There were so many missed opportunities in last night’s game (can’t the C’s stop Derek Fisher once? Just once?) that I had almost completely forgotten about this play until I saw it posted at Celtics Hub. Pierce dove to the hoop with nobody within a 10-foot radius of him and Rondo, whether it was because he didn’t see Pierce or what, didn’t hit him. It would have tied the game at 72-72 and gotten the Celtics over the hump they were stuck on pretty much the entire fourth quarter.

Instead Big Baby dove onto the floor fruitlessly after Rondo’s miss, almost shattering the court in the process, and Fisher came right back to hit two jumpers in a row. What could have been a tie ballgame was suddenly 76-70.

Would the game’s result have changed if the Celtics had scored on that play and made it 72-72? I don’t know. But Paul Pierce was quite naked sitting underneath that hoop.

(P.S. – Another underrated play? Ray Allen’s off-ball foul when the C’s were down only 68-67. It looked like Fisher’s arms were draped all over Ray, but the foul was whistled on Ray. Woulda, coulda, shouldas, though. The C’s still should have kept Fisher from hitting all those damn shots.)