Baron Davis drilled a 22-foot jumper at the buzzer to give the Clippers a 92-90 win over the Celtics.
Davis's clutch shot followed two misses at the free-throw line by Rajon Rondo. It was a heart-breaking finish for Rondo who had put forth another solid performance - 20 points, 9-16 FG, 6 assists, 2 steals.
I have one gripe. I thought the referees put too much time on the clock after Rondo was fouled. To me, the clock showed 1.2 or less when Rondo was fouled by Davis, but for some reason the referees decided to give the Clippers 1.5 seconds. That extra half-second gave Davis the time to make his shot.
The Celtics had leads of ten a couple times in the 3rd quarter, but could never put the Clippers away. Twice during the 4th quarter, they had leads as large as 5, but again, the Clippers just wouldn't quit.
The Cs had a critical defensive lapse leading 90-87 with about 20 seconds left. Baron Davis penetrated into the lane
(and wisely passed up a wide open lay-up) and kicked it to the corner
where an open Rasual Butler nailed a game tying three pointer with 8.5 seconds on the clock.
Prior to that play, the Celtics were playing some solid defense. They got two big steals from Tony Allen (10 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals) in the final few minutes, but had trouble making shots.
Rasheed Wallace had a terrible second half - 0-6, including one missed dunk. All 8 of his points came from the post in the 1st/2nd quarters.
The Celtics shot 1-12 from 3. The Globe's Gary Washburn says Perk and KG had a heated exchange late in the game. Chris Kaman (27 points, 12 rebounds) is a damn good basketball player.
Photos from the game, after the jump.
(Photos courtesy: NBAE/Getty Images)