Rajon Rondo helps Boston Celtics beat San Antonio Spurs 107–97
Rajon Rondo scored 22 points and dished out 14 assists, as the Boston Celtics handed the disjointed San Antonio Spurs a 107–97 loss at the AT&T Centre in San Antonio on Thursday night. Rondo added six points and three assists during a 16–2 run in the third
quarter to hand San Antonio their fifth-straight loss.
The Spurs went cold in the third quarter, missing nine straight-shots and allowing the Celtics to claw their way back into the game. Boston shot more than 60 percent from the field in the second half to strengthen their grip on the game.
The Spurs went 8-of-29 from beyond the arc, and failed to connect on a single three-point attempt in five tries during a scoreless stretch in the third quarter. After the game, Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich elaborated on the mistakes that cost his team the
game. He said, "The game was won when we got a little 3-happy in the third quarter. Then the transition defence didn't follow. They took advantage of it."
The game was close throughout as San Antonio took a narrow 33–31 advantage into the second quarter. The Spurs further extended their lead to seven points early in the second period before the Celtics responded. Kevin Garnett accounted for eight of Boston’s
18 points in the second quarter to tie the game at 49–49 heading into the second half.
Boston blew the game wide-open on the back of a strong third-quarter surge by Rajon Rondo, to take a seven point-lead heading into the final quarter. It was all down to the unselfish play shown by the Celtics, as they kept finding the open man for easy looks
close to the basket. The Celtics outscored the Spurs 20–10 in the painted area during the third quarter.
Celtics Coach Doc Rivers offered his thoughts on the win, "Tonight, we just made shots. Let's be honest. We kept moving the ball and Rondo kept taking shots."
Kevin Garnett was the main recipient of Rondo’s passes, as the star forward went 9-of-12 from the floor to rack up 20 points on the night. He also had nine rebounds during the game. Paul Pierce added 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Glen Davis also played
well to add 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
Ray Allen went cold from the field but remained perfect from the charity stripe, as he chipped in with 13 points for the Celtics.
Boston started the fourth quarter off strongly. Ray Allen’s three-pointer made it 89–78 in favour of the Celtics with less than eight minutes left in the game. Gary Neal made a jump-shot, followed by 10-straight points from Tim Duncan.
Boston responded with their duo of Garnett and Davis to extend their lead to 103–92 and held onto it to win the game.
Tony Parker scored 23 points for the Spurs. Tim Duncan had a break-out game after recovering from a severe ankle-sprain; he scored 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting and snatched 13 rebounds.
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