新聞出處(必填):官網 http://www.nba.com/celtics/game_preview/preview042909-bulls.html 作者: By Marc D'Amico April 30, 2009 Celtics.com It may have taken longer than expected, but the time has finally come. At 7 p.m. Thursday night in Chicago, the Boston Celtics will take the court with an opportunity to clinch their first round series against the Bulls and move on to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Their Game 5 victory Tuesday night, which was the team's fourth consecutive Game 5 win at home, came in dramatic fashion. For the third time in the series, a new NBA Playoffs record, the teams went to overtime in another barnburner. With Ray Allen fouled out of the game, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo made the clutch plays down the stretch and in turn gave the Celtics two chances to clinch the first round series. Although they only have to win either Game 6 on the road or Game 7 at home, it's clear that the goal is to take care of business tonight in the United Center. "It would be great to finally get this thing over with," Paul Pierce said on Wednesday in Waltham. "It's just more mentally draining as much as it is physically. With the overtimes, with the two-point games... it's like no team has really gotten an edge. It's like every game has been a nailbiter." To become an NBA champion, you must develop a killer instinct. When there's blood in the water, it's time to attack, and that's exactly what the Celtics must do Thursday night. In order to close out this series, the Celtics will need to play their best game of the series, because you can bet that the Chicago Bulls will come out playing like their life is on the line. Paul Pierce showed his killer instinct Tuesday night when he made four huge shots down the stretch to help the Celtics come from behind. "I was just happy for Paul, that he was going through another sluggish games in a lot of ways and he reached out and got it," Doc Rivers said. "Ray (Allen) was out, we had gone small -- but we had go small with defenders -- which means there's going to be even less space for him to work when you have Perk and Rondo and Tony. There's a lot of help defense out on the floor [with that lineup], and he was still able to get to his spot and I think that will help him in the next game." Much of Pierce's success stemmed from a film session prior to Tuesday's game. So anyone who doesn't agree with the Celtics only watching film Wednesday, pay close attention. "I thought (Assistant Coach) Armond Hill did a great thing yesterday," Rivers said. "He sat Paul down after shootaround and showed him all of the plays where [the Bulls have] gotten deflections or bigs on the ball, and showed all of the plays where he got his shot. And I thought Paul had a pretty good mental picture of where his spot was." Rivers and his staff hope that their sessions Wednesday will have the same result, helping the C's to play effectively, know their roles and get to the right spots. One player who flew under the radar in Tuesday's win was Kendrick Perkins. He was in the right spot all night long. With Pierce and Rondo playing like All-Stars on offense, Perkins was the rock holding down the Celtics at the other end, racking up 19 rebounds and seven blocks while astonishingly finishing the game with zero fouls. "Perk right now is Kevin (Garnett)," Rivers said. "He's taken Kevin's role as being the defensive leader with the bigs. On the floor he's become a verbal leader as well...and you need that leadership on the floor." Five games into the 2009 Playoffs, it seems like things are finally starting to come together for the Celtics. Their defense down the stretch was reminiscent of when KG used to be on the floor and their offense was patient and collected. If that play continues tonight, the C's will have a great shot as closing the door on the young Bulls. With Boston's starters racking up a ridiculous amount of minutes in this series as a result of low bench contributions and overtime games, winning tonight becomes even more important. The guys may not look tired and they may not play tired, but the real fact is that these veterans would love some extra time off before Round 2. In the words of Ray Allen: "I, myself, I'd love to get it over with." 拍謝還在打報告 所以沒有順便翻譯 在六個小時就要開打了 GO~ CELTICS!!! --

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