Went down to the ACC, watched live
The crowd at the ACC were noteably apprehensive about this game. After Boston’s semi-toned introduction was littered with applause from the Toronto Celtic faithful, the Raptors starting lineup paled. Joey Dorsey on Shaq? He looks even bigger in real life, as we sat so close (and yet so far) eighteen rows from Shamrock and the rest of the Boston All-Stars. Even Rajon Rondo was nice enough to grace us with an appearance after sitting out the previous 7 contests with a sprained ankle, and he returned to vintage form even though he took frequent breaks. Toronto’s injury corral was not so lucky, with the end of the bench looking poised for a mob hit rather than an NBA game. You really notice at the game how many Raptors are sitting in suits, Bargnani, Weems, Bayless, Stojacovic, and Reggie (unfortunately nowhere to be seen). The game was an exciting one though filled with classic plays and highlights from the best of both teams. DeRozan lit up the scoreboard with hard work, and smooth jumpers for 26 points, including a steal that lead to a breakaway dunk, and a fast break alley-oop conversion that could have been lobbed a couple feet higher and he still would have been able to grab it. Still, Pierce finished with a “silent, but deadly” 30 (even his highlight dunk over Toronto’s entire backcourt was understated, Ray Allen had 23, (KG was out), and the Celtics distanced themselves when it mattered. It was remarkable the Raps were even in the game at all, trailing by 5 with four minutes remaining despite shooting 38% from the floor, 7% from deep, and merely 45% from the charity stripe. All-in-all a great experience and a wonderful opportunity to check out the Raptors live, and also witness some of the all-time greats before it’s too late.
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