After being down 17-4 in the first quarter, the Celtics bounced back nicely in the second quarter and lead 45-43 at the half.
Here are some thoughts:
* Paul Pierce turned it on in the second quarter. He scored all of his 12 points in the frame.
* The Celtics woke up in the second quarter after basically sleep-walking through the first. They held Houston to 36.8% shooting (7-of-19).
* The C's have done a nice job of containing James Harden (knock on wood). He only has 6 points on 2-of-7 from the floor.
* The battle of the boards is nearly even. The C's are getting contributions from everybody, as everyone who has played has gotten at least one rebound.
* Boston has been very active on the defensive end. They're getting their hands in passing lanes, and as a result, they're deflecting a lot of passes and creating turnovers. The Celtics have 10 steals to Houston's 4.
* Trapping has become a staple in the Celtics defense as of late. Kevin Garnett and the rest of the Celtics bigs have done a nice job off of screens of staying with the ball-handler and making it difficult to give up the ball. The pressure created from the Celtics' traps has resulted in a lot of Houston's turnovers.
* As far as those turnovers are concerned, Houston is living up to it's status of being the worst in the league at turning the ball over. They have 12 already to Boston's 7.
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