Recap: Celtics steal a game they had no business winning

One year ago here in Cleveland, Jeff Green got a new heart. In the final two minutes tonight, he showed it to us.

— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) March 28, 2013

I can’t properly explain how bad the Celtics looked for much of the second half.  They were horrible.  They turned the ball over in horrific ways.  They missed easy shots and gave up easier ones.  They let the Cavaliers shoot 54% in the second half.

But they overcame a 14 point Cavs lead and closed the half on a 15-4 run, capped by a Jeff Green lay up at the buzzer to beat the Cavs 93-92.

They had no business winning this game.  I Google’d “Rock Bottom” for images to use in this recap (it’s a fun search… lots of really drunk people… I recommend it).  But they won.  So screw it.  As one person tweeted me… start the getaway car and let’s get the F out of that shithole Cleveland.

The Green

Brandon Bass:  We’ve given him a lot of shit this season, and with good reason.  But tonight was a pretty good night for Brandon:  22 points on 8-14 shooting to go along with 5 rebounds.

Jeff Green:  He made the game winner… and was pretty animated afterwards.  He had a bad shooting night, and if he hadn’t made the game winner, I wouldn’t put him in here… but I’m being positive after having to be called back from the ledge tonight.  21 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, despite the bad shooting, is a decent  night.

Paul Pierce:  2 assists shy of a triple double (19/10/8) for the Truth who is clearly worn down.  He’s too old to be carrying a bunch of Chinese league cast-offs.

Shavlik Randolph:  Boston Mayor Tom Menino is reportedly announcing his retirement.  After Shav hustled his way to one of those “doesn’t show up in the box score” good games… he might be Menino’s successor.  At least that’s the impression I got on Twitter.

The Gross

Paul Pierce:  7 turnovers is bad.  Sorry Paul, I can’t just let that slide.

The turnovers:  Pierce wasn’t alone.  16 of them for 16 Cavs points.  This should have gone a lot more smoothly for the C’s

Avery Bradley:  The kid is in full-fledged slump.  1-7 shooting tonight puts him at 52 of 142 for the month of March… or 36.6%.  He’s shooting 27% over his last 5 games.  Ouch.

Jason Terry:  5 points on 2-7 shooting.

The Greenlights

The game winner

In gif form

The Grid

• Cleveland shot 31.8% in the first quarter.  They shot 54.1% in the 2nd half
• Jordan Crawford:  12 pts (5-8 fg), 4 ast.
• Points in the paint: 40-38 Boston

I just want to stress how bad the Celtics looked for a very long time in this game.  Enjoy the win and all that… especially since Milwaukee lost.  But I’m willingly glossing over a lot of shit because… well… after a 5 game losing streak and the C’s forced to play a lot of guys who wouldn’t normally play… a win is a win.  I don’t know how much we should realistically expect out of some of these line ups… so I’m just going to let a bunch of stuff slide tonight.

Box Score  |  Playoff picture

Check out this photo, courtesy of ESPN Boston’s Chris Forsberg, of Jeff Green and his heart surgeon.

Thanks, doc.

Green: "That was for him, that was for Dr. Svensson"

— Jay O (@jayo1O) March 28, 2013