Perkins Goes for 18 and 16 in W

Perkins Goes for 18 and 16 in W

5/29/2008

In the first half of Game 5 last night, all you could do was watch Kendrick Perkins. The Celtics center demanded it.



He used his 6-foot-10-inch, 280-pound frame to back his way toward the basket and then pull away for a jumper. He maneuvered around bodies for rebounds. He continued his consistent play in the Eastern Conference finals, taking over the first half before finishing with career playoff highs of 18 points and 16 rebounds in the Celtics' 106-102 victory

At halftime, Perkins owned 13 rebounds, two more than the Pistons as a whole, and 12 points, as many points as he scored in Game 3.

"Coming into this series, that was the No. 2 of the things that we felt we had to do to win this series," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "No. 1 was ball pressure. . . . [Perkins] went out and did it, and I thought that freed everyone else. He was sensational tonight, played with great energy

"That's three games in a row that Kendrick Perkins has been absolutely phenomenal."

Perkins did most of his damage by limiting the Pistons' second-chance points. He loaded up 11 defensive boards for the game, while the Pistons were limited to just five offensive rebounds. As a team, the Celtics pulled down 31 defensive rebounds (42 total), compared with the Pistons' 25 total rebounds.

"I was just coming in and thought I was going to provide energy for the team," Perkins said. "I said I was going to be aggressive offensively . . . I know this opportunity don't come much, and I know if I was up in age, up in my 30s, and a young fellow was right there, I'd want him to go all out for me, too."

Perkins is averaging 7.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 25 minutes per game during the playoffs, numbers that reflect his 38:40 of action and 8-of-11 shooting from the field last night. (He added two blocks and two steals.) His previous career high in the playoffs was 14 points against Atlanta. Last night, the Celtics outscored the Pistons in the paint, 36-18.

The game was reminiscent of Game 3 of this series, a 94-80 win for the Celtics. The Celtics looked inside over and over again to get their points and he collected 12 points and 10 rebounds in the team's first road playoff victory this season.

Prior to Game 5, Rivers said he determined that Perkins and Kevin Garnett would be responsible for guarding Rasheed Wallace, but that plan became moot point when Wallace chose to do most of his damage from the 3-point line, draining 6 of 9 treys.

Perkins stuck it out as Rivers went with the starters for most of the game. James Posey logged the most time off the bench (14:31) and scored the bench's only points, a 3-pointer.

"[Perkins] was dominating in the paint," said P.J. Brown, who played nearly 14 minutes off the bench. "If he continues to play like that, we are a tough team to beat."

When the Pistons began making a push late in the game, Perkins said all he needed to do was think back to the series of Muhammad Ali fights that Rivers has showed the team recently.

"He always says, 'It's not how many times you get hit, it's if you keep moving forward,' " Perkins said. "We were taking hits and we kept fighting through and we kept moving forward."