Pruitt training to lead

Gabe Pruitt credits offseason program. (File/ Matthew J. Lee/ Globe Staff)

MANCHESTER, N.H. - Gabe Pruitt's actions are speaking louder than words.

Pruitt, developing as a backup to Rajon Rondo at point guard, converted the deciding field goal with 6.6 seconds remaining as the Celtics took a 90-89 victory over Houston last night at Verizon Wireless Arena.

Pruit also made an impressive statement in the Celtics' 96-94 win over Cleveland in Providence Friday night, directing the team and making a court-length drive for a dunk in the second half.

"I saw the opening and got a good look, the shot felt good when I released it," Pruitt said of last night's winning shot.

So far, Pruitt has attempted to fulfill most of the tasks expected by the Celtics.

Now it is a matter of increasing his aggressiveness and asserting his leadership. In other words, coach Doc Rivers wants Pruitt to defend like an assassin and deploy teammates like a drill sergeant.

"I'm a quiet guy and I'm not used to talking too much," Pruitt said. "Every now and then the coaches say to be more vocal, and I feel as though I've progressed and gotten better at that."

Pruitt let his actions speak for him as he prepared in the offseason on the streets, beaches, and spiral staircases of San Francisco. Pruitt joined a group of players in an ultraworkout designed in an urban setting by trainer Frank Matrisciano.

"It was really tough," Pruitt said. "I worked with [former NBA coach] Bob Hill in the gym and Frankie in training and they helped me mentally, as well. When I came back here, I was much more aggressive, I had a different mind-set. After the stuff we were doing, I kind of had a chip on my shoulder because I don't think anyone was working as hard as me.

"[The training] was like something you don't really see every day. We were running on sand hills, wearing [50-pound] weight vests, carrying medicine balls, running up hills backwards . . . If you give it all you have, he'll understand and cut it short. But he pushes you so hard you don't want to quit.

"We woke up every day and got there at 9 o'clock, basketball from 10 to noon, and come back at 4:30 or 5 for physical training, then an organized scrimmage from 7 to 8. We were running up by big mansions on Nob Hill. There is a hill right off the stairs on Lombard Street, also at Baker Beach.

"We ate a lot of pasta with Parmesan cheese, chicken, lots of fruit, protein shakes, gallons of water. No Gatorade - everything organic.

"If you follow the steps, you put on weight, and it's all muscle weight."

As for the basketball aspect, Pruitt usually teamed with Philadelphia's Kareem Rush and Stanford's Anthony Goods.

"We did a lot of breakdown stuff," Pruitt said. "Ballhandling, two balls, three balls, four balls, cone drills. We took a lot of shots, floaters, running layups, stepbacks."

Pruitt has played at both point guard and shooting guard in the preseason.

"I've been playing 1 and 2 my whole life and I understand I can get a few more minutes that way," Pruitt said. "The more I play, the more comfortable I get and better feel I get for the other guys."

Opposing teams have been presenting a variety of presses in an attempt to short-circuit the Celtics' offense, especially when Rondo's out.

"Doc just says to be aggressive," Pruitt said. "The only way to get a guy off you is to be aggressive. He wants me to push the ball as much as possible. Doc was a point guard and he understands what a point guard goes through.

"And I am playing more defense, and when I play aggressively on defense, it gets me going offensively."

Center Kendrick Perkins was involved in his first contact drills of the preseason during a pregame drill . . . After Pruitt banked in the deciding shot, Darius Miles blocked Luis Scola's drive with 0.4 seconds remaining to preserve the lead. Scola drained a shot off an in-bounds play but it was ruled after the buzzer by official Scott Foster . . . The Celtics' starters produced their longest stints of the preseason. Ray Allen played 24:58, Kevin Garnett 21:49, and Paul Pierce 21:42. The Celtics went with a double low-post setup of Glen Davis and Patrick O'Bryant against Yao Ming, who had 16 points in 23 minutes. Davis (12 points, 6 rebounds) displayed his strongest performance of the preseason, combining well with the starters at the beginning of the second half . . . Officials called 65 fouls (36 in the first half), a flagrant foul, and four technicals. Pierce sustained a bruised right shoulder while being defended by Ron Artest on an early non-call. "When you are champions, you have to understand teams are going to come at you," Pierce said.

Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at f_dellapa@globe.com.