I woke up dreading the obituary I seemed destined to write, but the Celtics always find a way to ward off death, at least for a time. The Celtics are still unable to play four quarters, but after blowing a 20 point lead they managed to grind out a fifth one and they were able to come away with a win. “We just need to get to overtime. We’re really good at it.” Doc joked after the game, but Kevin Garnett put it best: “Instead of talking tonight, we actually came out and did it.” Let’s get to the bullet points:

• Since we’re on the subject of talking, it took 85 games but the Jason Terry we were promised at the beginning of the season (and nightly by Jason Terry himself) finally made an appearance in Celtic green. JET was phenomenal, particularly in overtime where he scored the Celtics’ final nine points. Terry finished with 18 points on 7-10 shooting, four assists, and a miraculous zero turnovers in easily his best passing display of the season. Avery Bradley fumbled away a brilliant pass by JET early in the game, probably because he was shocked by how on-target it was. “The JET has been in the hangar a long time. It was good to let it out.” Terry said after the game, submitting his entry for understatement of the season. “Lot of Knick fans here. A closeout game and they come and take over our building, not our building. That fueled me up.”
• Paul Pierce had a few throwback moments tonight (including a tomahawk dunk!) on his way to a well rounded 29 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Pierce shot 4-8 from downtown after entering this game shooting 13% from three, and though some of those shots were ill-advised they were a huge part of Boston’s early lead. He also continued to have a bad case of the fumbles (six turnovers) but that’s become the norm at this point, even if it isn’t desirable. Yesterday, Pierce called friends to make dinner plans in New York.
• Kevin Garnett found his legs, at least for a day, finishing with 13 points (including an alley-oop slam) and 17 (!!!) rebounds and six assists. Garnett only took seven shots, but with other Celtics picking up the scoring load he was able to concentrate on anchoring the Celtics’ defense.
• “Brandon was the star of the game as far as I’m concerned. He just defended. Did it over and over and over again,” Rivers told reporters after the game. The box score doesn’t do Brandon Bass justice (aside from the six fouls) and he played a huge role in frustrating an ISO heavy Melo on the defensive end of the floor. Melo missed 25 of his 35 shots (including all seven of his threes) and, not to be outdone by Paul Pierce, turned the ball over seven times. “I wouldn’t say I’m a great defensive player.” Bass said. “I just take a lot of pride in it.”
• In backcourt-watch, Terrence Williams played 11 minutes, Jordan Crawford played seven (and took five shots!), and Courtney Lee was glued to the bench. Williams didn’t do much (one point, three assists, three turnovers) but he can bring the ball up the floor, unlike most of the Celtics.
• Jeff Green seems to get a lot of flack for a player averaging nearly 21 points-per-game this series, and the past few months it feels like every other night he puts the team on his back. Green finished game four with 26 points, including some gravity-defying layups in transition, and six rebounds. “We rallied,” Green said afterwards. “They made their run. This is a big one for us. We’ve got nothing to lose, all the pressure’s on them.”

Green is right, though the forced comparisons to the 2004 Boston Red Sox that seem to be springing up everywhere are premature. It’s unlikely that Carmelo will play so poorly for three more games and J.R. Smith is sure to wreak havoc against the Celtics’ ever-shifting backcourt rotation. The Celtics are attempting something 103 other teams, better teams, have tried and failed. But following an admirable display of Celtic pride and some late game heroics by Jason Terry, the Celtics live to die another day.

Follow Jordan on Twitter: @HiggsOnHoops

The lead felt insurmountable when it was only three. In my miserable pessimism I’m not sure when the actual backbreaker came, but by the time the Knicks lead stretched to 18 there was no doubt what the outcome would be. In a pivotal Game Three at home the Celtics offense continued to sputter, crash, and burn. Now the Celtics find themselves down 3-0 in the series, a hole no NBA team has ever been able to dig their way out of, and on the verge of being swept. The Celtics might be able to take Game Four at home–though I’m not remotely sure of that right now–but that would only leave them primed for a return to New York and a likely 4-1 gentleman’s sweep. This team is simply not offensively talented enough to defy the odds with a rotation depleted by injuries and facing its age. In the opening moments, even layups were labors for the overmatched Celtics. Lets run through the bullet points quickly:

