Ray Allen had a cold, as it turned out. It started Sunday night in Washington, when he scored 13 points, and really intensified last night. "I was congested, but my nose was running — how does that work?" said the man who, to his teammates, is the model for fitness and germ-free living.
But that cold hit a peak last night at just about the same time Allen was purging those very same Wizards, this time with a 27-point performance that included 6-for-7 from beyond the 3-point line, three of those treys supplying the bulk of his 11-point fourth quarter.
The Celtics, as a result, won the back end of this two-game swing, 100-92, against a young Washington team that came a lot closer to catching its veteran opponent than it did a night earlier.
Age indeed can be harsh, especially in a season overstuffed with back-to-back swings by the NBA schedule maker. When the Celtics hit the second game of their first back-to-back last Wednesday in New Orleans, coach Doc Rivers said they looked old.
Last night, back on the floor with rookie Greg Stiemsma replacing a hamstrung Jermaine O'Neal at starting center, there were signs that walkers might be in order.
But that's when experience took over. Rajon Rondo took charge of the floor, Allen spotted up for his shot of medicine, and Paul Pierce buried a game-clinching 3-pointer with 30.7 seconds left.
"It was almost like the cold gave me a reprieve during the game, and then when I sat down in the locker room my nose started running and I started coughing again," Allen said. "Any time you have any issue like a nagging injury, or you're dealing with some kind of sickness or flu, you cut it out and focus in more because you know you're not feeling well.
"But my guys got me off tonight. Kevin (Garnett) made a tough pass, Rondo made a tough pass, Paul made a tough pass. Every time someone made a pass like that, it's tough for any team to guard that second or third pass. We're not a selfish team. We don't try to go off the reservation to score. We just try to be patient."
Those open looks wouldn't appear nearly as often, obviously, without Allen to clear the floor for those passes. "Marathon man," Rivers said of Allen's 35-minute performance. "He was great. He just kept going. I never want to guard that guy. He just never stops moving. I can't imagine the miles (Washington's) Nick Young had to cover, because he had to chase him all game."
The Celtics finally showed life when Allen gave them their first lead of the fourth at 75-74 with his fourth trey of the night. Brandon Bass, working on a 14-point night, hit a 20-footer, and when Young scored for Washington, the C's came back with another heavy retort.
Rondo fed Marquis Daniels for a back-cutting, three-point play, and after the Wizards came up empty with a shot clock violation, Bass buried another 20-footer, this time with some body English. But Bass' biggest moment was about to come. He picked up his second assist of the season after stealing the ball and feeding Rondo for an 84-76 lead, capping a 12-2 Celtics run.
Washington responded with a 4-0 run that included a Blatche three-point play, but Allen squared up twice more — from 18 feet and 3-point range — for five more points and an 89-80 lead with 4:30 left. The Wizards had a little left, especially when John Wall fired a bullet to JaVale McGee for a dunk.
Garnett rebounded a Pierce miss off the side of the backboard and hit the 5-footer, but Bass was called for a three-shot foul on Blatche, even if the Wizards forward appeared to land on top of him. Blatche hit all three free throws, and Wall blocked Rondo at the top of the circle, forcing a shot clock violation. But Pierce stole the ball right back, drove the floor, and fired a cross-court pass to Allen on the left side for his sixth 3-pointer and a 95-87 Celtics lead.
A minute later Pierce buried the final dagger from the top of the circle after taking in Garnett's swing pass.
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