In the three closest games of the season thus far, the Celtics have won two on late Ray Allen shots and lost the other when Paul Pierce missed what would have been a game-winning three. Last night, the Celtics (11-1) stole a win from the Bobcats (6-7), 96-95 in Charlotte. The Celtics were down two when Pierce missed a jumper and Charlotte controlled the rebound. The Celtics fouled but they weren't over the limit yet so the Bobcats had to inbound it. Eddie House got a piece of the inbounds pass, which deflected to Pierce, who kicked it out to Allen. He was off-balance but he got a good look and drilled it as time ran out.
By all accounts, the Bobcats should have won it. They shot 48.6% as a team to Boston's 43.6%. They also controlled the boards, 41-34. The C's though made seven more free throws (22-15) and ultimately made the plays when it mattered the most. Pierce (23 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds), Kevin Garnett (23 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals) and Allen (14 points on 4-for-15 shooting, 5 assists, 4 rebounds) continued to collectively play at a high level. James Posey added 14 points.
The Bobcats got a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds from Jason Richardson, while Raymond Felton (18 points, 9 assists), Emeka Okafor (15 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks) and former BC star Jared Dudley (11 points, 9 boards) all stood out in defeat.
The C's travel to Cleveland on Tuesday to take on LeBron and the Cavs. James is playing arguably the best basketball of his NBA career which is saying something so it should be fun to watch the Celtics try to contain him. He'll need some other guys to step up though if they're going to defeat Boston.
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