Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Rajon Rondo carried the Celtics with a triple- double, finishing with 29 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists to lead Boston to a 97-87 Game 4 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers to tie their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Celtics 97, Cavaliers 87: Rajon Rondo Powers Boston Past Cleveland In Game 4
Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen each scored 18 points for the Celtics, who rebounded from the worst home playoff loss in franchise history in Game 3 to send the series back to Cleveland on Tuesday knotted at two games apiece.
Paul Pierce had another subpar game, scoring just nine points, but Tony Allen put in a 15-point effort off the bench to spark the victory.
LeBron James logged 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for Cleveland, which was held without a field goal for the final 4:34 of the contest. Shaquille O'Neal and Antawn Jamison added 17 and 14 points, respectively, for the Cavs, who shot 29.4 percent over the final 12 minutes.
Boston held Cleveland scoreless for the first 4:45 of the fourth quarter, and Rondo sparked a 10-0 flurry with a layup and two nice passes to Glen Davis en route to an 84-72 advantage.
Mo Williams ended the Cavs' drought with a floater, and after a Rondo make, the Cavs scored 10 straight in a little over two minutes to make it a one- possession game, as Anderson Varejao capped the rally on a three-point play.
That bucket proved to be the last successful field goal attempt for Cleveland. A series of misses preceded Varejao’s 1-for-2 effort at the free throw line for an 88-85 game with 2:43 remaining.
Rondo then dished to a streaking Pierce on the baseline for a slam, and, following a Williams turnover, put back a Garnett miss for a 92-85 lead with 1:34 to go.
James missed a jumper, and two Pierce free throws with 1:23 showing made it 94-85. Anthony Parker and James each missed from long range on Cleveland's next two possessions, and the Celtics held on from there.
Cleveland got out to a fast start for the second consecutive game, as a James turnaround jumper gave the visitors a 7-0 lead just over two minutes in.
This time around the Celtics had an answer, with Pierce finishing off a 9-0 run a little later for a 14-12 edge.
Rondo’s stepback jumper in the final minute of the opening quarter pushed the Celtics’ lead to 31-22, and an evenly played second quarter ended with the hosts holding a 54-45 advantage.
The lead reached 11, 58-47, early in the third, but buckets from Jamison and James started a 9-2 spurt the pulled the Cavs within 60-56 with just over eight minutes remaining in the third.
Three Delonte West free throws with 1:41 remaining in the frame gave Cleveland its only lead of the second half, 70-69.
Williams and Parker chipped in 13 and 10 points, respectively, for Cleveland, which shot 4-of-21 from three-point range, slightly better than Boston’s 1- for-14 showing from behind the arc...Boston outscored Cleveland in second- chance points, 13-0, and in fast-break points, 23-7...West shot 0-for-7 from the field in the loss...James had seven of Cleveland’s 17 turnovers.
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