• Jason Terry replaced Brandon Bass in the starting lineup in an attempt to match up with the Knicks super-small backcourt and attempt to provide more spacing. It went ok. Terry scored 14 points on 4-9 shooting but many of those points came long after the game was decided (Terry was 1-4 in the first half). PER is not a perfect stat by any means, but Terry’s in the first two games approached Jason Collins territory. While tonight’s performance will certainly remedy that, he was a telling team-low -12 tonight.
• Brandon Bass struggled off the bench, not surprising for a player who had struggled all season and only recently had found his rhythm offensively. He had just two points on 1-5 shooting and seven rebounds.
• Kevin Garnett looked a bit better than he had earlier in the series, though it’s hard to tell how much of it is health and how much is heart. He scored twelve points (5-13 shooting) and grabbed 17 rebounds. The effort was certainly there (and showed on the boards, the Celtics out rebounded the Knicks 41-37) but I don’t think his legs were.
• As Paul Pierce goes, so go the Celtics and Pierce struggled mightily. The Captain finished with 17 points on 15 shots, but went a brutal 2-10 in the first half, along with five assists and five turnovers. The only Celtic with more assists than turnovers tonight was Kevin Garnett, and he had two. With no point-guard, Pierce has been the only real creator for the Celtics but he hasn’t been able to duplicate the success he had immediately following Rondo’s injury in this series and tonight was no different.
• After allegedly falling out of the rotation, Courtney Lee played 11 minutes (two less than Jordan Crawford) but had little impact.

Game Four is on Sunday and despite the dire circumstances Celtics fans should treasure these moments. There’s no telling what will happen with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce after this season, and while we’ve said that before the situation feels more grim than in seasons past.

Follow Jordan on Twitter: @HiggsOnHoops

After outscoring Miami 27-17 in the first quarter, the daring duo of Jordan Crawford and Jeff Green wasn’t enough and the Celtics lost to the Heat 109-101. Surprisingly Miami’s Big Three all played, but with Pierce and Garnett taking the night off this game was predictably meaningless. Lets run through the bullet points:

• Jeff Green was the Celtics best player tonight, finishing with 25 points (10-17 shooting) and eight rebounds. Green was having a very solid bounce-back game (after a no good, very bad Wednesday) until his night was derailed by a left elbow injury he suffered while dunking in the fourth quarter. After the game Green said the elbow was fine and he expected to play tomorrow, scare averted.
• Brandon Bass continued his super efficient play with 17 points on just nine shots along with nine boards. Bass has been great lately, I have nothing to complain about.
• Jordan Crawford was one of two replacement starters tonight and did exactly what you’d expect, he shot the crap out of the basketball. Crawford scored 20 points on 15 shots and trailed only Jeff Green in shot attempts. I could do without the four turnovers (and he only had two assists) but Crawford was pretty much what I expected, irrational-confidence-guy extraordinaire. Crawford should get more opportunities to prove himself over the next few games with an opportunity to break into the playoff rotation.
• Courtney Lee was the other replacement starter and may have busted his slump, at least somewhat. After a shaky start, Lee finished with 18 points on 50% shooting (2-6 from downtown) as the other replacement starter. Lee has struggled, shooting 35% over the past 10 games, and while he didn’t set the world on fire this was definitely a step in the right direction.
• Terry had six points on nine shots and got horribly lost on defense multiple times (the latter wasn’t anything out of the ordinary). While he’s actually been around his career averages for most of the season (sorry Celtics fans who expected 2011 playoffs Terry all the time), Terry has definitely struggled of late. Doc said he plans to rest JET before the playoffs, and hopefully that’ll get him back on track. Crawford is making a push for minutes and the two are redundant players, but unlike Crawford, Terry has the sense not to shoot the Celtics out of games. I think Terry is a lock for the playoff rotation but the expectations will definitely be higher in the postseason.
• Terrence Williams didn’t really get much run until Doc was forced to play him after Jeff Green left with an elbow injury. Williams finished with six points on 3-8 shooting in 17 minutes. I wish Williams had gotten some more run because the Celtics weren’t moving the ball well (just 15 assists for the team). Williams is one of the more capable passers on the team and he doesn’t seem to get the fumbles as frequently as the Celtics other ball handlers. As regular season games become increasingly meaningless Williams should see a bump in minutes.
• Randolph played 10 minutes and had zero points and one rebound. Wilcox played 11 and finished with two points and five rebounds. You win this round Wilcox.

