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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Oh God no!

If you want to blame Kevin Garnett's injury on me, I'll accept it.

It has not been a banner week for myself since my cable went out on Tuesday night which means no DVR and it won't be fixed until Friday. FML! I knew the karma from that was bad since I had seen almost every Celtics and Bruins game this season up until the other night.

So obviously I was covering a high school basketball last night when I scanned Twitter for a few minutes and noticed it was blowing up. What was the cause? Oh just another possible serious injury to KG. No matter where I was when I found that out, I wouldn't have been happy but sitting in a rotten mood at a boring high school game was about the most helpless feeling I can remember in a while.

Watching the endless replays when I got back to the office, it happened in the first quarter when he went up for a dunk. He wasn't touched by anyone but as he elevated, something clearly got tweaked in his right leg. It was eerily similar to the injury in Utah two seasons ago that ended that campaign. He was also kicked in the leg by Monte Ellis last season which made him miss some time.

More than anything, I feel bad for KG since he's worked so diligently to return to form at a time when most had all but written him off. The Boston Globe's Gary Washburn wrote a column today about how Jermaine O'Neal and Shaq have to take control inside now with KG out. What planet am I on? That was one of the dumbest things I've ever read, doesn't Washburn watch this team every night? This isn't 2001, no matter how much time Garnett misses, his production falls to Glen Davis, not the two fossils we have at center.

After the game last night, Celtics head coach Doc Rivers and the journalists that cover the team tried to calm everyone's fears by saying it was a calf injury, not a knee injury. Garnett is scheduled to have an MRI today, fingers crossed.

There was a game last night in the Palace of Auburn Hills and the Detroit Pistons beat the Boston Celtics 104-92.

The Pistons (11-21) received a team-high 21 points and eight assists from Tracy McGrady (I can hardly believe it), Tayshaun Prince had 18 points, Charlie Villanueva scored 14 points while Ben Gordon (12 points), Austin Daye (12 points) and Chris Wilcox (10 points) all reached double figures.

The Celts (24-6) were led by Paul Pierce (33 points, 8 assists, 4 steals) but Ray Allen (12 points, 7 rebounds) and Glen Davis (12 points) seemed to be the only Cs to do anything outside of the Truth.

I don't feel the need to rehash this forgettable game and poor performance.

Boston comes home to host the New Orleans Hornets tomorrow afternoon in a New Year's Eve special start time (3 p.m.). Rumors are swirling that Rajon Rondo - who's been out six straight games - might return to take on Chris Paul but we shall see.

How the hell did the Rockets win 22 in a row?

Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster and aliens (not including Sam Cassell), just a few examples of life's great mysteries. To that distinguished list you can add the now completed 22-game winning streak by your Houston Rockets.

The thing is while the first three parts of that list are hard to prove to anyone except rubes, hippies and shit for brains scientists, somehow the Rockets really did win all those games.

I guess I'm missing something because after watching the Celtics (on the second night of a back-to-back) dominate the host Rockets, 94-74, I'm wondering if Houston (46-21) will even make the playoffs.

Before you start suspecting that I'm smoking crack, check out the Western Conference standings. Houston is the top seed but they're only 4.5 games in front of No. 8 Golden State. And how could a team that just had the second longest win-streak in NBA history fall apart? Well, after last night's whipping, they go to New Orleans tonight, then Golden State and Phoenix. Sure, Yao Ming went out during game 13 of the streak but there is no way this team makes any noise for the rest of the season. Let's not forget what fraud is leading them-Tracy McGrady (8 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds)-who has won as many NBA playoff series' as me (none).

Oh yeah, the game. It was pretty entertaining from start to finish as Rafer Alston (12 points, 2 steals, 1 assist, 4 turnovers) had a cat fight with Rajon Rondo (8 points, 2 assists) before the game had even started. Uh OK. I guess Skip thought he was back on the And-1 tour or something. Charles Barkley not surprisingly had a great line about it after the game. "Two guys fighting that don't know how to fight."

It was clear from that auspicious start that the Rockets came out tight, most likely since they knew Boston (54-13) was a far superior team and therefore their win-streak was cooked.

The two halves were completely different. And from the way the Celts have come out after halftime the last two nights, Doc Rivers must be giving some real inspiring speeches.

The C's doubled up the Rockets, 32-16 in the third before taking the fourth, 22-18. Ray Allen missed his third straight game with the ankle injury and his namesake Tony Allen (6 points, 3 rebounds) didn't fare much better as he left in the third after being suplexed by Luis Scola (15 points, 8 rebounds) onto his back.

Kevin Garnett (22 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks) didn't have his shooting touch (9 of 21) but he was still the best player on the court. The surprise of the game was how much Leon Powe (21 points, 4 rebounds) dominated on the inside. Without Yao, Houston starts Mutombo (2 points, 6 rebounds), who was around when the pyramids were built.

Paul Pierce (20 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals) had another nice game while James Posey was scoreless but grabbed 10 rebounds.

The Rockets rely way too much on 3-pointers but in the first half they made a few so they were right in it. Houston was up 22-21 after one and it was tied at 40 at the half.

Some guy named Mike Harris that I'd never heard of had 12 points, six rebounds and two blocks while Aaron Brooks had 10 points in garbage time. Smoke and mirrors people, this team is a complete joke, particularly in the West.

The Celts get tonight off before going into Dallas tomorrow night for another TNT primetime game. The Mavs are 0-6 against teams that are above .500 since they traded for Jason Kidd. If Boston can defeat the Mavs, they'd be the first team since the Kings in 2001 to win all three games in the Texas Triangle.

Furthermore, in these two games (and hopefully the next two), Boston has proven without a doubt that they're the best team in the league. The Lakers were right there but Pau Gasol just got hurt and Andrew Bynum isn't coming back until the playoffs. The Spurs look old and not deep, the Suns still can't play defense, the Hornets have no experience and the Mavs choke in the fourth quarter of close games.

Everything can change in the blink of Big Baby's eye but if all goes well, the Celtics should be in the NBA Finals come June.