Celtics back on schedule
Allen's 36 help end 4-game skid
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TORONTO - Although Ray Allen was forced out of his standard pregame shooting workout, he found his lost shooting touch and it sparked the Celtics back to their usual winning routine.
Allen earned season-highs of 36 points and eight 3-pointers during the Celtics' 94-88 victory over the Raptors yesterday at
The Celtics have beaten the struggling Raptors (16-22) seven of the past eight meetings and face them again tonight at TD Banknorth Garden.
"We'd like for people to think we're down, but we are not," Allen said. "We just hit a bad hitch in the road."
Allen entered the game having not surpassed 20 points in 11 contests. The 12-year veteran, who had missed 24 of 30 3-pointers in the previous four games, was knocked out of his usual pregame shooting ritual because of the early (12:30 p.m.) start time.
Allen typically gets to the arena about four hours before a game to shoot before most of the other players show up.
"It felt awkward to me," Allen said. "Normally I would get to the gym and shoot all the time that we started our meeting at the hotel. Twelve-thirty games are tough for us."
Allen scored 15 points and nailed all five 3-pointers as the Celtics jumped to a 32-20 lead after one quarter. He made 11 of his 14 field-goal attempts - including 8 of 10 3-pointers - and also nailed all six free throws in the fourth quarter.
The five 3-pointers in the first 12 minutes were the most ever by a Raptors opponent for any quarter. He also tied Paul Pierce, who scored 36 Nov. 10 against Indiana, for most points by a Celtic this season.
"I was just the recipient of great ball movement," Allen said. "I told myself, 'Whatever defense they play, try to be spaced, try to be as efficient as I possibly could be.' "
Said coach Doc Rivers: "Ray is a shooter. I get so many calls, 'What's wrong with Ray?' I say, 'There is nothing wrong with Ray.' He's a great shooter and he'll be a great shooter again and eventually he'll make them. That's why Ray's great and a lot of other players in the league are good.
"A lot of players will have three or four games like Ray had and go away for a month. Ray believed the next shot was going to have to go in."
The Celtics relied on a combination of Allen's scoring and tough defense to win. Toronto tied a season low with 28 field goals made for the third-lowest field goal percentage of the season (.378).
While being guarded primarily by Kevin Garnett, Raptors star forward Chris Bosh was 5 points under his average, scoring 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting.
Rivers called it "overall, a great defensive game."
"When we get multiple stops, we are a different basketball team," Rivers said. "When we don't get them, we have to play half court and slug it out with everybody else."
Said Allen: "Defensively, we were better. But we did have some slippage at the end of the third and fourth quarter."
The Celtics were up by as many as 17 in the first half before taking a 54-41 halftime lead.
Boston was ahead by 20 (71-51) after a Garnett slam with 4:49 left in the third quarter and finished the third with a 75-55 lead.
The Raptors finally got their offense going in the fourth quarter, trimming their deficit to 5 (88-83) with 1:36 to play.
"Give [the Raptors] credit, they kept fighting," Rivers said. "We kind of let our guard down a little bit and then we couldn't control them. They closed the game up far better than us."
Said Raptors forward Jamario Moon: "They just pulled away a little bit and the lead got too far ahead of us."
Pierce suffered a right knee injury in the first quarter after banging knees with teammate Brian Scalabrine. But despite the pain that has his status for tonight's game up in the air, Pierce went off a hard screen set by Garnett on Moon to nail a 20-foot pull-up jumper to give Boston a 90-83 lead and seal the much-needed win.
"It was an open shot," said Pierce, who had 11 points in 41 minutes. "Kevin set the pick. I came off of it. I'm going to take the shot regardless to how I feel. I'm on the court and I'm trying to help my team win."
Said Celtics guard Rajon Rondo (14 points, 11 assists): "We felt we could have closed out the game better. But it's always good to get a win, regardless."
After a stretch of stressful losses, the Celtics' locker room was much more lighthearted after the game. Guard Sam Cassell, a Baltimore native, was bragging about his beloved Ravens as the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles NFL playoff game played on the television.
Pierce pretended to be a reporter as Garnett, who couldn't help but smile briefly, was interviewed. And the stress that came with losing, for the time being, seemed to be alleviated.
"Obviously, [with our situation], it is a relief," Allen said. "We appreciate the win all the time. We don't take any win for granted."
Said Pierce: "It was a big win. We're trying to get on the right track after the win now. Hopefully, we can start another streak. We know we have to see the Raptors again [tonight] and understand what we did in the fourth quarter. We played well in stretches, but we can play better."
