C's Grind Out Game 1 W

C's Grind Out Game 1 W

5/7/2008

It was more of a question than a statement

"Ray Allen had zero points?" said Celtics rookie forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis, talking to no one in particular, after the Celtics eked out a 76-72 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at TD Banknorth Garden last night. "Ray Allen had zero points and we win? I thought I'd never see that. That's weird."



It was weird because Allen's only other scoreless game in the NBA came Feb. 26, 1997, when he was with the Milwaukee Bucks and came up empty in 23 minutes against the Atlanta Hawks. That was 852 games ago. In the NBA's version of a tractor pull, two-thirds of the Big Three didn't pull their weight. Allen, who was 0 for 4, and Pierce, who had 4 points on 2-for-14 shooting, combined to shoot 2 for 18 with 10 turnovers.

No problem. Two other battle-tested veterans - point guard Sam Cassell and forward James Posey - picked up the slack. Cassell scored 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter with the game on the line and came up with a huge defensive rebound with 52.8 seconds left in a tie game.

He hit a pair of free throws after getting fouled by Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas to give the Celtics a 72-70 lead. Posey, who teamed with Pierce to help hold LeBron James to 12 points on 2-of-18 shooting, forced James into a tough layup in the final seconds and came up with the miss, icing the game with a pair of free throws with 8.5 seconds left

"Sam hit some big shots for us. Posey had some big plays for us," said Allen. "We're a team of many different parts. We have guys that can play and win games for us. We've always known that, and that's what we pride ourselves on."

Cassell was clutch when it counted most, drilling a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, when the Celtics were struggling to find scorers in a see-saw game. The cagey 38-year-old ended up being the perfect complement to Kevin Garnett, who led the Celtics with 28 points. Cassell never has hesitated to take a shot in a close game.

"He's going to take the shot that is there. That's why we brought him in," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers

"He was huge. That's Sam for you," said Cavaliers forward Wally Szczerbiak. "He comes in and he makes big shots. He had a big impact on the game. He really did, so we got to be ready for him next game."

Cassell combined with Rajon Rondo (who tied his playoff career high with 15 points, all in the first half) to score 28 points on 9-of-16 shooting and said he was just doing his job

"You could say that. These guys found me. Just making shots, which is something I'm accustomed to do," said Cassell, who said he's still adjusting to being a reserve

"It's hard, but once you get the rhythm, it's cool. This is my first time in a long, long time being a backup, so it's difficult. I am understanding it more and more. I haven't had this role in almost 12 years. I'm enjoying it.

"If you sit on the bench and you don't want to play more, then something is wrong with you, especially in this kind of atmosphere. I'm finding a niche. Whatever this team needs me to do. If it's playing 10 minutes a night and being effective or if it's playing 20 minutes a night and being effective. Whatever I got to do I got to do."
Posey, who scored 5 of his 8 points in the final quarter, had the same approach, as he spent most of his 25-plus minutes of playing time chasing James but still nailed a pair of 3-pointers on a night Boston shot just 4 of 14 from beyond the arc and got next to nothing from two of its shooting stars

Rivers said that as a coach you have to expect whoever is guarding James to lose some effectiveness on the offensive end.

For his part Allen, who also spent some time guarding James, said he felt the looks just weren't there, and Pierce said he doesn't care what he shoots as long as his team wins

The captain is not obsessed with his point totals or any one-on-one battle with James. He knows he has help.

"That's why this team is special, because we have a lot of guys that can put the ball in the hole," said Posey. "Just with good ball movement, we take those shots and they fell for us. It started on the defensive end because we got stops when those guys [Pierce and Allen] weren't scoring and gave ourselves a chance to win."