Celtics Comeback Roasts Hawks: Boston Wins Again -- 89-81

 

Oh, My.

What can you say about this game that would do it justice?

To sum it up in one word: Relentless.

That's what the Celtics were. Not that you would have believed it had you turned the television off somewhere in the first half where the Celtics found themselves down by 19 points having reverted to their favorite group impression of the zombies from The Walking Dead.

They were getting beaten in all facets of the game and looked to be headed for a return to the double-digit embarrassment that they had so recently and almost willingly accepted in every city during their last road trip. After a tremendous wire-to-wire defensive effort last night against the Indiana Pacers that saw the Green finally flip the tables on an opponent, scoring a double-digit blowout-of-a-win of their own (yes, Geno was taken out of mothballs, even if an ejected Kevin Garnett could only watch him from the locker room), many people wondered whether the C's had turned a corner of sorts.

Apparently, they had. Sort of. For six quarters, anyway (hey, give 'em a break...this was the second night of a back-to-back!).

Reportedly, the Boys From Boston began to bicker in the face of what was shaping up to be another crushing defeat before Captain Paul Pierce stepped up and did what leaders do...he led. As told by the man himself, Pierce calmly but forcefully suggested that his teammates begin to focus their frustrations on the men across the court and start listening to the sage direction that was being provided by their Coach.

What happened next -- and I realize that I might be giddily tripping back onto that Highway of Hyperbole once again, but -- well, it was like something straight out of Hoosiers, or Glory Road or even Teen Wolf.

The Celtics went on a bruising physical run setting the Hawks back on their heels with The Truth leading the charge. P-Double poured in 17 of his 26 points in the second quarter -- outscoring the entire Atlanta team in the process -- behind a suffocating defensive effort from which the Hawks would never recover their collective breath. His 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal provided the punctuation mark that backed up the strong words he had for his teammates.

That team, by the way, was a scratching, clawing defensive whirlwind that spun circles around the hapless, helpless Hawks on offense as well. Rajon Rondo notched his second 3-D (triple-double for the acronymically challenged) with 14 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and three steals while Kevin Garnett -- mirroring Rondo in points for the second straight night -- scored 14, too, along with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and a block. Brandon Bass, starting for the second night in a row, scored 10 points on 5-6 shooting. Avery Bradley once again shunned the stat sheet with intangibles as he drove the Celtics defensive engine like a train conductor with loose brakes. Rising rookie Jared Sullinger wrestled in 9 boards with 8 points, 2 assists and 1 block to make his presence felt.

Louis Williams was a thorn early and often in the side of the Celtics with 28 for the game, but if you want to know the details about which other Hawks the Celtics spotted for the lead in the first half, check the stats at the bottom. This here blog is all about the C's tonight!

Though I, against my own judgment, decided to try and put into words the thrill that was this game, I've come up with a much better way to illustrate the point:

Imagine that the Celtics are a burger that you've been hearing so much about. It's rumored to be the best of all the burgers...one that can crush all other burgers that it comes up against if there were a burger competition with a big trophy at the end of the challenge. You finally get a chance to taste that burger and all expectations have been realized. This, my friends, is what it would sound like if set to music...

Tale Of The Tape

Box Score