Rondo proves his point

When the ball came to him, the skinny kid from Kentucky nailed it so cleanly, you'd think he'd been shooting it like that forever. Then, when he did it from the other corner, the Garden exploded.

That ignited a crushing 12-0 Celtics run that tore this game open. West aided in the implosion of his team by collecting three fouls during that stretch, two on the offensive end.

The second was particularly egregious, as West, obviously frustrated, merely lowered his head and tried to bull his way to the basket. When Leon Powe took the charge with 42 seconds left on the clock, and Boston up, 86-73, the Garden trembled with excitement.