Whenever You Are Ready To Count The Celtics Out, They Reel You Back In With Crazy Wins

Playing their fifth game in seven nights on the West Coast, the Celtics had every excuse to pack it in and slink back to Boston as dejected losers. Instead, they chose to fight through their fatigue and pull out a pulsating 110-107 overtime win at Utah's (31-26, 21-7 home) EnergySolutions Arena.

The Celts (30-27, 10-18 away) finished 2-3 on this tough road trip and after the game, no less than head coach Doc Rivers called it their "best win of the season."

Paul Pierce (26 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds) missed his patented elbow jumper at the end of regulation but he made up for it by tearing it up in overtime. The other four Celtics starters were all in double-figures as well: Kevin Garnett (13 points, 10 rebounds), Brandon Bass (15 points, 2 blocks), Avery Bradley (season-high 18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) and Courtney Lee (14 points, 5 rebounds) all earned the next two days off-Boston doesn't play again until Friday. Jason Terry added 14 points off the bench.

Gordon Heyward led the Jazz with 26 points off the bench. Former Celtic Al Jefferson had a double-double (15 points, 11 rebounds) while Paul Millsap filled up the stat sheet (16 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks) and Marvin Williams scored 15 points.

Boston led 28-26 after the first quarter but Utah wrestled it away for a 53-48 halftime advantage. The Celtics played an incredible third quarter (32-19) but predictably, they ran out of oxygen in the fourth quarter as the Jazz outscored them 25-17.

The C's shot 3.4% better from the field (47.7%-44.3%), hit two more 3-pointers (10-8), had two more steals (8-6) and scored six more points off turnovers (21-15).

The Celtics' only game in the next week is on Friday (7:30 p.m., CSN) at TD Garden against Golden State (33-23, 2nd in Pacific Division). It's a weird stretch as the Green and White play one home game then two on the road, another home game then back on the road for two more. Until Thursday, they can kick their feet up and enjoy tonight's excellent victory which thankfully overshadowed what had been a rough week.

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Celtics Do Just Enough To Eliminate The Hawks In 6 Games

Paul Pierce served up a vintage performance in Game 2 of this first round series so it was only right that Kevin Garnett helped close out the Atlanta Hawks with his own version of an instant classic complete with a postgame tirade about the Hawks's no-name owner.

Turning back the clock to say 2004, KG had 28 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks and three steals as the Celtics edged the Hawks 83-80 in Game 6 at TD Garden. Boston clinched the series 4-2 and advances to face the Philadelphia 76ers (who wrapped up their series with the Bulls tonight as well), beginning on Saturday night.

Give credit to Atlanta: for a franchise with a dubious history of no-shows, choking and irrelevance, they made this series and particularly this game way harder than it should have been. However, it must be noted that with Boston clinging to an 80-79 lead with under a minute left, the Hawks couldn't have shot themselves in the foot more. Josh Smith (18 points, 9 rebounds) took a brainless jumper that missed, Joe Johnson (17 points) got blocked by Paul Pierce (18 points, 7 assists) on a layup when he had a clear path to the hoop and Al Horford (15 points, 9 rebounds) missed a free throw that would have tied it up.

It came down to the fact that the Celtics made the plays when they absolutely had to. KG hit the last bucket, a turnaround in the lane. Ray Allen (7 points) made one of two free throws (he missed two in the game!) but Paul Pierce covered for him by swishing both of his with one second left in regulation.

Other than the Game 4 blowout victory, all these games were close and low-scoring. That's why Boston had to seal this one on the defensive end since their offense was mostly MIA in key stretches tonight and all series long for that matter. For all six games, they never allowed Atlanta to score over 87 points; they held the Hawks to 84 or less in every game but one.

Rajon Rondo had a quiet 14 points and eight assists while Brandon Bass and Avery Bradley were both kept in check, to the tune of only six points apiece.

Marvin Williams (16 points, 8 rebounds) had another good performance but Jeff Teague's (5 points) forgettable night was a huge factor in Atlanta's latest season-ending loss.

