Boston  103    Houston  99

Houston -  For Nba fans this was a great matchup so early in the season for East vs West. Usually we have to wait until Feb/March for these showdowns. None the less this matchup lived up to its hype: Artest vs Pierce

Both Ron Artest and Paul Pierce struggled on the offensive end. Shooting a combined 8-31. Most likely this had something to do with the great defensive plays by both on each end of the floor. Artest may be the best defender in the NBA and he controlled Pierce throughout.

Ray Allen however couldnt be stopped by Tmac. Allen was 11-15 from the floor, for 29 points. Late in the 4th Quarter they even had to switch Artest onto Ray because he was scorching the nets.

Kendrick Perkins played one of his best games in a Celtics uniform last night. His numbers dont show justice to exactly how good he was. Perk had 15 points,7 rebounds and 4 blocks. He got Yao Ming is foul trouble right out of the gate, and this gave Boston control early, and throughout. Ming was 4-14, for only 8 points. Perkins blocked one of Yao's shot's late in the game and it went off of Yao providing a HUGE stop for Boston.

This game was a perfect example of why the NBA is great. You had two very good teams playing a tough, physical game and it was decided by four points.

Possibly a NBA FINALS Preview, who knows right....