully for the Celtics, there are only 48 minutes in an NBA game. 

Had there been one more minute on the game-clock, the outcome of Game Five might have been different.  But in the end, Boston built a 15-point fourth quarter lead and then made enough plays down the stretch for the 106-102 victory.

For the third time this postseason, the Celtics went into a Game Five with the series tied 2-2, and came away with the win.

The Celtics appeared to be on their way to a decisive victory.  The game went back and forth early on, with Detroit building a six-point lead, 42-36, following a Richard Hamilton (25 points) 20-foot jumper with 5:03 left in the second quarter.

Boston then responded with an 11-0 run—KG (33 points) hit a pair of free throws, and Paul Pierce (16 points) and Ray Allen hit back to back three-pointers.

Allen played his best game of the series and of the playoffs, finishing with 29 points on 9-15 shooting, including 5-6 from beyond the arc.  But the story for the Celtics was the man who finished the 11-0 run with a layup, Kendrick Perkins.

Perk had playoff highs of 18 points and 16 rebounds and was an absolute monster, especially in the second and third quarters.

The Celtics led 52-46 at the half.  They would push the lead to as many as 17 in the third, and be up 84-71 heading into the fourth.

I liked that the Celtics had the cushion going into the fourth, but was still concerned.  The reason being fatigue.  You knew Detroit would turn up the defense in the fourth, and the fear was that the defensive pressure combined with game fatigue could cause problems for Boston in the final 12 minutes.

And it did.  Detroit kept coming at Boston, with Hamilton and Billups each scoring nine in the fourth.

With 1:23 remaining and Boston clinging to a four-point lead, Billups drove to the hoop from the top of the key.   Pierce came to help, coming off his man, Rodney Stuckey (or as Mike Breen believes his name is, “the impressive rookie Rodney Stuckey from Eastern Washington").  Stuckey stayed put in the left corner, and Billups passed out to Stuckey who nailed the three. 

Lead down to one.

The Celtics appeared to be in more trouble on their ensuing possession.  Until, on an inbounds play with only six seconds left on the shot clock, Allen got free from Hamilton and knocked down a huge jumper from just inside the three-point line.

Billups would miss a layup for the Pistons, and Boston survived with Allen and Garnett each knocking down a pair of free throws to seal the win.

Towards the end of the third quarter, I saw signs of fatigue from the Celtics, in particular conseuctive Detroit possessions where Boston did not get back on defense.  I had a feeling that the team's collective gas tank had to be pretty low for the fourth quarter.  First, this was game 101 for Boston this season, and game 19 in the playoffs (Detroit has played three fewer games).

But more worrisome to me wasn’t the fatigue from the season and the playoff run, but just from the game.  The Celtic starters combined for 103 of the team’s 106 points, and played 209 of the game’s 240 minutes. 

Rajon Rondo (46) and Perkins (39) each played season-highs in minutes.  Pierce played 44 minutes, his fourth-highest total for the season.  KG played 41 and Ray Allen 39.

When you are tired, your shots are short, you make careless turnovers, lazy passes, and are a step slow on defense.  All of those plagued Boston in the fourth and contributed to helping the Pistons fight their way back into the game.

Going forward, will the Celtics have any lingering effects in game six from all the minutes tonight?   With the Celtics one game away from the finals, a first such trip for every member of the team except for two (Cassell and Posey), you would like to hope adrenaline and emotion would be able to negate any negative effects from fatigue.

We shall see.

But a great sign for Boston from Game Five was that players were raising their game.  A problem I saw with Boston in the first two rounds was that until Pierce’s 41-point outburst in game seven against the Cavs, no one on the team was exceeding expectations.

Some were giving you what you would expect, some were falling short.  Wednesday night, though, was a different story.

In Game Five, Pierce was very pedestrian on the offensive end.  The other four starters all contributed at a higher level than they did in the regular season.

Ray Allen finally had the playoff performance all Boston fans had been waiting for.  KG raised his game with 33 points.  Even Rondo, who struggled from the floor, was aggressive throughout and had 13 assists, six rebounds, and four steals.

And of course there was Perkins.

Stars receive most of the attention in the playoffs, however so often, teams win when it is someone else who goes above and beyond.  Pierce was great in Game Seven against Cleveland, but without P.J. Brown, the Celtics might not be playing right now. 

In Detroit’s two wins this series, it was Stuckey hitting some huge shots in Game Two and Antonio McDyess going for 21 and 16 in Game Four that were the catalysts for the Pistons’ victories.

Whichever team receives the unexpected contribution in Game Six will likely win the game. 

Hopefully, the unexpected contribution we are talking about after the game on Friday night is the play of either a Celtic or a Piston, and not a brutal call by an official—such as missing that a key shot hit the rim, or a missed foul call on a last-second shot, or an inexcusable clear path foul on the defensive player of the year making a play on the ball during a fast break.

I guess I am being ridiculous, because that won’t be the case.  Not that terrible officiating won’t happen—just that unfortunately, bad officiating in the NBA isn’t exactly unexpected.