There is not much to take away from tonight’s game so I won’t even try. With the regular season winding down, the Celtics are working to wrap up the 7th seed (though the Bucks aren’t making them work very hard) and resting for the postseason.

Pierce and Garnett will be back in action tomorrow night in Orlando for a tuneup and a chance to lock up the 7th seed.

Follow Jordan on Twitter: @HiggsOnHoops

I don’t like to watch the Nets. I find their style of play boring, Kris Humphries is irritating, I don’t particularly like Deron Williams, and the ghost of “Crash” Wallace makes me sad. What makes me even sadder is watching the Celtics get slowly rolled over by a team I find an excruciating mix of uninteresting and unlikeable. Lets just skip straight to the bullet points:

• Paul Pierce was magnificent, he scored 27 points on 7-11 shooting and carried the Celtics for the entire third quarter. He was the only bright spot for the Celtics who were otherwise pretty bad all around.
• Alright not the only bright spot, Bass also put Lopez on a poster.
• Jeff Green had an awful night. He finished with 11 points on an abysmal 4-17 shooting and four rebounds in 35 minutes.
• Kevin Garnett had 11 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, but looked uncomfortable for most of the night and appeared to be rushing shots around the rim. Garnett confirmed this after the game, “I feel like I’m super-anxious around the rim, like I’m rushing shots. I can be better, and I will be.”
• Avery Bradley played just 12 minutes, spending most of the game in foul trouble. I feel for Avery, I really do, but he’s got to adjust to the referee’s and try to keep himself out of foul trouble. Bradley seems to never get the benefit of the doubt and there have been countless questionable calls against him–Pierce said after the game that “Bradley got robbed on a couple calls”. That said, Bradley on the floor playing at 90% intensity and avoiding fouls is preferable to Bradley on the bench.
• Doc Rivers implied before the game that Courtney Lee’s spot in the rotation might not be secure, probably because he’s fluctuated between terrible and non-existent for the past two weeks. Lee scored seven points in twenty seven minutes of play tonight and I forgot he existed for long periods of time.
• Shavlik played 16 minutes to Wilcox’s six and outrebounded him nine to two.

The Hawks won tonight and the Bucks lost so the Celtics appear to be a near-lock for the seventh seed and a first round matchup with the New York Knicks. The Celtics will travel to Miami to take on the Heat (minus any “injured” players) on Friday.

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce returned tonight, the Celtics moved Jeff Green into the starting lineup for good (and Courtney Lee to the bench, sorry Courtney), and the Celtics put together a quality win over John Wall and the Washington Wizards. A 19-3 run put the Celtics up big in the third quarter and the C’s cruised to an easy victory aside from a collective brain-fart by the bench in the 4th quarter that forced the starters back in to close the game. Let’s get to the bullet points:

• Kevin Garnett made his return tonight after an eight game absence. Garnett played just 24 minutes (and if the Celtics bench hadn’t forgotten how to play basketball halfway through the 4th quarter it would have been just 20) and looked fresh. After shaking off the rust (two of his early misses were horrendous) KG finished with 12 points on 6-9 shooting, six rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal. Garnett didn’t set the world on fire, but after the past two weeks having anything remotely resembling a competent big-man protecting the rim has me giddy. Expect his minutes to stay low for a few more games as Doc eases him back for injury while keeping him fresh for the playoffs.
• Paul Pierce looked like his typical self, going 5-13 from the floor for 15 points after missing Friday’s game against the Cavs with a swollen ankle. Pierce didn’t grab as many boards as we’ve become accustomed to (probably) because Shavlik Randolph is a rebounding machine but he added five assists and just one turnover.
• Brandon Bass had a fantastic night, bombing away from midrange and scoring 20 points on 9-12 shooting while adding six rebounds. Bass has actually been playing well for a few weeks now, looking more like 2012 Brandon Bass instead of the inconsistent mess he’s been for most of this season.
• Jordan Crawford had an epic revenge game against the team he doesn’t remember playing for with six points (2-3 shooting) in 16 minutes. It’s worth keeping an eye on the minutes distribution for Celtics guards (outside of Bradley and Pierce who is now starting at the two). Williams appears to already be out of contention for playoff minutes (I am very sad about this) while Terry, Crawford, and Lee all received somewhere between 16 and 23 as Doc looks to tighten up his playoff rotation.
• And since we’re on the topic of playoff minutes lets talk about Shavlik Randolph and Chris Wilcox. Randolph was the first big off the bench for the Celtics and finished with eight points and seven rebounds in 15 minutes of play. Wilcox played 20 minutes and had 13 points and five rebounds. Looking toward the postseason I’m going to give the edge to Randolph. Wilcox is great when he gets going, but relies on a healthy diet of lobs and fast breaks to do so. Randolph is the better rebounder and defender which should help him contribute more on a nightly basis.

