Celtics-Pacers - game 6

With 12.9 seconds left in game 6 of the Celtics-Pacers series, with the Celtics up by 1, the ball was inbounded to Paul Pierce, and he was immediately fouled - hard - by Jamaal Tinsley. Pierce reacted by using his left arm to push Tinsley off of him. Doing so very nearly resulted in a Celtics loss. And my initial reaction was that it was the most unfair officiating performance that I'd ever seen.

I've modified that opinion slightly. Pierce definitely should not have reacted the way he did. It was immature and selfish, and could (and probably should) have cost his team a game that they nearly had won. (Though I think that Bob Ryan's description - "the single most unforgivable, untimely, stupid, and flat-out selfish on-court act in the history of the Celtics" - may be a bit excessive.)

The action was nowhere near as egregious as it looked. There was a major piece of acting from Tinsley, who flopped to the floor as if he'd been shot, when Pierce just basically pushed him off. Which he should not have done - he had to walk onto the floor knowing that he was going to get fouled, and understanding that he already had a technical and his team had a 1-point lead. I understand the technical foul there, though I don't know that it was necessary, and I don't blame the officials too much for calling it.

The problem was that they'd already called one on Pierce, back in the 3rd quarter, that was utterly and totally ridiculous. Completely uncalled for and unnecessary. That meant that the could-have-gone-either-way technical that they called with 12.9 seconds left put Pierce out of the game. Instead of Pierce taking a 1-point lead to the foul line, he left the game, Reggie Miller hit the technical free throw to tie it, and Indiana got to select Kendrick Perkins to come shoot the foul shots that should have been Pierce's. He missed both, and the Celtics were very fortunate not to lose in regulation.

They showed great heart and composure in winning the game in overtime. Far more composure than they'd shown earlier in the series. The 2 games that they'd won before last night were blow-outs. The 2 games in the series that were close late had gone to the Pacers, as the Celtics had not been able to either close them out (game 2) or get over the hump and take the lead (game 5). Last night, the Celtics closed out the game.

Interestingly, the two Celtics that have lost their composure are the "veteran All-Stars", Walker and Pierce. The rookies, particularly West and Jefferson, have looked calm and composed all the way through.

Also interesting is that each team has won the first game on its home court and then lost the next two. Boston won game 1 in Boston, Indiana won games 2 & 5. Indiana won game 3 in Indiana, Boston won games 4 & 6. Despite that, I'm glad that game 7 is in Boston. I could see a close Indiana win, a close Boston win or a Boston blow-out. I think that a Pacer blow-out is very unlikely.

My prediction: Boston wins game 7 by ~10. Celtics-Pistons next week.

My predictions aren't usually worth very much...