Changing of the Big Three

Well LeBron James finally woke up from his scoring slumber (with pals Jay-Z and Beyonce in the front row) of the past four games last night at the Garden. He had a game-high 35 points and five assists (23 in the first half) but it wasn't enough as the Celtics came through in a must-win, 96-89, in game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Boston now leads 3-2 as the series shifts back to Cleveland tomorrow night for game 6.

Things didn't look good in the first half as LeBron came out on fire and the Cavs built a 14-point lead. The C's answered with a 14-3 run before the end of the half to make it 46-43 Cavs going into the break.

The momentum carried over to the second half as Boston pushed the lead up to 11 before holding on for the rest of the game.

Paul Pierce got to the line (11 of 13) and scored a team-high 29 points with seven boards. Kevin Garnett stepped up in the second half, making seven shots in a row at one point, on his way to a 26 point, 16 rebound, four assist, three block, two steal performance.

The most pleasant surprise for Boston was Rajon Rondo, who had by far his best game of this round. He had 20 points, 13 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. He relegated Sam Cassell to five minutes which is how it should be. Too often in the series, Rondo has struggled and/or Doc has thrown Cassell out there for way too long.

Ray Allen (11 points on 4 of 11 shooting) can no longer be included in the Big Three category. Charles Barkley suggested after the Lakers win last night that LA has the Big Three (Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol). That's hard to argue but I think if you substitute Rondo for Allen, the C's still have a formidable trio as well.

Big Baby gave the Celts some good minutes off the bench, including six important points in the second half.

After going off both times at home, LeBron's supporting cast was held in check for the most part last night. Delonte West managed 21 points, four assists and four steals but Wally Szczerbiak was the only other Cleveland player in double figures with 10 points. Boston showed that LeBron can't beat them single-handily.

Cleveland was terrible from the free throw line (28-41) while Boston controlled the glass (38-30) and dished out way more assists (25-11).

A win in game 6 would go a long way for Boston's confidence. The Pistons are currently waiting at home and the C's have to show that they can win a game on the road. If they make it to the next round, odds are they won't be able to keep winning every game at home and losing every game on the road.