Celtics Outlast Rockets 103-99

By KC Downey in Celtics, Featured ⋅ November 5, 2008 at 5:53pm ⋅ Post a comment

On a historic election evening, the Celtics did their best to earn a third victory against a strong Houston squad. The Rockets came in undefeated at 3-0 on the season, led by their own big three of sorts in Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, and Ron Artest. The Celtics improved to 3-1 and handed the Rockets their first loss by 103-99 final score.

Kendrick Perkins stayed on the court for an uncharacteristic 35 minutes (thanks to only two personal fouls), and finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, and four blocked shots. Perk was 7-8 from the field and really played well matched up against Yao Ming for parts of the game.

Ray Allen led all scorers with 29 points on 11-15 shooting (2-6 from beyond the arc) in 35 minutes. Allen led a relatively balanced attack, as all Celtics starters scored in double figures. The refs seemed to be easier on the fouls than in other games, but Allen still managed to foul out in the fourth quarter (Come on, if Perk only has 2 fouls, that’s definitely loose officiating).

Tracy McGrady led the Rockets with 26 points, six assists, and three steals in the losing effort. Teammate Luis Scola added 21 points on 9-15 shooting with nine rebounds.

The Celtics surely benefitted from two days rest, as all starters played at least 29 minutes. The Celts will have no time to rest for Wednesday night’s game against the Thunder. It’s their first ever game against the team (the Thunder are the former Supersonics).