I Bet That Rajon Rondo Would Trade His Triple-Double For A Game-Winning Shot

We were all treated to the full Rajon Rondo (16 points, 14 assists, 13 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks) experience tonight since he was easily the best player on the Wells Fargo Center's court. Of course, what everyone will remember most is that he not only missed a jumper at the end of regulation but also slipped and airballed another shot to close out overtime as the Celtics (10-9, 4-5 away) lost 95-94 to the 76ers (11-8, 7-5 home).

The two most frustrating aspects of Rondo's final miss are that Kevin Garnett (17 points, 10 rebounds) passed up a decent look in the post and truthfully, Rondo would have been best served driving to the basket for a layup since the lane appeared open. Every game of basketball needs a winner and loser so Philadelphia's Evan Turner (26 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists) was the hero as he hit the last shot-a midrange jumper.

Great stat courtesy of Celtics radio announcer Sean Grande on Twitter (@SeanGrandePBP): In Rondo's first 22 triple-doubles, the Celts were 21-1. Now they've lost the last two of them-Game 7 vs. Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals and tonight.

I don't know what it is about Turner, Thaddeus Young (17 points, 12 rebounds), Jrue Holiday (15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals) or the Sixers but they always seem to push the Celtics to the limit. It must be their young legs, they are morphing into the Atlanta Hawks 2.0 when they see Boston. Jason Richardson added 13 points and five steals while Spencer Hawes and his beautiful mullet notched 10 points and six rebounds off the bench.

By losing, Boston wasted a great effort by Paul Pierce (27 points, 5 assists) and his eventual replacement-Jeff Green (19 points, 8 rebounds off the bench). Not to pin the loss on two guys since basketball is a team game but Brandon Bass (2 points on 0 for 1 shooting) and Jason Terry (4 points on 1 for 12 shooting) picked a bad time to both have their worst performances of the season since they are both starters at the moment.

The Celtics shot better (43.2%-37.4%) than the Sixers from the floor and hit four more 3-pointers (6-2) along with five more assists (24-19) and three more blocks (7-4). Boston had seven more fast break points (16-9) but Philadelphia had eight more points in the paint (40-32). This game was lost by the C's since they had 10 more team turnovers (19-9) and the Sixers converted those into a 12-point advantage (21-9).

After losing the first two meetings of the 2012-13 regular season, Boston gets another shot at Philadelphia tomorrow night (7:30 p.m., CSN) at TD Garden. If they can cut down on the turnovers and not leave the most important shots to Rondo, I like their chances. However, I can almost guarantee that it'll be another close contest since that is how it goes when they meet the 76ers and it's the second night of a back-to-back against an Atlantic Division rival.

UPDATE 12/8: The Celtics assigned rookie forward Kris Joseph to the Maine Red Claws.

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Celtics Win The Atlantic Division, Clinch No. 4 Seed In The Eastern Conference

Tonight's Celtics-Magic game had a slight feel of a JV game since both teams were missing their best players (Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard respectively) but that didn't stop Boston from picking up a very meaningful win.

With their 102-98 triumph at TD Garden, the Celts (37-26, 22-9 home) clinched the Atlantic Division title (their 5th in a row) and also the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Woo homecourt advantage (for one round at least)!

The Celtics are 22-9 since the All-Star break.

Right now, Orlando (36-26, 16-14 away) is in sixth place, meaning that Boston would face No. 5 Atlanta (37-25) in the first round. There are still three games left for the C's and four for the Magic and Hawks to sort that out.

Paul Pierce (29 points, 14 assists) played point forward with Rondo sitting and he set a career-high in dimes in the process, not too shabby. Avery Bradley scored 23 points and Brandon Bass had 21 points. Kevin Garnett put up 15 points and nine rebounds.

Glen Davis (27 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals) played like this was the most meaningful game in his life and knowing him, it probably was. Jameer Nelson had 21 points and nine assists, J.J. Redick had 13 points, Ryan Anderson notched 12 points and nine rebounds while Jason Richardson scored 11 points.

The Celts are off until Friday when they travel to Atlanta for their final road game of the regular season. Doc Rivers should pull a Gregg Popovich and not even let the Big 4 travel with the team. Their work is done for the next week.

