Sports Redux: A Very, Very, Very Fine House

It's tied. But not in the way you'd expect. Sure, Ray Allen had a good shooting night, and Rajon Rondo notched his third triple-double in the playoffs - those are the kinds of things you expect to see in a win, especially one as lopsided as last night's 112-94 triumph.

But what you might not have expected was the total lack of Paul Pierce - he gave the Celtics a 3-0 lead and spent almost the entire rest of the night on the bench in foul trouble - and the sudden reappearance of Eddie House. No, that doesn't look right. Let's try EDDIE HOUSE. Better. EDDIE HOUSE scored a game-high 31 points, most of them seemingly effortless, to spark the second and third quarters and keep Orlando from even considering thinking about getting back in the game. He also got Magic guard Rafer Alston tossed when Alston slapped him in the head after yet another three. With the crowd chanting EDDIE's name, he just kept getting better. A glum Stan Van Gundy, after the game: "I've seen some great shooting shows in my life, but that was unbelievable."

Now the series shifts to Orlando, where the Celtics need to put their foot down early and count on the Magic's apparent lack of heart. We're not the only ones to observe that the C's fell behind 28 in Game One and almost tied it, while the Magic fell behind 26 in Game Two and were openly packing their suitcases on the sidelines. Also much credit is due to Perk, who may have completely exposed Dwight Howard as a one-dimensional big lug who can't hit a shot from more than 6 inches from the basket. (We really hope that doesn't come back to bite us.) For one Celtic's part, he's ready for the challenge: "I was sluggish to start Game 1 and didn't come out with enough passion," said Rajon Rondo, who was mouthing off in a way that we kind of love. "And that will never happen again."

Good thing the Celtics and EDDIE HOUSE took care of business, because the rest of the day's action was bleak. The Bruins got a quick early goal from Milan Lucic, then slowly collapsed like a flan in a cupboard (hat tip: Eddie Izzard). While the Hurricanes played like they were in the playoffs or something, the B's "got outworked," in the sad words of Dennis Wideman, utterly failing to put pressure on Cam Ward and leaving Tim Thomas exposed to 41 shots. Not good times. When Jussi Jokinen tapped a rebound past Thomas for the 3-2 OT win, it was almost a relief, since now the Bruins can go back to practice and get slapped in the back of the head by the coaching staff.

And the Red Sox, with their B lineup firmly in place (Youk still out, Ellsbury sore, Drew leading off, Tek hitting sixth), whimpered before Carl Pavano and the Indians, losing 9-2. There goes the home winning streak. But in truth, the thoughts of the Nation were with Jerry Remy last night, as we learned that he's on the comeback train from cancer surgery. NESN's promised to hold his seat for him until he's ready.

Photo by Elise Amendola/Associated Press.