The Hawks were up 23-20 after the first quarter but a 16-0 run in the second quarter put the Celtics ahead, they led 47-41 at halftime. Boston could never pull away though as Atlanta edged them 22-20 in the third and 17-16 in the fourth.

Atlanta made five more 3-pointers (7-2) but Boston worked for 10 more made free throws (19-9). The C's had four more rebounds (40-36) and the most amazing stat of all was blocks: Boston had seven more than Atlanta (11-4). Finally, thanks to KG the Celtics owned the paint (42-30).

Doc Rivers's team wanted nothing to do with a Game 7 back in Atlanta and while this series and game took them too long to finish, at least they completed the task (something the Lakers have yet to do when similarly leading the Nuggets 3-1).

We don't want to get too ahead of ourselves but this is the best path any Green and White fan could have ever dreamed of: after not having home-court in the first round, they'll have it in the Eastern Conference semifinals (5th season in a row they've made it this far). Philly will be a tougher matchup than many people think but I like Boston's chances of getting through them. Game 1 is Saturday night (8 p.m., TNT). I'll have a full preview up tomorrow night after I can gather my thoughts on the 76ers and do some more research.

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Celtics Let One Slip Away, Can't Close Out The Hawks In Merely 5 Games

Well the Boston Celtics made life a little more difficult on themselves tonight as they let Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first round series slip away to the Atlanta Hawks.

Rajon Rondo (13 points, 12 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 steals) stole Marvin Williams's (15 points) awful inbounds pass with nine seconds left in regulation. The Celtics were down only one point but they didn't have a timeout remaining. Rondo had to freestyle and that wasn't a good thing as he dribbled into a corner and threw it away as time expired, Atlanta survived 87-86 at Philips Arena in a game that neither team seemed that that intent on capturing.

Boston still leads the series 3-2 so they have potentially two more cracks at knocking out the Hawks but this was frustrating since they had it right there for the taking. The Celtics were up 28-18 in the second quarter but it was tied 40-40 at halftime thanks to Rondo's buzzer-beater 3-pointer. I'll give props to the Hawks, a team that is usually so mentally fragile responded in the second half and led 66-56 late in the third quarter before an 8-0 Celtics run cut it to 66-64 after three.

Paul Pierce (16 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals) was awful all night but he hit a clutch 3-pointer to bring Boston within one (87-86) with 50 seconds left. However he missed a driving layup and after forcing a miss on Jeff Teague's (16 points, 5 assists) 3, Pierce had another chance to be a hero but he missed a mid-range jumper that was an airball.

Al Horford (19 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 steals) was the unexpected star of the victory. It felt like he made every big shot in the second half, his baseline jumper was on fire. Not bad for a guy that wasn't expected to play in the series. Joe Johnson (15 points) started out slow as usual but he hit some timely baskets. Josh Smith's (13 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists) also played very well.

Kevin Garnett had 16 points and seven rebounds for the C's while Brandon Bass (14 points, 7 rebounds) had his best game of the series thus far. Avery Bradley was limited to 18 minutes, this was a Ray Allen type of game and he responded with 15 points including a dagger 3 late in the fourth quarter.

The biggest surprise for Boston was that Ryan Hollins (5 points, 4 rebounds) played 19 minutes while Greg Stiemsma (4 minutes) mostly watched from the bench. That may sound crazy but Hollins actually injected the Celtics with some energy and he had two monster alley-oops from Rondo.

There is absolutely no reason to panic, yet. The C's won their previous two home games at TD Garden in this series and I expect that they'll get it done in Game 6 (8:00 p.m., CSNE) on Thursday night. Even though the Bulls managed to stay alive tonight with a win against the Sixers, it would have been nice for the Celts to earn some extra rest for the next series. First things first, it's time to get rid of the Hawks.

