Celtics Central

If there is such a thing as basketball purgatory, we are witnessing it.

There are no winners and there are no losers. There are just times when one team, or the other, is ahead. If basketball games are art, this is surrealism.

Like something by Pollack, Picasso, or Dali, you aren’t quite sure just what you’re looking at. It’s inspired, from depths of the heart, done with great emotion, and a bit ugly.

Celtic Iron Men
Ray Allen played almost 59 minutes and tossed in a career playoff high 51 points, while tieing the Celtic record for three pointers with nine. He also set the record for three pointers taken with 18.

Rajon Rondo played 57 plus minutes on a sore ankle and had a playoff career high 19 assists and no turnovers. That must be a record as well.

Glen Davis played 53 minutes and hit two pressure shots, finishing with 23 points before fouling out.

Paul Pierce plays 51 minutes, gets stitches for a bloody nose, comes alive for a while with 22 points and then spent, has two huge turnovers.

Kendrick Perkins was the defensive anchor and top playoff shot blocker with 4 before fouling out. Three Celtics, Perkins, Pierce, and Davis, and one Bull, Gordon, fouled out.

John Salmons played an inspired 60 minutes, scoring 35 difficult points, while rookie Derrick Rose supported with 28 points in over 59 minutes.

If there was any doubt, an unreal series just officially certified itself as one of the most unforgettable series of all time. It has played like a Rod Serling script. A limping NBA Champion meets an up and coming young team and….. we have perfect parity. Never before in NBA history have two teams played such an evenly matched series….ever.

They might be still playing this series this time next year. Game seven – 802 overtimes laters.

The karma train stops here.
Fittingly, Brad Miller, the man who blew two free throws to allow Boston to win game 5, hits two with 28.3 seconds left in the third overtime. The Bulls hold on to win 128-127 after Derrick Rose blocks Rajon Rondo’s jumper near the key with 7.9 seconds left.

Derrick Rose was fouled with 3.2 seconds left, but missed both free throws. Rondo then heaved a long desperation three as time expired. Unlike purgatory, game 7 on Saturday will finally decide the team that moves on, providing one team can actually be ahead at the buzzer.

A Simple Moment Captures the Series
On first glance, it was a very simple moment in a much bigger story. Paul Pierce and John Salmons were continually pushing each other as they were lined up for a jump ball near the end of the neverending game.

Pierce was looking into Salmons’ eyes even as he pushed as if to say, no matter how tired I am, I will never give you quarter. Nothing more fittingly captured exactly the tone of this series than that moment. On a jump ball, late in the game, neither would give an inch for the tiniest consequence.

Pierce and Ray combined missed 5 straight shots in the OTs as they were both running on fumes. How Ray found it in himself to hit three shots and 7 points in the last two OTs were beyond me. His foot was one inch away from sending it into a fourth OT when he was barely touching the three point line on his last make with 1:57 left.

A sizzling first half for the Bulls, .639 shooting, ended up at .495 for the game, meaning that they shot 41% the rest of the way. The Celtics shot .434 on the evening.

From a fan’s point of view, this is basketball at it’s best. It is not perfect ball by any stretch, but it is played with great effort and under difficult circumstances for both teams. The Celtics are missing Garnett and Powe, Rondo and probably Pierce are nursing some injuries, while Ben Gordon is playing with a tight hamstring and John Salmons is recovering from a groin injury. Tyrus Thomas has his own personality to overcome.

There are more big shots in this series than at a mafia wedding. This game alone had enough to form its own country club. But there were plenty of misses, too.

This series has more ties than a men’s shop, more miracle shots than Louis Pasteur, more comebacks than Brett Farve, more big plays than Neil Simon, seen more pressure points than a diamond cutter’s chisel, enough blood to be on CSI, and as much dramatic inspiration as a Rocky movie.

It is a shame that it all has to end on Saturday. But this has become it’s own Celtic story of overcoming odds and player growth. Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis and of course, Rajon Rondo have all grown tremendously. This series has been invaluable for that.

Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have each shown what makes them all stars and future Hall of Famers. And we are grateful for that.

Now they need a win on Saturday to extend their inspiring play. Either way, Celtic fans will know that they gave everything they had to the cause.