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KG is back and all is right in my sports world (minus the Patriots obviously)

For the last week when it looked like Kevin Garnett was returning to the Boston Celtics' lineup when they hosted the Orlando Magic on Martin Luther King day, I was conflicted.

I was excited because I had tickets to the game but I was genuinely worried because KG's health seems so fragile these days and the team that is a bonafide title contender with him, becomes an Eastern Conference also-ran without him.

It's only one night but it looked like the same old KG as he totaled 19 points and eight rebounds in a regular season instant classic, a 109-106 Celtics win.

These two teams have built a nice rivalry over the last few seasons with two straight playoff meetings and back-to-back contests on Christmas.

It's an intriguing matchup, Dwight Howard (33 points, 13 rebounds) and the Magic (26-15) with their array of shooters vs. the teammwork of the Celts (31-9) and balanced scoring.

Like they have so many times over the last four seasons, the Cs made the plays down the stretch. Most notably a three-point play by Paul Pierce (14 points) and a steal by KG as the clock ran out.

Ray Allen notched 26 points, Rajon Rondo added 10 points and 13 assists while Shaquille O'Neal had 12 points. Coming off the bench, Glen Davis like always found his game with 15 points.

Jason Richardson had 14 points, Brandon Bass notched 13 points, Hedo Turkoglu put up 11 points and seven assists while Ryan Anderson put up 16 points off the bench.

When you add this win to the Bruins' earlier rampage, yesterday was exactly what New England sports fans needed to get over the Patriots. In the Celtics and Bruins (yes, I said it before lightning strikes me), we have two teams that can go deep in the postseason this spring. Add in Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon sitting courtside and chugging a beer when he was shown on the jumbotron and it was a good day to be a fan of the other three teams.

Boston was up 27-22 after the first quarter and 55-54 at halftime. Orlando tied it up after three quarters at 81 and the fourth was when the Celts did just enough (28-25) to send Ray Allen's mom home happy.

As a team, Boston shot a lights out 60.0% to Orlando's 45.9%. As expected, the Magic owned 3-pointers (10-3) and also made five more free throws (27-22). Orlando had four more rebounds (34-30) but the Celts had six more assists (25-19), seven more steals (10-3) and four more blocks (6-2). Boston had eight more fast break points (12-4) and most amazingly, double the amount of points in the paint (52-26).

The Celtics host the Detroit Pistons tomorrow night. Detroit has won three in a row and they also beat Boston the last time the teams met (on Dec. 29 in Motown when KG injured his calf).

What did you do on your 23rd birthday?

If you're like me, your 23rd birthday wasn't too unique. From what I remember, I went out to a local chain restaurant with my parents and received a season of Rescue Me on DVD. Pretty thrilling.

If you're Rajon Rondo, your day was a little more special, as you scored a career-high 32 points (10 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals) in Boston's 128-108 win over Phoenix yesterday afternoon.

It was the Celtics' first game without KG since his latest injury (strained knee). The Suns (31-24) came in having won three straight games while setting an NBA record by scoring 140+ points in each of them. They were also missing a star as Amar'e Stoudemire is out for the rest of the regular season following retina surgery.

The C's (45-12) actually got off to a slow start, as the Suns led by eight early at home but after that Boston cruised. The Celts outscored Phoenix 38-33 in the first quarter and led 68-54 at the half.

It should come as no surprise that the Suns are still allergic to defense. They fired head coach Terry Porter and replaced him with Alvin Gentry, which means nothing except another eventual first round playoff exit (which would have happened regardless).

Rondo set his record early in the second half as the Suns tried to climb back (29-28). Even without KG and with their few big guys in foul trouble, the Celts closed with a 32-25 fourth quarter.

Ray Allen also had a great game, scoring 31 points while Paul Pierce added 26 points and six rebounds. Brian Scalabrine had one of his best games in a Celtics uniform (which is not saying much) as he dropped 14 points and Glen Davis notched 10 points.

Between court appearances and speeding tickets, Jason Richardson stopped by to score a meaningless 21 points. Steve Nash had 19 points and 11 assists while Shaquille O'Neal notched 17 points and six boards. Leandro Barbosa scored 18 points in the loss.

Boston takes on Denver in the Mile High City tonight. They'll be looking for revenge after the Nuggets knocked them off early in the season at the Garden. It will also be Chauncey Billups' first meeting against the C's as a member of the Nuggets.