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Rajon Rondo & Ray Allen Return, Josh Smith Sits & Celtics Survive OT In Ugly Game 3 Vs. Hawks

Games like tonight are perfect examples of why I will never gamble on sporting events (outside of March Madness and the Super Bowl of course). With Josh Smith out for Atlanta not to mention Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen returning for Boston, who didn't think the Celtics would roll in Game 3 at TD Garden?

It was an extremely ugly contest but the final result is all that matters as the Celts held off the Atlanta Hawks 90-84 in overtime to take a 2-1 series lead.

Boston could never put Atlanta away, until the very end of overtime. The C's led 76-65 midway through the fourth but the Hawks responded with a 15-4 run to tie it at 80. Each team had a chance to go ahead but Willie Green missed a jump shot (i'll always take my chances with him in that spot) and Paul Pierce did his usual isolation play before the buzzer and it didn't go in, like usual. I think it's time to retire that one Doc, I feel like it's successful about 5% of the time, if that.

As predicted by all, Rondo (17 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists, 4 steals) put up the seventh triple-double of his playoff career, 20th overall. Paul Pierce scored 21 points by living at the free throw line (14 for 14) since he was 3 of 12 from the floor. Kevin Garnett had 20 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. Brandon Bass added eight points and five rebounds.

Allen (13 points, 6 rebounds) didn't skip a beat in his first appearance since April 10. With Avery Bradley going down with a separated shoulder, Ray was forced to log 37 minutes but he was able to do it. Mickael Pietrus decided to show up as well, he hit two 3-pointers which in a way turned out to be the difference in the outcome.

It has hard to explain how Atlanta hung tough when you look at numbers like starters Marvin Williams (11 rebounds), Jason Collins and Kirk Hinrich who combined for seven points. Did I mention that Tracy McGrady's (12 points, 9 rebounds) old bones played 41 minutes while some guy that ate Erick Dampier (6 points, 6 rebounds) lumbered up and down the court for 22 minutes?

Joe Johnson had a classic Joe Johnson game, the numbers look good on the surface but not when you delve deeper. I think he's a very good player but not great; this was exactly the time when the Hawks needed him to carry them (see: Pierce in Game 2) but he couldn't do it. He had 29 points and eight rebounds (good) but he shot 11 for 28 from the floor (Melo-esque). Jeff Teague (23 points, 6 assists) continues to play excellent basketball, I haven't seen him like this since he was at Wake Forest.

The tape from this game won't be going to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA anytime soon, that much is for sure. It lacked flow the entire way. Boston trailed 19-17 after the first quarter but led 40-38 at halftime. They each scored 20 in the third quarter then Atlanta edged Boston 22-20 in the fourth to send it to the extra session. The Hawks finally ran out of gas as the C's outscored them 10-4 in overtime.

Boston owned almost every major category. They shot better from the floor (40.5%-37.8%), hit 10 more free throws (22-12), grabbed three more rebounds (51-48), dished out three more assists (18-15) plus they had two more steals (10-8) and four more blocks (8-4). As far as I can tell, the only reason that Atlanta hung around was that they were dominant in the paint (52-36) for some unexplained reason.

Game 4 is Sunday night (7 p.m., CSNE) at the Garden and Smith says he'll play but I guess we'll have to wait and see. I'd like to think that the Celtics would roll but as tonight proved, the Hawks will stubbornly make this a competitive series when it really shouldn't be anywhere near this close. I will say that if Boston wins, I think that they will close it out in five. That's my hope at least.

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The Boston Celtics will beat you and you will do nothing about it

Sitting at the TD Garden last night with my girlfriend as the Boston Celtics took on the Atlanta Hawks, there was only one thing to say after Boston's balanced 102-90 win: this team is a machine.

With Rajon Rondo out for a few weeks nursing his ankle injury, Nate Robinson (14 points, 5 assists, 3 steals) and Paul Pierce (15 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists) took over ball-handling duties and did a fine job as the Celts (21-4) won their 12th straight.

