As preseason games go, this was one intense contest. The Celtics battled back from a 14-point 3rd quarter deficit and beat the Nets 91-88. Eddie House hit the go-ahead bucket with :30 seconds left. The Celtics then made two huge defensive plays; Glen Davis swatted Courtney Lee's shot out of bounds and then House drew a charge on Lee seconds later.
Starting in place of Kevin Garnett (Paul Pierce and Ray Allen also sat this one out), Rasheed Wallace scored 20 points (8-17 FG, 3-7 3FG), grabbed 9 rebounds and tweaked his right ankle in 25 minutes of action. Wallace injured himself late in the 3rd quarter and did not return. Doc Rivers said the injury is mild and nothing serious.
Despite another rough shooting night from both the floor and the (6-15) and the free throw line (6-14), Rajon Rondo played a strong 4th quarter and finished with 18 points, 13 assists and 9 rebounds in 40 minutes.
J.R. Giddens played the best game of his career - 7 points, 13 rebounds in 32 minutes. He was extremely active on the boards and chasing down loose balls.
Brook Lopez may have had 17 points (5-14 FG), but he struggled when going one-on-one with Kendrick Perkins.
In the 2nd quarter, Lawrence Frank berated one of the replacement refs with f-bombs when he failed to blow the whistle after Devin Harris was pushed. Over the next two minutes, that referee called three personal fouls and one technical foul on the Celtics. Mike Gorman noted the sequence and gave credence to the possibility that these replacement referees can be intimidated.
The Celtics pulled a great prank on Lester Hudson. They made the rookie believe he had to grab a microphone and sing Happy Birthday to Doc and Paul Pierce during pre-game. According to Greg Dickerson, Hudson was nervous all day, right up until the veterans told him it was a joke.
More photos from the game, after the jump.
Photos by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
