Garnett Leads Celtics To 90-83 Win Over Duncan, Spurs

Both teams were hot coming in, having won their last five, but Boston staved off a late run to take its fourth consecutive win in San Antonio.

Rajon Rondo had 12 points, 12 assists and six boards, and made a key basket with two minutes to play. Ray Allen had 15 points and Rasheed Wallace 13 in the victory, which improved Boston’s record to 15-4 overall and 8-1 on the road.

DeJuan Blair had a career-high 18 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Spurs, while Tim Duncan added 16 points and 15 boards in the setback. Tony Parker had 17 points and seven assists for San Antonio, which lost despite gathering a season-high 20 offensive rebounds.

The Celtics led by as many as 15, but a six-point Spurs run, capped by a Blair jumper, had San Antonio within 81-75 with seven minutes left. The teams traded baskets on their next couple possessions, and a Blair layup cut Boston’s lead to 85-79 with just under five minutes to go.

Each team then missed a number of shots, including a pair of missed free throws by Duncan. With under three minutes left, Blair got a hand on a Duncan miss and tipped it in, getting the Spurs within four.

But with two minutes remaining, Rondo connected on a jumper to extend the lead to six. The Spurs had their chances down the stretch, but Richard Jefferson’s long jumper was their only other field goal in the remaining time, and the Celtics sealed the win at the free throw line.

The Celtics opened the game on a 12-4 run to force the Spurs to play from behind. Boston then scored seven of the final eight points of the frame, and Marquis Daniels’ basket in the final minute gave the Celtics a 25-15 lead.

The Spurs, who shot 7-of-22 in the opening quarter, got within a possession of the Celtics a few times in the second quarter, the latest coming when a Parker layup brought them within 34-31.

But again the Celtics expanded their lead, as Kendrick Perkins converted a three-point play to spark a 13-3 run. Perkins had seven points in the stretch, ending it with a layup for a 47-34 lead with just under a minute to play.

San Antonio scored the final five points of the half to trim its deficit to single-digits going to the break, but Boston opened the third with a pair of baskets to make it a 51-39 game.

The Spurs were within 66-60 with under two minutes left in the third, but Garnett answered with a three-point play. Wallace eventually closed the frame’s scoring with a trey to put Boston ahead 74-63.

Prior to this current streak, the Celtics had lost 15 in a row in San Antonio...Manu Ginobili had 11 points for the Spurs, who shot 42 percent and had 19 turnovers...The Celtics made 46.2 percent of their shots.

Via Sports Network