Clearly, not having Rondo for a prolonged period of time is not a recipe for success but this squad has more depth than they did two years ago or last year and most importantly, Kevin Garnett (17 points, 14 rebounds) is back to being the Big Ticket and not another washed up veteran.

Ray Allen added 18 points and five assists, Semih Erden scored 10 points (as Shaq took another night off) and Glen Davis - Mr. Sixth Man of the Year - notched 18 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

When Von Wafer exited with a back injury, the Celtics were left with nine healthy players. Yikes. That meant some run for Avery Bradley, who got abused repeatedly by Jeff Teague (18 points) and Luke Harangody, who did hit two jumpers.

The Hawks (16-11) hung around for awhile but with two of their studs - Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford - out and Josh Smith (1 point in 34 minutes) looking like Ben Wallace's dad, they were bound to fail.

Marvin Williams had a career-high 26 points for Atlanta, Mike Bibby had 11 points and Zaza Pachulia was the only other guy in double-figures with 10 points which is always a good sign.

Boston was up 22-20 after one quarter and 44-43 at halftime. It only took one real run in the third quarter (31-26) for the Celtics to build enough of a lead to hang on. They also played well in the fourth quarter (27-21).

For the game, both teams shot at a high percentage (Boston 53.0% to Atlanta's 50.0%). The Cs had three more 3-pointers (6-3) but the Hawks made way more free throws (19-8) and four more rebounds (37-33). Boston won because of their passing (28-16 in assists), two more steals (12-10) and six less turnovers (18-12). A 50-36 points in the paint advantage also helped their cause.

The Celts will try and get a little more healthy (can't believe I have to worry about Wafer) before they host the Indiana Pacers on Sunday afternoon.

Even Ludacris can't save you Atlanta

For a game in December, the Atlanta Hawks and their fraud fans showed up in full force last night at the Philips Arena. Native son Ludacris even performed at halftime of this circus like atmosphere.

However, it will take more than that to stop the machine that is the Boston Celtics these days though as the C's (24-2) won 88-85. Boston has now won 16 consecutive games, including 10 straight on the road.

As we learned in the playoffs last spring and in the teams' first meeting in November, the Hawks (15-10) match up with the Celtics better than any other team in the league. That's not a misprint Lakers, Cavs, Pistons, Hornets or Spurs. Atlanta's combination of athletic youngsters (Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Al Horford) with some great shooters (Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby) means that games between these two teams are almost always tight.

The Celts starting five once again was superb. Paul Pierce (7 rebounds) and Kevin Garnett (8 rebounds) each had 18 points while Ray Allen added 16. Rajon Rondo went for 15 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals. Kendrick Perkins had eight points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.

For the Hawks, Johnson led the way with a game-high 20 points. Williams had 16 points and eight rebounds while Smith and Bibby both notched 14 points.

The outcome wasn't decided until the final possessions as each team had clutch hoops and free throws. Boston went up one late with a KG hook shot. Johnson was fouled and had a chance to tie it (and likely send the game to OT) but he missed the second free throw.

Ray Allen hit two free throws to put Boston up three and Bibby missed a prayer 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The Celts shot 44.2% to the Hawks' 36.7%. That was the only number that was much different.

Boston comes home to play the Bulls tomorrow night with the chance to tie the second best win-streak in franchise history.

Paul Pierce, proud owner of enormous onions

It's comforting to know that between his busy schedule of winning NBA titles, Finals MVP awards and hitting game-winners (not to mention throwing gang signs and getting stabbed in clubs) that Paul Pierce reads my blog. That much is clear after Pierce once again took over in the fourth quarter last night as the Celtics beat the Hawks, 103-102 at the Garden.

Things didn't look good for Boston as Marvin Williams (14 points) hit a 3-pointer with seven seconds left, putting Atlanta (6-1) up 102-101.

No worries though since we have the Truth. Pierce (game high 34 points, 6 rebounds) hit a turnaround, fadeaway jumper over Al Horford with .5 seconds left.

It's quite early in the season but Pierce could not be playing better basketball as the Celtics (8-1) won their sixth game in a row.

