Boston Celtics vs. Portland Trail Blazers
Second Half
The Boston Celtics built a four-point lead over the Portland Trail Blazers by the end of the first half, 41-37.
Third quarter
Paul Pierce formulated a 3-pointer at the very start of the third quarter, going 44-37 in the stretch.
Rudy Fernandez shot a driving finger roll layup shot for Portland, 39-44. It was followed by a series of three consecutive shots in offence of Semih Erden’s reverse and Rondo’s driving layup shots to score 44-48 against Boston.
Both teams witnessed a large number of missed shots and Joel Przybilla broke the spell with a layup shot coming at 7 minutes left in final quarter. Soon the Celtics grinded their axes to take a sharp run when Allen clinched two three-pointers, going 62-52
over Portland at the 3:23 mark.
LaMarcus Aldridge and Matthews shot four consecutive shots to close the gap, and scoring 58-62 at the same point. Kendrick Perkins shot a layup from the field as he got an assist from Rondo and went dishing out 64-58 at the end of the third quarter.
Fourth quarter
After showing a strong defence in first three quarters, the Celtics opened the final stanza with a personal foul from Glen Davis. (Portland) Luke Babbitt missed a three-pointer for the trailing Blazers and soon after Dante Cunningham committed a shooting
foul. This gave the Celtics two free throws that Erden sunk with ease.
(Portland) Patrick Mills missed a three pointer attempt and Erden got the rebound for Boston, but Daniels missed the pull-up that came their way.
Rondo’s driving layup again built a 10-point gap between the rivals that turned into a 12-point lead when Erden took hold of two free throws that came his way after Aldridge was fouled.
Soon Celtics’ lead transformed into 14 points when Von Wafer ran through the court and acquired a jumper, outscoring Portland 74-60.
Fernandez missed a driving dunk shot and Andre Miller got the rebound ball immediately followed by a driving layup shot by him. After missing two free throws and a 3-pointer, the Celtics came back in form and trounced a running bank to go 13 points up the
Blazers.
Portland committed three fouls in a row and Boston savoured the six free throws provided, sealing a 10-point lead over Portland Trail Blazers, 88-78.
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