Celtics outlast Pistons
BOSTON – Ray Allen found his shooting touch just in time to put the Boston Celtics within one win of the NBA finals for the first time since the original Big Three.
Allen scored 29, hitting a long 2-pointer after Detroit came within one point with a minute left, then he and Kevin Garnett each made a pair of free throws down the stretch as the Celtics beat the Detroit Pistons 106-102 on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
“We knew the significance of this game,” said Garnett, whose 33 points were his most in the playoffs this year. “You don’t win this game, you put basically yourself in a corner. … They’re experienced, and they’ve been in a lot of pressure situations. Now it’s up to us to go up there and try to get one.”
Game 6 is Friday in Detroit, and with a victory there or on Sunday back in Boston, the Celtics would advance to the NBA finals for the first time since Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish took them there in 1987.
Kendrick Perkins had 18 points and 16 rebounds, and Rajon Rondo added seven points, 13 assists, six rebounds and four steals for Boston. The 29 points was also a playoff-high for Allen, the usually reliable scorer who had been cold for most of the playoffs.
“My feeling right now is no different than if I scored 10 points and we won the game. It’s a great feeling,” Allen said. “Just winning gives me the greatest joy, regardless of what I’ve done.”
Chauncey Billups scored 26 and Richard Hamilton had 25 points for Detroit, which has reached the conference finals six consecutive years but played for the championship just twice and won once in that span.
Boston led 100-96 before former Eastern Washington star Rodney Stuckey hit a 3-pointer with 1:22 left. But, after a timeout with 6 seconds left on the shot clock, Allen took the inbounds pass and put up a jumper to give Boston a 3-point lead.
Billups tried an off-balance layup that missed, but in the fight for the rebound the Celtics tipped it out of bounds. Billups drove again, putting it harmlessly off the front of the rim.
The Celtics ran down the 24-second clock before Garnett was forced to take an off-balance jumper. Rondo fouled Stuckey, and he hit both free throws to make it 102-101 with 8.2 seconds left.
Allen matched them, then Rondo again wrapped up Stuckey. But this time the rookie missed the first, giving the Boston Garden crowd a reason to erupt.
Garnett hit a pair of free throws to clinch it.
The Celtics earned home-court advantage with an NBA-best 66-16 record in the regular season, but the Pistons took it away with a victory in Boston in Game 2. The Celtics swiped it back with a split in Detroit, and now have two chances to clinch – including a potential seventh game at home.
Around the league
Lawyers for the Seattle SuperSonics’ Oklahoma-based owners don’t want a writer known for his “profanity-laced columns” against team owners or a sports talk radio host testifying at an upcoming trial that likely will determine where the team will play next season.
The two media personalities on the City of Seattle’s potential witness list are Sherman Alexie, an author who also writes a column called “Sonics Death Watch” for the Stranger, an alternative weekly newspaper; and Mitch Levy, a radio talk show host for KJR 950 AM.
Trial is set to begin June 16.
•Chicago Bulls forward Joakim Noah accepted a deferred prosecution agreement in his marijuana possession case, resulting in six months’ probation and a $200 fine.
•NBA coach of the year Byron Scott and the New Orleans Hornets have agreed in principle to a contract extension.
Hornets spokesman Harold Kaufman confirmed the deal but said he could not disclose the terms of the agreement.
•Coach Gregg Popovich has signed a contract extension with the San Antonio Spurs.
Popovich confirmed the extension with the defending NBA champions, which runs through the 2011-12 season.