Rondo is my Dad

It's a proven fact in sports that for whatever reason, some teams always seem to give you trouble, even when they have less talent. Such is the case with the Boston Celtics this season and the Charlotte Bobcats. The Celts (45-12) held off the pesky Bobcats (19-39), 108-100 at the Garden.

It was the third time the teams have met this season. Boston won the first on a Ray Allen buzzer-beating 3-pointer and lost the rematch in the Garden.

Charlotte only had nine players last night since Gerald Wallace and Sean May were out. The C's were up all game, by as much as 17 but they had a hard time putting the visitors away.

Rajon Rondo had one of the best games of his young career with nine points, a career-high 16 assists, six rebounds and two steals. Kendrick Perkins added 19 points, nine boards and five blocks. Ray Allen scored 23 points and pulled down five rebounds.

Boston led 33-28 after the first quarter and 61-46 at the half. Jason Richardson had a game-high 30 points and six rebounds for the Bobcats and Raymond Felton flirted with a triple-double: 22 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Richardson joined LeBron and Corey Maggette (really?) as the only guys to have 30+ points two times against the Celts this season.

Charlotte took the last two frames, 26-25 and 28-22. Former Big East standouts starred for Charlotte as Matt Carroll had 16 points and Emeka Okafor contributed 11 points and seven boards. Rookie Jared Dudley from BC even got into the action with nine points, seven rebounds and three steals.

For the C's, Kevin Garnett had 17 points and nine boards while Paul Pierce's cold-streak continued as he managed just 13 points. Leon Powe scored nine and Glen Davis tossed in seven.

The Celts shot 47.7% for the game to the Bobcats' 40.2%. Charlotte made a few more 3-pointers (11-9) and free-throws (23-17). Assists were the story thanks to Rondo's remarkable performance, the Celts had 11 (33-22) more dimes.

Up next, the Hawks come to the Garden tomorrow night. The Celts haven't seen Atlanta yet this season and there's a decent chance they could see each other in the first round of the playoffs (don't laugh).

The First Stink Bomb of the '07-'08 Season

Through the first 32 games of the season, the Boston Celtics hadn't played a bad game. They'd lost three games: one in overtime and two others that they lost by two and three points respectively. Sooner or later, they were bound to just completely lay an egg. Nobody thought it would be last night though when the Charlotte Bobcats came to the Garden.

Playing the best game of their season, the Bobcats (13-21) made all the plays and hit the big shots as they defeated Boston (29-4), 95-83. The Celts nine game win streak was snapped in the process.

The C's were playing without Ray Allen, who has a sore neck. Ironically, the first time these teams met (on Nov. 24), Boston scored an improbable win as Allen hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer. With Allen, would the Celts have won? Who knows?

Jason Richardson had a game-high 34 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Repeatedly, Richardson would hit shot-clock beating prayers. It was that kinda night. Nazr Mohammed (18 points, 10 assists) had a huge night off the bench while Raymond Felton (16 points, 8 assists, 4 boards) and Gerald Wallace (15 points, 10 boards, 4 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals) had nice performances as well. 

Kevin Garnett (24 points, 8 boards, 4 assists, 2 blocks) showed up but the same couldn't be said for most of his teammates. Paul Pierce was dreadful, shooting 4 for 14 from the floor including 1 of 9 on 3-pointers for 13 points, eight boards and three assists. Rajon Rondo had 13 points, four rebounds and three assists while James Posey (10 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists) was the only other Celtic in double-figures. Kendrick Perkins added 10 rebounds.

Boston outscored Charlotte, 24-20 in the first quarter but the Bobcats responded to outscore them in each of the last three frames. It was the first time Boston had been down going into the fourth quarter and their attempts at a late comeback never panned out. Boston couldn't put together enough stops to get anywhere.

The Bobcats shot 48.8% from the floor while Boston was 41.7%. As a team the C's were 4 of 20 for three and they turned the ball over 17 times. It was a game to forget, proving that even great teams can slip up in the NBA when you least expect it. Projecting win totals in the high 60's or low 70's is absurd. This team is still in its infancy since it has so many new players trying to mesh together.

Boston will look to get back to its winning ways when it travels to New Jersey tomorrow night.