For whatever reason, the C's continue to play poorly in the first half (something that will have to change over the long run since you cannot count on performances like the last couple games).

The Hawks were up 31-24 after the first quarter and took a 16-point lead in the second quarter before Boston tied it up with an 18-2 run. The game was tied at 51 going into halftime.

For the rest of the game, the Celts continued to make plays while the Hawks stubbornly hung around and refused to go away. Atlanta took the third quarter, 26-25 before Boston eked out the fourth 27-25.

Kevin Garnett had a juicy double-double with 25 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Ray Allen added 17 points and seven rebounds (five offense boards has to be a career-high) and Rajon Rondo dished out 10 assists. Kendrick Perkins continued to be solid with nine points and eight rebounds.

For the Hawks, Joe Johnson (28 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds) was the star while Mike Bibby scored 16 points. Veterans Flip Murray (14 points) and Maurice Evans (13 points) had strong games off the bench.

Atlanta shot a blistering 59% as a team on threes (13 of 22) while Boston (5 of 24) fired up plenty of bricks. Outside of Pierce, the main reason that the Celts won was because they got to the line and converted (34 of 42 to Atlanta's 27 of 33) and grabbed 11 more rebounds (43-32).

This budding rivalry is starting to get good after last night's epic early-season game. Even without star Josh Smith, the Hawks pushed the Celtics to the limit and it would not be surprising at all to see these teams meet again next spring.

In the meantime, Denver comes to the Garden tomorrow night with old foe Chauncey Billups leading the Nuggets while Allen Iverson took his place in Detroit.

Don't Try to Explain It, Just Be Happy They're Moving On

In what will go down as one of the most lopsided game seven's of all-time, the Boston Celtics took out three losses worth of frustration on the Atlanta Hawks yesterday at the Garden, winning 99-65 to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cavs.

Doc Rivers (who had never made it out of the first round as a coach), Paul Pierce (who had another meltdown in game 6) and KG (who has only made it out of the first round once) were all spared what would have been a brutal off-season of questions if a 66-win team choked in the first round to a bad team.

The game was never really in doubt as Boston led 44-26 at halftime and by as much as 38 points in the third quarter. Atlanta never showed up (yesterday or in any of the games in Boston). And that ends one of the strangest playoff series' you'll ever see. No road wins for either team and the C's dominated every home game, winning by 19+ each time.

Five Celts scored in double figures, led by Paul Pierce (22 points). Kevin Garnett had 18 points and 11 boards. Kendrick Perkins was a force defensively with 10 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. Rajon Rondo had 10 points and six assists while Leon Powe had 12 points off the bench.

Ray Allen struggled all game, shooting 3 of 12 for seven points but nobody noticed.

Joe Johnson was the only Hawk over ten points with 16. Salim Stoudamire had 10 in extended garbage time and Al Horford ended his fine rookie season with eight points and ten rebounds. Mike Bibby (who couldn't play worse in Boston if he tried) had two points, four rebounds and two assists.

Marvin Williams almost killed Rondo with a hard foul in the third quarter. Rondo went in for a layup and Williams grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed. The two are supposedly friends and luckily Rondo was fine but it could have been a disaster. Williams got a Type-2 flagrant foul and with that, his first playoff season was over.

KG also exacted some revenge on Hawks goofy big man Zaza Pachulia. Garnett absolutely laid him out (on a clean screen) in the back court. Rivers pulled KG and the rest of the starters by the beginning of the fourth since the game was long decided and Boston will play again on Tuesday.

For now, I'm not going to look back on this series with the Hawks much. It exposed plenty of problems with Boston but the most important thing is that they got by. They are still the top seed and I feel like they should get by Cleveland as well. There's no other team that depends so heavily on one player like LeBron and the Cavs. If the Celts can slow him down for four games and make the assorted spare parts beat them, they'll be fine. It's a favorable matchup for Boston but Cleveland has been resting since Friday night so they could steal either game 1 or 2.