You cannot underestimate the value of Rajon Rondo

This pains me to say it since I've been a KG fan forever (I bought a Minnesota Timberwolves jersey in college) but nobody is more valuable to the Boston Celtics at this second than Rajon Rondo.

Of course Kevin Garnett is still vital to what they do, especially defensively, but after Rondo notched a triple-double (12 points, 22 assists, 10 rebounds) last night as the Celts knocked off the San Antonio Spurs, 105-103 at the TD Garden, what other conclusion is there to make?

Boston (27-7) beat the NBA's top team, the Spurs (29-6), in a game that was the ultra-rare instant classic regular season NBA game.

This one had it all: crazy shots, plays, surprises and execution. As Bob Ryan said in the Boston Globe yesterday, the world is rooting for a Miami Heat vs. Los Angeles Lakers (sizzle vs. sizzle) NBA Finals this summer but after last night, we're both in agreement that Boston vs. San Antonio would be a true basketball fan's dream.

The win would not have been possible without an other-worldly shooting performance by the incomparable Ray Allen (13 of 16 for 31 points and six assists). The ironic part is that he bricked two late free throws that would have iced it but Manu Ginobili's (24 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals) had his jumper blocked by Paul Pierce (18 points) and Marquis Daniels (6 points, 3 rebounds) to end it.

All I can say is I hope that you watched this contest or at the very least saw the highlights. It was dedicated to your old-school friend or relative that complains about the NBA not being about fundamentals, etc. Riveting stuff in front of a great crowd.

Glen Davis had his best game in a while with 23 points. He seems to have found his jumper after a couple brutal shooting displays. As with most important wins, the role players stepped up too like Nate Robinson (7 points, 5 rebounds) who hit a couple key baskets.

The Spurs are the New England Patriots of the NBA (ie. extremely boring to outsiders) but you have to appreciate how good they've been over a long stretch of time (4 titles in 12 years).

Tim Duncan (18 points) has slowed down considerably but he can still get it done. Tony Parker (18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) has put aside his divorce drama with Eva Longoria and is having a great season while Richard Jefferson (14 points) has reemerged after a terrible year last season.

Another easy comparison to the Patriots is that San Antonio gets the most out of its assorted bums like Matt Bonner (10 points) and Gary Neal (10 points) who shuttle through the team every year.

Boston led 27-25 after one quarter but trailed 51-49 at the half. The Celts opened it up with a good third quarter (28-21) but George Hill's buzzer-beater for 2 cut it to 77-72 after three. San Antonio won the fourth (31-29) which is impressive since the Cs looked like they had it in the bag, up nine with a little over a minute left.

For the game, the Celts shot 61.3% (which is absurd) to 45.3% for the Spurs. San Antonio had four more 3-pointers (9-5) and made eight more free throws (16-8). Besides the shooting percentage, the Cs not surprisingly won because of the assists (34-20).

The Toronto Raptors come to the TD Garden tomorrow night and what a letdown that will be. There won't be a game with this much hype and intrigue until the Celtics finally play the Lakers on January 30 in Los Angeles.

The San Antonio Spurs will put you to sleep and beat you

When you sit back and think about it objectively, the San Antonio Spurs are one of the greatest NBA teams in my lifetime and one of pro sports' truly dominant franchises.

So why do you never hear a word about them, even when they're winning championships? First of all, San Antonio is a tiny market and their biggest star-Tim Duncan-is a sort of anti-star.

He's not flashy, he doesn't have ridiculous dance routines with his teammates and therefore he's not suitable for a daily Sportscenter highlight.

Teamwork and unselfishness are not ways to make a name for yourself in the popularity contest that is the NBA but I'm here to salute the Spurs and their mind-numbing efficiency.

With the Celtics playing some of their best basketball of the season, the Spurs came into the TD Garden last night and dealt the C's their worst beating of the year, 94-73.

Tony Parker is out with a broken hand, which I'm sure his wife Eva Longoria is helping him nurse back to health (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) but the Spurs (44-28) haven't skipped a beat as they've found their game when it really matters.

Manu Ginobili is carrying them right now, as evidenced by his game-high 28 points and seven assists last night. George Hill, starting for Parker, added 15 points and Richard Jefferson, who's had an awful season with his new team, notched 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Boston (47-26) was held to its lowest scoring output of the season so not surprisingly the offensive numbers were pathetic. Paul Pierce led the Celts with 18 points but Kevin Garnett (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Shelden Williams (11 points off the bench) were the only Celtics with a pulse in that lifeless effort.

Believe it or not, it was a close game for the first half as Boston led 23-19 after the first quarter and trailed 44-43 at the half.

A 12-0 San Antonio run to start the third quarter shifted the momentum dramatically and the Spurs held the Celtics to 30 points in the second half. Duncan didn't even score in double figures in the rout, putting up eight points and nine rebounds.

Hopefully this was just a blip on the NBA calendar as the Oklahoma City Thunder come to the Garden on Wednesday night (before Houston and Cleveland wrap up this extended homestand).

