Ray Allen scored 26 points and Rajon Rondo notched his fourth straight double-double as the Green overcame a sluggish first half to defeat the New Jersey Nets 96-87.
Boston allowed the league’s worst offensive team to score 30 points in the second quarter and finish the first half shooting a shocking 63.3 percent from the floor. But the Nets were held to just 32 second-half points and fell to 4-45 on the season.
New Jersey, which led by four points at halftime, was still in front with less than 10 minutes to play before an Eddie House three-pointer started the game’s key run. House added another from long range moments later and the Nets never got closer than four points down the stretch.
Brook Lopez led five Nets in double figures with 19 points. New Jersey shot 28.9 percent (11-of-38) after the intermission.
Celtics 96, Nets 87
TD Garden, Boston, Mass.
February 5, 2010
Headliner: He’s been fielding questions about contracts and trades of late, but Ray Allen is making a strong pitch for the Celtics to keep him around a little longer.
Allen fell one point shy of matching his season high in scoring and is now averaging 22.0 points in three February games. He also tied his best rebounding output for 2009-10 with seven boards.
Allen and Rondo have been spectacular during Boston’s three-game winning streak. Rondo scored 12 points in the first half on Friday and dished out seven assists in the second. He is averaging 19.2 points and 12.3 assists during his double-double streak.
Unsung Hero: Eddie House always seems to come alive in the clutch and is earning more time down the stretch in close games of late. He delivered in this one, scoring all 10 of his points in the final quarter.
House even had another three-pointer taken away following a review. He has 26 points in the last two games after scoring a total of just nine in his previous three.
Scrub: It’s almost unfair to give this to a Net, as they are all struggling to get by, so we focus instead on Kendrick Perkins.
Perk seemed off from the start. He missed a layup on the opening possession of the game and threw the ball away moments later, a pass that was nowhere near a teammate. The big man finished with seven points and six rebounds and failed to block a shot for just the fourth time in 2010.
Turning Point: House entered the fourth quarter having missed all four of his shots. When he hit a 17-footer off the glass with 9:54 left, it not only put Boston ahead but started the House hot streak.
Over the course of 3:52, House had all 10 of his points and a steal. He was the lone Celtic to play the entire fourth quarter, which Boston won 24-14.
Up Next: Sure, there’s a football game of some kind on Sunday, but there’s also a pretty important affair on the hardwood. Boston will host Orlando in a battle for second place in the East. It was just over a week ago that the Magic handed the Celtics the first of three straight losses.
The contest will be Boston’s last at home before the All-Star break. The C’s travel to New Orleans on Wednesday and then have five days off around the festivities in Dallas.
