The Celtics were absolutely listless in this game, letting Oklahoma City dictate the game. Give credit to the Thunder for coming out with a renewed sense of energy on defense; Scott Brooks clearly made his team believe that the only way it would win this one was to focus on that side of the ball without its star in Kevin Durant. Brooks went deep into his bench—Royal Ivey played 16 minutes and D.J. White 12—but thanks to the offense of Russell Westbrook, the Thunder earned the victory.

The Celtics, on the other hand, never seemed to wake up. Twice in the second half—on a thunderous dunk from Paul Pierce and a monster tip-in slam from Rajon Rondo—it looked like Boston would go on a run and take over, but the C’s could never materialize a run. And despite playing arguably their worst overall game of the season, the Celtics still had a chance to win a game they didn’t deserve to be in. A better team (read: a team not missing two of its three best players) would have won this one in a blowout.

But that’s just the thing. As Washburn reminds us, the Celtics play down to their competition. They play with an arrogance and a swagger that is instrumental in helping them beat some of the best teams in the league, as they did twice against the Miami Heat, but also causes them to underestimate lesser opponents. And without Durant, that is exactly what this Thunder team was last night.

That’s not a death knell on the Celtics, of course. This is still a good team, and we saw last season what it can do when properly motivated come playoff times. But still, there were really no positives to take from last night’s showing. Here’s a few other notes, though, from the loss.

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The word of the day for the green? Efficiency.

Boston dominated the visiting Washington Wizards by shooting a season-high 66 percent from the floor while holding the Wizards to just 39 percent. The end result was an easy victory by more than 30 points for the C’s, their third straight win.

The C’s went on an early running after trailing by three in the first quarter and never looked back. The starters were brilliant, with Paul Pierce’s 23 points (on 10-16 shooting) leading the way. That was the worst shooting night by any of the starting five, as the rest of the starters combined to shoot 25-33, highlighted by Kevin Garnett’s 9-11 night, which in itself was due largely in part to a number of easy looks from Rajon Rondo.

While the Celtics erased any memory of a horrific loss to Washington last year at home, this one proved that the Wizards might be the worst team in the league. Without the electrifying John Wall, who was sitting out with an injury, the Wizards were listless and did not put up much of a fight in this one.

Here’s a few things to take from the game.

The Good

Dominant Down Low: The Celtics got a huge lead in this one by creating easy buckets. That helped the C’s finish with 56 points in the paint—more than the total number of points the Wizards scored in the final three quarters combined. It’s no wonder that the Celtics shot such a high percentage in this one. It’s easy to hit buckets when they are basically from point-blank range.

Delonte’s Debut: Delonte West made his much-anticipated return to the court Wednesday night, and he did not disappoint. The former Cavaliers’ guard led the C’s bench with 12 points on 5-7 shooting and added five rebounds and four assists on the night.

Displaying confidence in his shot and skills on both ends of the floor, West was influential in his 21 minutes on the floor. Hopefully it is a sign of what is to come for Boston.

C’s on Defensive: Besides the poor shooting night the Celtics held the Wizards too, Washington also dished out just 12 assists. While Washington actually took more shots than the C’s, the Celtics kept them from getting quality chances. And in both the second and fourth quarters the Celtics held the Wizards to under 20 points–16 and 14 respectively. Boston never let up on the defensive end in this one, and that helped it stretch the lead to an unbeatable margin.

The Bad

Agent…’Nine?’: Gilbert Arenas sure looked like a shadow of himself in this one.

Getting the start with Wall out, Arenas finished with just nine points on 3-11 shooting. It’s not like any of the Washington starters (outside of Kirk Hinrich, maybe) had a good night, but Arenas stood out. One night of scoring 20 points against the Toronto Raptors, Arenas barely contributed against the Celtics.

Arenas might not be able to play well in the second of a back-to-back thanks to his injury history, but you still expect more from a player who has hyped himself up more than most in the NBA. He might have to live off the hype he created now, because he isn’t going to make headlines with his game much this season.

The Ugly:

Offensive on the Glass: The C’s allowed the Wizards to gather up 18 offensive rebounds on the night. The Celtics’ have had some trouble keeping teams off the offensive glass all season, and that will be something to keep an eye on. JaVale McGee, in particular, was active all night and caused problems for the opposition.

It was billed as “The Rematch.” It turned into a rehashing of opening night.

The Celtics jumped out to a big lead and withstood a charge mounted by LeBron James and…LeBron James (OK, Udonis Haslem chipped in with a pretty efficient 10-11 night. Nothing special.) to earn the 112-107 victory in Miami.

Thanks to a hot shooting night from Ray Allen, the Celtics’ lead was as high as 20 points. But James tried to take matters into his own hands, getting to the line 14 times in the second half to pull Miami back into the thick of the game. The Celtics stayed in control, however, and got their second victory over Miami of the young season.

If there is anything to take away from this one it is that the Celtics clearly wanted it more. The Heat were coming off a tough loss of their own after blowing a 22-point lead and falling in overtime against the Utah Jazz, but they didn’t play with any semblance of passion. And their fans didn’t lift the team up either. The Heat looked relatively apathetic, and reverted to the LeBron James show in the final period. As I mentioned, it played out just like the opener, a game which I compared to watching the Cavs last year.

Here’s a few other tidbits from a big win for Boston.

The Good

Praising Jesus: That was a great performance from Ray Allen on both sides of the floor.

He had a hand in holding Dwyane Wade to just eight points on the night, and of course went off for 35 points, including hitting his first seven 3-pointers. Rajon Rondo was looking for him all night, and he delivered.

The Heat were so cognizant of stopping Rondo (which didn’t happen, as he had another strong night with 16 assists) that they often switched LeBron James onto him on the defensive end. That lead to Wade slipping over to take Paul Pierce, and Jesus Shuttlesworth getting lost in the shuffle. And boy did that prove to be a mistake on Miami’s part.

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