Rondo's 19 assists lift Celtics over Cavs 104-86
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LeBron James better make sure his new MVP trophy isn't missing. The Boston Celtics stole everything else.
Rajon Rondo tied a team playoff record with 19 assists, Ray Allen scored 22 points and the Celtics, playing with renewed confidence and looking very dangerous despite their years, opened a 25-point lead in the fourth and then survived Cleveland's comeback for a 104-86 victory on Monday night to even their semifinal series at 1-1.
An underdog coming in, the Celtics left town with a split.
"We did everything we set out to do," Allen said. "We've talked all year about closing out games. When we do that, we're pretty good."
After blowing an 11-point lead in the third quarter of Game 1, the Celtics almost squandered a much bigger one. They led 91-66 with 9:08 left before the Cavaliers, who have been outplayed in both games, scored 15 straight and pulled within 93-83 on James' basket with 3:13 left.
Boston, though, closed with an 11-3 spurt and then packed up and headed home for Friday's Game 3 thinking they can oust the Cavs.
"They believe," Cleveland's Antawn Jamison said.
James, who seemed to be favoring his injured right elbow, scored 24 and Jamison 16 for Cleveland, outscored 31-12 in the third.
"I'm going to continue to try to be the player I am and not use this elbow as an excuse," James said. "I'd never use an injury as an excuse. It's just two games. I understand the burden and the pain Cleveland fans have. I don't feel pressure at all. I'm looking forward to Game 3."
The Celtics seemed in control with their 25-point bulge but they got complacent and found themselves having to scramble down the stretch when they could have been resting their starters. Boston went nearly six minutes without scoring.
"I don't know that we handled it very well," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "We were stuck on 91 for what felt like an hour. I kept telling our guys the clock was still moving. I kept telling them we just need one bucket. We need one guy to make a shot and it loosens back up."
Up 93-83, the Celtics finally regrouped. Rondo and Allen scored then Kevin Garnett completed a three-point play to make it 100-84, allowing Rivers to relax after watching his club play inspired ball most of the way before letting up.
Garnett finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds and Paul Pierce scored 14.
Rasheed Wallace, called out by Rivers after a lousy opener, added 17 points off the bench as the Celtics stripped the Cavaliers of home-court advantage in the series and gave them four days to think about what went wrong.
Two years removed from their 17th NBA title, the Celtics were given little chance of getting past James and the top-seeded Cavs. Despite beating Miami in the first round, Boston were thought to be too old, too slow and too reliant on the aging Big Three of Allen, Garnett and Pierce.
But the trio combined for 54 points with Rondo, the Celtics' jitterbugging point guard, setting them up with passes from impossible angles. Rondo matched the club's postseason record for assists first set by Hall of Famer Bob Cousy.
"I give credit to my teammates, they made the shots," Rondo said. "I tried to give them as easy looks as possible."
Allen said the Celtics bought into some of the criticism that they were past their prime and their championship window had closed.
"I think people said it to try and jab at us," Allen said. "We heard it on the road and from our own media at home. But we didn't worry about it. I saw guys come to the gym every single day getting their shots up, working on their bodies. Everybody was ready for the challenge."
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