[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="335" caption="Copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)"]
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The Sixers were supposed to be a challenger. The Sixers were supposed to be a threat to knock the king off his throne. Tonight, the Sixers were the chum... and the Celtics were the sharks.
The Celtics destroyed the Sixers from the jump. The only quarter in which the Sixers managed any sort of offense was the meaningless 4th quarter. The best fast-breaking team in the league managed quarters of 16, 12 and 19 points tonight... and they could do nothing to slow down the C's.
Ray Allen (23 pts, 10-15 fg, 3-5 3pt) was blazing hot. He put up 15 points in the 3rd quarter alone. I think there were 3 or 4 straight possessions where Ray scored. Setting him up was Rajon Rondo... who is on the verge of putting up triple doubles all over the place. His line tonight: 6 pts, 6 reb, 12 assists, 3 stl, 1 turnover. Rajon was dominant. He completely controlled the game, taking full advantage of Andre Miller... who simply cannot keep up with a guy like Rondo.
This game also featured the sequence of the year: Late 3rd quarter... Perkins comes up with a monster rejection... the ball gets up to Rajon Rondo... who throws the alley oop to KG (for his 3rd dunk in as many possessions). Absolutely awesome. The game ended on that play. I'll be looking for that on YouTube.
You know... I remember once upon a time that Paul Pierce scoring 6 points and going 1-6 from the field meant a 40 point loss. Tonight, the game was never in doubt. It's killing my fantasy team... but I'll take it.
Best stat of the night: Ray Allen's 30 minutes of playing time was the MOST on the team. Absolutely perfect for the Celtics as they head into another game tomorrow night.