Bill Burt

BOSTON — It was a reminiscent of classic world championship boxing match. Two guys, one on one, each blow answered with another one.

You shoot a 3? I got to the hoop and get fouled. You hit a runner? I make a steal and dunk it. You get an offensive rebound and make a pass for a layup? I make both of my free throws.

There is one problem. This wasn't the boxing match we expected when this series started. This wasn't the heavyweights, LeBron James and Paul Pierce, swapping body blows.

This was the battle of the lightweights. This was two guys who were going head to head 11 months ago in Waltham.

Rajon Rondo vs. Delonte West in an Eastern Conference semifinal Game 5 thriller, which the C's eventually pulled out, 96-89, to take a 3-2 lead.

With apologies to James and Pierce, who had 35 and 29 points respectively, they were flyweights compared to Rondo and West in the fourth quarter last night.

James and Pierce each scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, but they were window dressing when the game was on the line.

Rondo, who finished with 20 points and 13 assists, hit both of his shots, one-handed runners through the middle of the lane, and passed out four assists, two of which were easy Kevin Garnett baskets. Oh, yes, I forgot about KG's 29 points and 16 rebounds.

West not only hit two of his three shots, but he got to the line nine times (making seven), scoring 11 of his 21 points in the final 6:09. He added two steals in the final three minutes to almost pull off a miracle comeback.

"I think we saw the beginning of something special for both of them," said Celtics guard Ray Allen, who made only one 3-pointer and finished with just 11 points. "This is the kind of game, a big playoff game, that you never forget."

The Rondo-West battle is nothing new. These two were Celtics a year ago. And they apparently had some memorable one-on-one battles when the green (starters) played the white (reserves) in practice every day.

"Rajon is tough kid. We had some battles and we tussled a few times," said West, referring to incidents when coaches and teammates had to break them up. "I liked going against him. You could see he had glimpses of greatness. He just didn't do it consistently."

Rondo remembers those Waltham wars and says he learned a lot about playing in the NBA at Celtics practices.

"Delonte is very strong. He's like a football player," said the second-year guard from Kentucky. "He wasn't afraid to go at you. He'd take the 3-pointer and he'd drive to the basket."

The irony is that Celtics vice president of basketball operations Danny Ainge was named NBA's Executive of the Year yesterday, most notably for the worst-to-first run these Celtics are still on.

But it was his drafting, particularly these two point guards — West with the 24th pick in 2004 and Rondo with the 21st pick in 2006.

On the day of the draft last year, Ainge traded West, reluctantly he has said several times, with Wally Szczerbiak and the fifth pick to get Ray Allen. While on its own that trade might not seem like a great one, it led to Garnett eventually coming to the Celtics.

West was basically a reserve when he and Szczerbiak were dealt by Seattle to the Cavs before the trading deadline.

"West was a steal for us," said Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. "He can play. I didn't realize how good he was until he got here. He's one of the toughest guys in the league. I love playing with him. He is a player in this league."

Ilgauskas took notice of the other guy, too, another player he didn't know much about before this season started.

"He is so fast and tough to guard," said Ilgauskas. "When he hits the shots he hit, the Celtics are tough to beat."

Is it too much to ask for Rondo, 22, and West, 24, to play like this tomorrow night and then, possibly in a Game 7 on Sunday in Boston?

"No," said Ilgauskas, who was soaking his feet in a mop bucket full of ice and water. "These two young guys are ready to take their games to the next level."

You can expect Rondo to have wide open shots again tomorrow night. You can probably expect someone else other than James needed to keep the Cavs alive, which means the ball will be in West's hands again during crunch time.

Let's do it again.

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E-mail Bill Burt at bburt@eagletribune.com.