You've Done It Again Red Bomber

For the second straight home game, the Boston Celtics failed to execute at the end against one of the Western Conference's elite teams and as a result they lost.

Yesterday afternoon it was the San Antonio Spurs (still as boring as you remember them), who claimed a 105-99 victory at the TD Banknorth Garden.

It all went to hell when Boston was down two (95-93) and had an inbounds pass on the sideline.
Ray Allen (18 points) tried to get the ball to Paul Pierce (19 points, 8 rebounds) but he lost the handle and it was intercepted by Manu Ginobli (19 points). Pierce fouled him, of the clear path variety, and after making four free throws, the outcome was sealed.

Tim Duncan led the Spurs (34-15) with 23 points, 15 rebounds and five assists but teammate Matt Bonner, a native of Portsmouth, NH was the star of the show as far as New England was concerned (it has to always be about us, damn it!). Bonner finished with 23 points, eight boards and two steals. He is only the second Granite State native to play in the NBA.

Roger Mason (11 points) was the other unlikely leading man as he hit a dagger 3-pointer out of nowhere to put the San Antonio up two.

For the Celtics (42-11), Kevin Garnett had his best game in a long time, checking in with 26 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals. Tony Allen scored 11 points off the bench, Kendrick Perkins added 10 points and seven boards while Rajon Rondo did his best Jason Kidd impression: six points, 16 assists, five rebounds.

An unsettling trend in recent weeks for the Celts has been their defense allowing 100+ points almost every time out. They'll need to tighten things up on the defensive end to knock off the top teams.

That was their last home game for over two weeks as they hit the road for an extended road trip (made longer by the All-Star break). The C's start in New Orleans on Wednesday night against the injury-depleted but talented Hornets.

Now are they for real?

Going into yesterday's game with the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, the Boston Celtics had piled up a gaudy 15-0 record against the vastly superior Western Conference. They also hadn't played Phoenix, New Orleans or the Spurs, the top three teams in the West. The C's biggest wins of the season had been a road win at the Lakers and beating the Mavs at the Garden a few weeks back.

Therefore, without a doubt, yesterday afternoon at the Garden was the top win of the season thus far for the Celts (39-9) as they held off San Antonio (32-17), 98-90. Both teams were missing stars as Boston continued to play without KG (for the seventh consecutive game) and San Antonio was minus point guard Tony Parker. The Celts also ended the Spurs nine-game win streak in Boston that spanned Tim Duncan's entire career.

The stars of the game were Paul Pierce (predictable), Rajon Rondo (somewhat surprising) and Glen Davis (mouth wide-open in shock). Not only was Garnett out but both Kendrick Perkins and Scot Pollard couldn't play, meaning Boston's only legitimate big men were Leon Powe and Big Baby. Somehow, someway, the two (mostly Davis) were able to keep the future Hall of Famer Duncan (22 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks) at bay.

The first quarter was a one-on-one showdown of Pierce (game-high 35 points, 6 rebounds, 5 turnovers) vs. Manu Ginobili (21 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 6 turnovers). Pierce scored 14 points in the quarter and Ginobili had the Spurs first 11 points. San Antonio took the frame, 23-20.

Powe (5 points, 3 rebounds) started but quickly picked up two fouls so Davis (9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals) was forced to play a season-high 33 minutes. All things considered, he more than held his own as he made Duncan work for everything he got while also providing the C's with a little scoring around the hoop. Davis showed a ton of emotion as he was yelling after a couple big plays, it was great to see.

Boston outscored San Antonio, 23-18 in the second and took a 43-41 lead into the break. Ray Allen (19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists) and Rajon Rondo (5 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds, 1 turnover) each had their moments. Truth be told, Allen's shot is still not right as it seems like he's hitting the front rim on almost every attempt. It's probably best for everyone that for now he's not scheduled to go to All-Star weekend.

The Celts got solid contributions from the bench as Eddie House (10 points) and Tony Allen (8 points) scored and James Posey (5 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals) did a little bit of everything.

The Spurs really missed Parker's scoring ability as newly-acquired Damon Stoudamire and Jacque Vaughn both scored eight but were a combined 5 for 17. Michael Finley (19 points) who has disappeared for a few years, hit some big shots down the stretch to keep San Antonio close.

The second half was won by the Celts, 55-49. They outscored the Spurs, 25-20 in the third and 30-29 in the fourth. It wasn't pretty but the C's did just enough in crunch time to hold on for the win. They got some stops, made their free throws and didn't commit any costly turnovers or mental errors.

With two games remaining until the All-Star break (at the Pacers tomorrow and home to the Knicks on Wednesday), Boston is just trying to make it through. It was announced yesterday that Garnett will skip the All-Star game which is good news considering the extremely tough West coast trip the Celts have right after the break.

Yesterday's win will go a long way confidence-wise for young guys like Davis and Rondo and the team in general as they saw that they can beat the best. The teams play once more (in San Antonio on St. Patrick's Day) and who knows, maybe they'll meet up in June.