Normally, Paul's game-high 29 points and seven rebounds against the 76ers Tuesday would be the toast of the town. But it was his sixth assist that proved to be his most important contribution to the Celtics' twelfth-straight victory.

With .5 seconds remaining, the Truth drove to the basket and found Ray Allen in the corner for a game-winning three, sending the Celtics home with a 100-99 victory.

“We have a player-coach bond,” Paul told the Boston Globe. “We thought the first play (coach Doc Rivers drew up) was a good-looking play. And we executed – guys set the screens and I saw Ray wide open, and that's exactly what we wanted.”

No. 34 started off cold before heating up at towards the end of the first quarter, notching six straight points to give his team a nine-point lead. His nine points in the period helped Boston jump out to a twelve-point advantage after one, but despite six more points from the Truth in the second, the Sixers stormed back to cut the lead to a single point at the break.

Paul came out of the locker room blazing scoring five quick points, but the Celtics' offense sputtered through the rest of the third quarter, and the Sixers held a one-point lead heading into the fourth.

But as the Sixers were made painfully aware of last night, the fourth quarter belongs to the Truth. With the Celtics trailing 92-85, Paul went on a scoring tear notching his team's next five points including a three-point play on a driving layup to cut the lead to a single bucket.

He again brought his team within a point with just over a minute remaining by draining both attempts in a trip to the free throw line, and helped tie the score at 97 with an assist to shooting guard Ray Allen.

After a Sixers basket gave them a two-point lead, the Celtics put the ball in the hands of their captain. And taking what the defense gave him, he penetrated to the basket and kicked the ball out to Allen in the corner for the game-winning three, preserving the Celtics' winning streak.

“We always feel like we're never out of the fight,” Paul said of the team's come-from-behind victory. “We're a championship team. Just being able to keep our poise down the stretch and execute, and we know we can win these type of games.”

NEXT UP
No. 34 and the Celtics will welcome Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers to TD Bank North Garden for a rematch of their Christmas Day matchup Thursday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 PM Eastern Time, and you can catch all the action on TNT.

RELATED STORIES
Allen's three gives Boston twelve straight wins (AP, February 3, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20090203/BOSPHI/recap.html
Celtics nail it down (Boston Globe, February 4, 2009)
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2009/02/04/celt...

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