Since the first game this season, that I went to, I have been saying that Kevin Garnett will have a really good shot at getting the MVP. So often, that award comes down to numbers and the biggest fault you can find with the Big Ticket is that he's not selfish enough when he should be down the stretch of a tight game.
A performance like last night will go a long way in swaying voters. KG scored 11 of his game-high 26 points (to go with 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals) in the last seven minutes as the Celtics held off the Houston Rockets, 97-93.
With the win, Boston (27-3) joins some elite company. Through 30 games five other teams have finished 27-3 in NBA history and amazingly, four of them including the '95-'96 Bulls (who went 72-10) won the championship that season.
Playing without star Tracy McGrady, Houston (15-17) looked like they were going to be blown out at the Garden as Boston jumped out to a 30-16 lead after one. They hung around though and would outscore the C's in each of the last three quarters.
Bonzi Wells (25 points), Yao Ming (19 points, 13 boards) and Rafer Alston (18 points) all played well for the Rockets.
Paul Pierce (19 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds) was solid and Rajon Rondo was impressive (13 points, 9 assists, 5 boards) after missing the last game with a hamstring injury. Ray Allen added 13 points and Scot Pollard (playing his most important minutes of the season) notched 10 points and five boards before fouling out. Eddie House scored nine as well. Pollard and Kendrick Perkins both fouled out covering Yao, forcing KG to guard him late in the fourth quarter.
Boston shot 53.2% for the game to Houston's 42.2%. Boston was just 11 of 19 from the line, part of the reason why the Rockets (18 of 23) made it so close. The Rockets also did something most teams haven't been able to do, beating Boston 41-34 on the glass. The Celtics nullified that by recording 27 assists, nine more than Houston.
All in all it was a great win as the Celtics season keeps rolling along, gaining more and more momentum and bandwagon fans by the day. The Memphis Grizzlies come to Boston on Friday night. Boston shouldn't have too much trouble with one of the NBA's worst teams but these days you can't underestimate any opponent since the Celtics are now getting everybody's best shot because they're the undisputed top dog.
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