Boston continues to deal with adversity. Somehow, you have to think that this will all pay off later.
They even managed another road win against a team they had trouble beating at home in the play-offs last year.
With Kevin Garnett out again with continuing knee problems, and the team dealing with foul troubles during the game, the short handed Celtics executed their game well. They built a 20 point 4th quarter lead, then held off the Hawks in Atlanta. It was their third straight win this season against the Hawk team that took them to 7 games in the last play-offs.
Surprisingly, even without Kevin Garnett, the Celtics held Atlanta to 93 points and .422 shooting. It was even better than that heading into the 4th quarter, where the Hawks outscored the Celtics 33-22.
In a surprise pregame announcement, Doc said that Garnett will not play and could be shut down for a while again. Final word on that will come soon, he said.
Role Players Rise Up
Starting in Garnett’s place and continuing his improvement, Glen Davis played solid defense on the night, while adding a big block on a driving Joe Johnson. Glen Davis contributed 19 points and 12 rebounds, leading strong support of Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.
Eddie House continued to make shots, adding 12 points in the first half. Stephon Marbury finally broke out of his shooting slump with 11 points and three straight three pointers, while Mikki Moore grabbed 10 rebounds.
Marbury Shines
Everyone played important parts in the win. But, aside from Big Baby’s big game, the most significant contribution was Marbury’s mini-offensive burst. On a night the Celtics were looking for offense, he made two straight threes and finished the first half with yet another off a drive and kick out from Pierce to give the Celtics their biggest lead at that time, 52-42.
Marbury added a tough twisting drive for two more in the second half. This game signals what kind of help Stephon could give going forward.
Allen and Pierce Navigate The Celtics to Win
Ray Allen started the Celtics off with 6 straight points in the first quarter, then added 9 more in the 4th quarter, hitting two big lane jumpers to maintain a 7 point lead, when the Hawks threatened to catch the Celtics as the game wound down. The Hawks closed to within 95-91 on a Joe Johnson three with 1:11 left
From there, Paul Pierce made 4 big free throws in the final 57 seconds to ice the win for a tired team. Paul did not have a good shooting night but added 5 assists and 4 rebounds, in addition to his 21 points.
Kendrick Perkins was saddled with foul trouble all night including a questionable foul call for his 5th foul, regarding throwing his elbows. He managed 9 rebounds in 20 minutes before fouling out with 4:19 left in the game. Shortly after Mikki Mooore had 5 fouls. If he picked up his 6th, Davis would have been the tallest Celtic in uniform.
Play of the Night
Rajon Rondo played with two sore ankles and managed 9 points and 5 assists. He made the play of the night with a fake hand off to Paul Pierce, totally faking the defense, then turning and driving, drawing more defenders, then passing to Davis for a dunk to end the 3rd quarter. It was one of those plays you had to see to believe it.
Next up: The Oklahoma Thunder on Sunday in Boston
