Boston fans can finally stop holding their collective breath because in Game five of the Eastern Conference Finals, the third member of its Big Three finally acted like it.

Ray Allen, who hadn’t been able to find his shooting touch this postseason, busted out of his slump by pouring in 29 points on 9-for-15 shooting. He led Boston to a 106-102 victory, and a 3-2 series lead. Allen also went 5-for-6 from the three-point line. Prior to this game, he had been 3-for-14 from behind the arc against Detroit.
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The Celtics and Pistons were the clear-cut top two teams in the East this year, so there is no surprise that they’re vying for a spot in the NBA Finals. What is surprising is the way these teams enter this series.

Boston was unexpectedly pushed to Game seven in each of the first two rounds, and is 0-6 on the road in the postseason. Now, it will have to continue the emotional roller coaster coming off a short layoff. Detroit had it easier and defeated Orlando in five games in the second round, but was actually down 2-1 in round one against the seventh-seeded 76ers. The Pistons will now have to shake off some rust coming into this series on a week layoff.

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