If I told you that on March 27, the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers would possess the same record, you would probably take it assuming you were a Celts fan.
This weird season is starting to get interesting for Boston since winning the Atlantic Division would ensure a No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. That would give them a puncher's chance in the playoffs because they would have home-court for the first round.
That's big picture but tonight in Charlotte, the C's (27-20, 10-14 road) did enough to beat the Bobcats (7-40, 4-18 home), 102-95 at Time Warner Cable Arena.
By winning their second game in two nights and vanquishing the NBA's worst team, the Celtics pulled into a deadlock with the 76ers (who still own the tiebreaker since they're 2-0 against Boston so far this season).
Paul Pierce wouldn't let his team lose as he poured in a season-high 36 points plus 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks. Did I mention that he was 15 of 18 from the free throw line? Kevin Garnett did his part as well with 24 points.
Brandon Bass scored 15 points, Rajon Rondo notched 13 assists and Avery Bradley had 11 points. Ray Allen missed his third straight game with an ankle injury, he's expected back in the lineup for the next game.
I don't think I've ever heard of this but leave it to the Bobcats to do something wacky: their bench outscored the starters 59-36. If not for Gerald Henderson's 21 points, the other four starters accounted for a pathetic 15 points. I don't know how Bobcats head coach Paul Silas does it; he must drink heavily and cry himself to sleep every night.
Byron Mullens had 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench along with Derrick Brown who put up 16 points and seven assists. D.J. White and Reggie Williams both scored nine points while former UConn star (how much things can change in a year) Kemba Walker had seven points and seven assists.
Boston looked like they might roll as they jumped out to a 33-15 lead but as they usually have this season, they almost immediately gave it back. The C's were only up 52-50 at halftime. A solid third quarter (30-25) and enough plays in the fourth (20-20) allowed the Celtics to survive a game that they led from start to finish.
It being Charlotte, the quietest and most funeral home like NBA arena, it only makes sense that the stats prove it was also bizarro world stuff. Boston attempted 10 more free throws (45-35) and made nine more (34-25). They also had four more rebounds (37-33), six more steals (8-2), eight more fast break points (17-9) and 14 more points in the paint (44-30).
More good news is that the Celtics face the Bobcats one more time, on April 15 back in Charlotte. I wouldn't guarantee a win against almost anybody but that's a W staring them in the face, Boston will be 3-0 against Charlotte.
After one game at the Garden, then this, the C's return home again for one contest. Al Jefferson and the Utah Jazz make their only appearance of the season on Wednesday. The Jazz are right in the thick of the last few seeds in the Western Conference playoffs; at least this meeting isn't in Utah where they possess perhaps the best home-court advantage in the NBA (Mormon power!). The Jazz are a quality team and Wednesday should be much more entertaining than the two dull exhibitions (Wizards, Bobcats) that Boston has played in the last two nights.
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