Ray. Allen.

Ray Allen knocks down the game-winning three as the Bulls bench is SAD!

What a great game. I mean, what a fantastic game that was. These first two games remind me very much of the Atlanta series a year ago: a young, upstart team (with an ugly big man who thinks he's better than he really is) surprisingly challenges wily old veterans who were the favorites. This time, however, the Celtics are the defending champions and are playing with some real fortitude in the face of a TON of adversity. They could have packed it all up upon hearing news of KG being out for the entire playoffs with a right knee strain, especially when every reporter (even the faithful Bostonians) have flatly said that the C's have no chance at all. As the injured guy himself has said, though, "Anything is possible." Being underdogs isn't all that bad either. Everyone picked the soft Lakers to take it all last year and look what happened to Kobe-wan Kenobi (as my dad calls him). There's still a ton of pressure coming from the home crowd and the fact that we're the defending champs, but some people are even now thinking that Chicago will pull off the "upset." Last night's game was more than just a great win. It showed that we're not backing down and that despite all the bad news that keeps pouring in, we're gonna put up a hell of a fight.

The Celtics played great team defense on Rose, holding him to just 10 points.

How much can you say about Walter Ray Allen? The guy is one of the best shooters of all time. He's been through a lot these past couple of years, coming off ankle surgery before joining the team last year, struggling mightily in the opening rounds of the playoffs, many calling his career over and done with. Doc has said that he had the hardest time adjusting to the team of 2008, which is not to say he was a selfish player. His role was just very different from that in Seattle. But no complaints...just kept on shooting. Shooters shoot. This was on full display last night, as he went 6-10 from downtown, including more than a couple huge buckets to counter Ben Gordon's onslaught. This coming after a 1-12 effort in Game 1 and a 1-4 half to start Game 2. Shooters shoot. The Celtics did an incredible job of running plays for Allen that really got him going. You could even hear Pierce yelling, "Go to Ray! Go to Ray!" as they ran the ball up the court. All-in-all, 30 points for Allen, 28 coming in the second half. And when he got into that groove in the 4th quarter, there was no stopping him. Example of Ray staying in the game rather than getting frustrated: Pierce gets stripped leading to a 3-on-1 fastbreak, with Allen the only one back. Joakim (The Joke) Noah drives the lane and Allen picks up the blocking foul, and one. Next play down, Allen knocks down a three pointer off the feed from Rondo to bring the Celtics back to within one. How great is that? He uses his anger and frustration to be aggressive and score. After Gordon made back-to-back threes to put the Bulls up by 5, the two teams traded baskets, leading up to another three by Ray, putting us up by 2...

The Battle of UConn Alums: Gordon had more points, but Allen walked away the hero.

About that shot. Red Auerbach had his hand in this one (although, where was he for Pierce's missed free throw in Game 1?? Tip that in, man!) Rondo took a contested jumper and fell to the ground (no whistle..surprise). There was a long rebound and Rondo popped back up, got it, and dished it to Allen's hands beyond the arc. BAM! 2 point game with 25 ticks left. Gordon would make an insane free-throw line jumper with Big Baby and Allen in his grill leading up to the game winner.

Seriously, is there anyone uglier than Joakim Noah?? Ugh, looks like an ogre.

What a gorgeous play it was, too. The C's ran several screens down low as Rondo held the ball at the top of the arc. The brilliance comes in the amount of options we had. Allen was the first option, but if that wasn't there, Pierce was ready to post up down low UNDER the free throw line. Big Baby had Kirk Hinrich on him in a switch: another option. Eddie House was over on the wing and he's always dangerous with his quick release. Rondo had smoked Derrick Rose all night with his speed, so the possibility of him driving for the rim was there as well. Luckily, we had Option Numero Uno going for us. Hinrich called for The Joke to switch as he got stuck on Big Baby's pick. The big man recovered pretty well and Allen juuuuuust got the shot off over the 7-footer. The look on Noah's face after it splashed was epic. What a freaking loser.

Noah's face says it all: "Aww, man! I'm a complete moronic asshole who just got schooled by someone 2 feet shorter than I am!"

As I said, this game was Allen's, but there were so many other factors. Take Rondo. I was surprised to hear that he had a triple-double in the THIRD QUARTER! I had no idea. I knew he had a lot of points and a bunch of assists, but by the 3rd? No way. He ended up with 19 points, 16 assists, 12 rebounds. Oh, and 5 steals. There are only 3 players who have had a triple-double and 5+ steals in a playoff game: Magic Johnson, Gary Payton, and Rajon F. Rondo. What a baller. What a two games he's had! 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists in Game 1. Insane. Derrick Rose can have his 36 points in Game 1. I prefer dominance and consistency, thank you very much. Speaking of which, way to be, Rondo. He really attacked the rim from the get-go, drawing a quick 2 fouls on Rose (one of which was indirect--drove to the hoop, got blocked, K Perk got the board and Rose stupidly fouled him, and one), and then THREE on the backup, Hinrich. Do that every night and we have a great chance of winning.

Even on a sprained ankle, Rondo drove the lane all night, getting easy layups.

How about Big Baby?! He's been really stepping up for the absence of KG. Although he lacks the intensity The Ticket brings, he has that 18 or 19-foot jump shot down to a science. He ended up with 26 points on 12-21 shooting. The Celtics were a +20 with him on the floor. Pretty good for a "back-up" PF. Perk also went above and beyond the call of duty, going for 16 and 12, including seven offensive rebounds and a limited amount of boneheaded plays (RUN BACK ON DEFENSE!!). Pierce did a decent job (18 points, 8 boards), but was clearly very tired. John Salmons is a pesky person to defend and really ran Pierce around. Despite his sluggishness, I'll take 18 points for sure.

As for the bench....yeahhhhhh, where the eff were ya??!!? I thought Steph would get a few baskets after he knocked down a pretty jumper, but that was all he ended up with (1-4). Eddie only knocked down one three ball, Mikki Moore only made one shot, and Leon Powe as well (although he left early). And about Powe: Just learned today that he tore his ACL (my initials!) and will require surgery. He'll FOR SURE miss the rest of the playoffs, which is a pretty major blow to us, although I'm starting to get used to this type of news.

On the flipside, a glimmer of hope. Apparently, KG practiced the other day with the Celtics, although from what I heard, he merely dribbled the ball around the court a few times...no hardcore stuff. My message to Doc is this: If KG will be getting surgery, which I'm thinking is going to be the case, I say put him in games for brief (5 minute?) stretches a few times every game. I mean, sure it'll swell up, etc., but if he's getting surgery to repair it anyway, might as well give him a little work? He ran for 20 minutes straight and the knee swelled up after, causing Doc to say they'd shut him down, so play him just for a little amount of time. Even if he does nothing but stand there, his presence will be very much useful in both our psyche and the opposing team's. Of course, I'm probably just desperate and my plan would run the risk of worsening the situation beyond what surgery could fix (maybe???), but we'll see if he has any more practice time.

KG gives Pierce some advice and was incredibly vocal on the bench the entire night (Did he ever sit down?)

So there we have it. Ben Gordon's 42 points were just not good enough versus our team approach. We stuck with our game plan having Rondo drive, drive, drive and running multiple plays for Allen. You simply cannot expect their guys to continue to have epic nights...our defense will almost surely shore up. Our guys, on the other hand, are capable of having such games night in and night out. Rondo's a walking trip-doub threat, Ray Ray can knock down anything, Pierce is capable of getting way more than 18, Big Baby's been having nights like this for weeks now, and Eddie is due. Watch out, Chicago.

I made this!! Perfectly captures the moment.