A Tale of Two Halves

The Captain led the comeback.

Kevin Garnett was a very late scratch from the lineup after leaving yesterday's practice with a thigh injury. Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge decided to give the night off to KG even though the injury isn't considered to be serious (or related to his knee). It's about keeping the Big Ticket fresh and in a conservative approach, management decided to have KG not suit up. It appeared as if the Celtics were in trouble without KG as the game tipped off...

It was a tail of two halves last night for the Celtics. They struggled mightily out of the gate without their defensive leader Kevin Garnett (and announcer Tommy Heinsohn to make viewing worse), and into the second half. Down 13 in the 3rd, the Celtics led by Paul Pierce, stormed back. Impecable D and great second half performances from The Truth, Ray Allen, and Kendrick Perkins over-matched the now 9-18 Pacers. A 9 point edge in the 4th quarter was the difference as the C's won 103-94 and Pierce had 14 in the frame.

On a night when the Celtics' shots did not fall and they shot only 38%, they did their job at the line where they hit 37 of their 40 attempts. Things could get very scary if guys like Perkins (7-8) and Rondo (5-6) can start hitting their free shots. Their D also was at a different level in the second half and they held Indiana to only 37 points after yielding 57 in the first.

• The starters played huge minutes on the night (each over 36).
• After a first half where he was 0-7 with 2 points, Pierce kept to his game and scored 19 points in the second half. He finished 12-13 at the line and took over in crunch time.
• Ray Allen picked up some of the offensive slack with 23 points.
  
• Rondo had 7 steals and Pierce had 5.
  
• Sheed slid into the starting lineup and played well with the squad and meshed well (9 points, 13 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals).
• Perk stepped up without his partner in crime down low with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 5 turnovers. He was called for a T in the game and now has 8 on the season.
• Only 3 bench players saw action tonight as Doc Rivers shortened his rotation (Scal, House, and Tony Allen).

It wasn't pretty, but we'll take the W after an exciting game. The C's fly down to Orlando for a Christmas day matinee 2:30 game versus the Magic. One of the C's five losses this year was at the hands of the Magic. Hopefully KG will be back Thursday as the Celtics begin their 4-game road trip.