Allow me to be the first to reference a “turn back the clock performance” by Kevin Garnett. KG put up 27 and 10 to carry the Celtics… and he did it in just 32 minutes and 18 shots. Leandro Barbosa chipped in 14 points, 12 in the 4th quarter, to erase a 10 point Raptors lead to start the 4th, and steal a 99-95 win.
How night-and-day was this game? The Raptors won the 1st and 3rd quarters 57-39. But the Celtics won the 2nd and 4th quarters 60-38. So basically, Boston’s half of a game was better than Toronto’s half of a game.
The Green:
KG…. vintage
first time KG’s gone for 27+ in regular season since March 26, 2008 (3rd highest reg-season output as a Celtic)
— Chris Forsberg (@ESPNForsberg) February 7, 2013
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js(Chris later corrected that tweet… it’s the 4th highest. Still… damn)
Pierce made up for a shitty shooting night (more on that in a second) by grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing 6 assists.
I hope more people make note of Jeff Green’s rebounding… which was big when the C’s were making their comeback. His 3 4th quarter rebounds all came in the first 4 minutes as part of a 12-2 Boston run.
Courtney Lee carried the Celtics in the first quarter. He scored 8 of his 15 points in the 1st, and kept the team within striking distance so they can go on their 2nd quarter run.
The Gross:
Paul Pierce shot 2-11, and had only 2 second half points… both of which came on free throws.
Jason Terry only took 3 shots… and scored just 2 points.
The Greenlights:
Courtney Lee with the clear path for the dunk
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twmaOwAnIG8&w=560&h=315]KG with the crazy behind the head shot (Thanks @MetroDee)
The Grid:
- The Celtics managed to win despite being outscored 44-36 in the paint, 17-6 on 2nd chance points, and 18-10 in fast break points.
- Rudy Gay shot 8-24
- 8 of the 10 Celtics who played scored
- 7 of the 10 Celtics who played got an assist
- 9 of the 10 Celtics who played got a rebound
- The win was Doc’s 400th as Celtics head coach. Congrats, Doc.
There was nothing pretty about it, but it was a win where it looked like there would be a loss. Now on to the Gasol-less Lakers tomorrow night…. where the C’s could match their season-high 6-game winning streak.
Go to bed, boo boo
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