Before Game 5 of the East finals, the thought of Boston Celtics starters Ray Allen and Kendrick Perkins sitting side-by-side victoriously on a postgame podium would be like an odd dream. But after the Celtics' 106-102 win over the Detroit Pistons at TD Banknorth Garden on Wednesday night, the mix of old and new getting a piece of the spotlight seemed like poetic justice.
Allen's lingering shooting slump has seemed to have finally come to an end as he scored 29 points and nailed five 3-pointers. Perkins surprisingly played like an All-Star center by earning a double-double of 18 points and 16 rebounds as well as 3 blocks.
"I had confidence in Ray from the beginning," Celtics guard Rajon Rondo said. "He struggled at times, but he is Ray Allen for a reason. He has been consistent throughout his career, and you knew a game like this was going to be coming ...
"Perk played well. He had a 20 rebound game against them early in the season. So Perk was out there playing with high confidence."
Allen averaged 17.4 points during the regular season and was nearly the MVP of the NBA All-Star Game. But the future Hall of Fame sharp-shooter shockingly lost his renowned shooting touch once the playoffs began. Other than in a 25-point performance in Game 2 against Detroit, he was far from his normal self from the perimeter. Skeptics wondered if Allen would ever be Jesus Shuttlesworth-like again. But during Game 5, he showed he still got game making 9-of-15 shots and 5-of-6 3-point attempts.
"For me every game is a new journey, it's a new adventure for me," Allen said. "At any point, at any previous game going to the next game, I go on the floor before my game and get my shots up. Every day I'm working on trying to think about where I had the last shot I missed and getting my legs right and being explosive and just thinking about it and having an opportunity to get better. So those are my moments, and those are the moments that I enjoy."
The Celtics have the "big three" in Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Boston has one of the most talented young point guards in the league in Rajon Rondo. And then there is the Ringo Starr of the Celtics' starting five in Perkins.
The 6-foot-10, 264-pounder has quietly played well against the Pistons by averaging 11 points and 8 rebounds in Games 3 and 4 in Detroit and he grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds against the Pistons during the regular season on March 5. Perkins played the biggest game of his pro career in Game 5 by earning 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting, grabbing 16 rebounds and blocking 2 shots.
"I was just coming in and thought I was going to provide energy for the team," Perkins said. "I said I was going to be aggressive offensively. I just said I was going to play with a lot of energy. I knew our 'big three' veteran guys, I know this opportunity doesn't come much, and I knew if I was up in age, up in my 30s, and a young fellow was right there I'd want him to go all out for me, too. My thing is I'm going to leave it out there on the court, for myself, for my teammates and for everybody."
The biggest spotlight on the Celtics' starters during the playoffs has been on Allen. The dimmest has been on Perkins. But together Wednesday night, Allen made you forget about his shooting woes while Perkins introduced himself to a lot of basketball fans who had no idea who he was previously.
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