I’m afraid people will dismiss this win so let me make something clear: The Wizards are not bad. At the beginning of the season when the Celtics were struggling their first two wins were ugly affairs over an abysmal Wizards squad. This is a completely different team. With John Wall (and Nene to a lesser extent) back in the lineup the Wizards have been a playoff caliber team (at least in the East). If you’re going to dismiss this game, dismiss it because the Wizards are on the second night of a back-to-back after throttling the Pacers last night. Not because the Wizards are bad. This was a solid win for a Celtics team working to integrate a new starting lineup and finalize it’s playoff rotation.

The Celtics will take on the Nets Wednesday night in Boston.

Follow Jordan on Twitter: @HiggsOnHoops

The Timberwolves were the only team without a victory against the Celtics during the KG era, but all good things come to an end as the Celtics dropped the ball tonight in Minnesota. Paul Pierce missed the game for personal reasons (reportedly not related to his ankle injury on Sunday) and this depleted Celtics roster was no match for the almost-equally-depleted Wolves roster. For a such a high scoring game (high scoring for a Celtics game at least) this was pretty tough to watch, and I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t (thats why I’m here). Let’s get to the bullet points:

• Avery Bradley found his shot tonight finishing with 19 points on 8/14 shooting. Bradley hit an array of mid range jumpers and missed four of his five 3’s (I’m convinced he did this on purpose because Tom was, unfortunately, at the game). This was the only real positive takeaway from the night.
• Jeff Green had a rough night without Paul Pierce there to share the load. Green scored 10 points (5/10 shooting), grabbed seven boards, and dished out five assists (and five turnovers). Poor Jeff Green played 38 minutes, including the entire first half, after playing 35 the night before and looked (justifiably) gassed. Green has been playing stellar basketball lately and I’m not going to hold tonight against him.
• In the gripping battle between Chris Wilcox and Shavlik Randolph for minutes, Shavlik edged out Wilcox with eight points and two rebounds in 20 minutes despite Wilcox getting the start. Wilcox had four points and six rebounds in 12 minutes, but both big men were in foul trouble throughout the game and got ravaged on the defensive end. D.J. White only played four minutes.
• Jason Terry had a solid night with 14 points on 4/8 shooting. He didn’t blow me away (I’m not even sure if he could at this point) but Terry appears to be trending in the right direction.
• Terrence Williams had a nice little game for himself with 14 points (6/10 shooting) six rebounds and five assists (and no turnovers!). He messed up a few defensive rotations (and got chewed out by Doc) but he wasn’t alone in his defensive struggles.

You might not know it but the Celtics shot 52% tonight. Unfortunately they allowed the Wolves to shoot 48%, score 62(!!!) points in the paint, and shoot twice as many free throws (27 to the Celtics’ 14). Nikola Pekovic did the brunt of the damage for the Wolves inside, scoring 29 points including 11-11 from the line (and he earned those free throws). To the surprise of no one, the Celtics interior defense is a giant mess without Kevin Garnett. Garnett traveled with the team to Minnesota and while I don’t expect him to make an early return, he is “feeling a lot better” according to Rivers.

The Celtics will take on the Pistons and their enormous Drummond-Monroe frontcourt Wednesday.

Follow Jordan on Twitter: @HiggsOnHoops