Ray Allen exchanged daggers with Ben Gordon down the stretch, powering the Boston Celtics to a 118-115 win over Chicago in game two of their National Basketball Association playoff series on Monday.
Allen, who snapped his shooting slump, made a tiebreaking three-pointer with two seconds left and finished with 30 points as the Celtics levelled the first round series at one game each.
"I never think I'm not in my rhythm," Allen said. "It can be a grind as a shooter. As a scorer you're always trying to find something."
Gordon nearly carried Chicago to a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. He scored with 12.3 seconds left to tie it, and had a playoff career-high 42 points.
Then Boston set up a play for Allen, who took a pass from Rajon Rondo and connected from the right side.
"We had me come back to the top," Allen said. "I was open and was just thinking let's get the ball in my hands."
Allen had just four points on one-for-12 shooting in Boston's 105-103 overtime loss on Saturday.
The next two games of the series are scheduled for Chicago on Thursday and Sunday.
"We are excited about going to Chicago," he said, adding he looks forward to facing Gordon.
"It is a great challenge because he is such a tough player," Allen said.
"It felt like we were in the summertime playing pickup," Gordon said. "He is a great shooter and I knew he would break out eventually."
Said Boston's Paul Pierce, "We feel very confident because we feel like we haven't even played good basketball yet. Our best is yet to come."
The Bulls showed they could compete with the Celtics, who could be without Kevin Garnett (strained right knee) for the rest of the playoffs.
"We got a split and that's tough to do against the defending champs," Gordon said.
Consecutive three-pointers by Gordon gave the Bulls a 109-104 lead before the Celtics rallied. Glen Davis made two free throws and Rondo connected on a long jumper to give Boston a 112-111 lead with 1:01 to play.
Gordon followed with a 16-foot jumper and Allen countered with a three-pointer that put Boston ahead 115-113 with 25.3 seconds remaining.
Then it was Gordon's turn. He connected from near the foul line before the Celtics called a timeout to set up their final play.
Rondo dribbled on the left side and Allen worked himself free, caught the pass and converted.
Davis had 26 points for second-seeded Boston, passing his career high of 24 points on March 21, and Rondo had a triple-double - 19 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds. Pierce added 18 points and Kendrick Perkins contributed 16 points and 12 rebounds.
John Salmons had 17 points and Brad Miller scored 16 for Chicago.
In San antonio, France's Tony Parker had 38 points and eight assists as the San Antonio Spurs beat Dallas 105-84 in game two of their first-round playoff series.
"I was just trying to be aggressive," Parker said. "We came out with a lot of energy and our defence was great."
Dallas was trying to send the Spurs to consecutive home playoff losses for the first time since 2002, but couldn't contain San Antonio's speedy point guard. Parker had 27 points in the first half.
"We didn't panic," Parker said. "We watched film and made some adjustments and game two was a lot better for us."
Jason Terry finished with 16 points for Dallas, which suffered one of the worst losses in the heated playoff rivalry.
Game three is on Thursday in Dallas.
"He was very aggressive, going to the hole and shooting jump shots," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Parker. "He did a good job of staying aggressive and not losing his concentration. He was very focused the whole game."
The Mavericks beat the Spurs 105-97 on Saturday for their first road playoff victory in three years. But it was hardly rare territory for San Antonio: The Spurs have come back to win four series after losing Game 1 since 2002.
The Mavericks haven't won a playoff series since 2006. Winning the opener was a start, but they'll have to figure out another way to stop Parker in game three.
"The head of the snake, Tony Parker. We got to do something to contain him," Mavs Jason Terry said. "
Parker finished 16-of-22 from the field. He had 19 points in the first quarter alone, equaling the Mavericks' total.
(AFP via China Daily April 22, 2009)
