Ray Allen finally showed up, and Kendrick Perkins had a monster game, and as such the Celtics are now one win away from the NBA Finals.Allen had 29 points and hit five three pointers, a far cry from the corpse-like performance he's put up most of the series. Kendrick Perkins also had a big game, finishing with 18 points and 16 rebounds. Partially due to that, Boston took a 6 point lead into halftime, then a 13 point lead in the third, and at one point a lead as big as 17. Game over, right? Not quite.
Detroit rebounded with a 21-8 run, helped in part by another Kevin Garnett "unclutch" play. Garnett passed up a wide open shot...and passed it right to a Piston. The resulting bucket got Detroit within seven. Eventually, the Pistons were four down with 1:22 left, only to see Ray Allen hit a long two to push it back to six. Detroit scored the next six points though to get within one. Allen again came up huge, hitting two free throws. Rodney Stuckey was fouled with 4.2 seconds left and his team down three. Unfortunately for Stuckey, he missed the first shot when he wanted to make it, and he made the second shot when he wanted to miss it. Game essentially over.
Despite that one brain fart play, Garnett played well, scoring a playoff high 33 points. Paul Pierce chipped in 16, while Chauncey Billups led the Pistons with 26.
The Celtics are now up 3-2 in the series. Can they close it out at the Palace, or is another Game 7 in the cards for them?
Boston 106, Detroit 102
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