Apr 11, 2012; Boston, MA USA; Boston Celtics small forward Paul Pierce (34) shoots the ball against Atlanta Hawks shooting guard Joe Johnson (2) and power forward Josh Smith (5) in overtime at the TD Banknorth Garden. The Celtics defeated the Atlanta Hawks 88-86 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-US PRESSWIRE

The game started in Paul Pierce’s hands, so its fitting that it would end the same way as the final ticks ran off of the clock. The Captain and his troops were able to snag a win without their facilitator Rajon Rondo–something that many doubted that they could do.

Pierce snagged the jump ball from Atlanta and you could tell that there was a sense of urgency once he scored it. This was not the time for fun and games for these Celtics. This was probably as close to a must win game as they’ve faced in a while.

The two teams traded blows during the first period and it ended in a 24 all tie. Pierce had put up nine shots in the first period and had fifteen points to go with them. He was obviously going to be the catalyst for the offense tonight which isn’t anything out of the norm when Rondo is out. Paul Pierce is an adept ball handler and can play the point forward position if need be and that’s exactly what he did tonight.

Boston didn’t really get any offense out of anyone tonight besides Pierce who finished with 36 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 assists. Because of that, Atlanta was able to key on to Pierce and force him into turnovers that cost Boston some points on the defensive end. They had 14 turnovers in all to 14 assists which is uncharacteristic for the Celtics. They are normally a team who plays at a slower pace and takes care of the ball well–Atlanta did a great job of speeding the game up forcing them to play uncharacteristically.

Most notably Jeff Teague, who finished with 18 points and two assists, had done a great job of pushing the tempo early in the game. The rest of the Hawks fed off of this and used their overwhelming athleticism as an advantage over Boston. They were able to accumulate an 11 point lead twice in this game.

As we all know, basketball is a game of runs and once the score was 65 to 54 that’s exactly what Boston did. Initially, they weren’t able to get any good looks because of Atlanta’s defense. Because of the absence of Ray Allen, Atlanta is able to collapse and key in on the paint and mid range area of the floor. Boston has only hit three three-point shots in this series and they’ve all come in this game. The most consistent shooter from outside the arch with no Allen is Paul Pierce.

The only way that Boston would be able to get easy buckets without Rondo’s penetration and Allen’s shooting would be to convert missed shot chances from Atlanta into points. Being able to defend down the stretch was key in the third period. The line up that Doc employed near the end of the third was Dooling, Daniels, Pierce, Bass, and Garnett. The combo of Dooling and Daniels were able to stifle the offense of Teague and Joe Johnson. This sparked the rest of the team into equaling that defensive effort and gave the Celtics a chance in the end.

Jason Collins fouled out in the fourth quarter early and Josh Smith was forced to step into the center role. Kevin Garnett was able to take advantage and Boston was able to claw and grind their way back into the game. Smith was reportedly sidelined with a sprained knee after a collision with Garnett. If he is out for an elongated period of time, that could be crucial for Atlanta.

The series has flipped back into Boston’s favor. They’ve taken homecourt from Atlanta without their best shooter and best overall player. The series should get interesting now. Game three is in Boston on Friday.

1. Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are still going to walk through that door! Anytime you have four All-Stars suit up for you, you have to feel pretty good about your team’s chances. Now, having the above players is simply not enough and Danny Ainge and Co. will need to work hard to put a complete team on the floor if the C’s have any hope of making a run deep into the post season. Depth was a big factor down the stretch and is something that needs to be viewed as a priority, especially in the front court. The Celtics have enough to cover-up any issues in the backcourt, but they desperately need quality reserves to spell the aging Jermaine O’Neal and Kevin Garnett. This past season, the C’s struggled to find suitable replacements to fill in for both O’Neals and suffered mightily as a result.

2. If any basketball is played in 2011-2012, we expect the season to be cut down to an abbreviated 50-game schedule. The quicker the deal gets done, the more time the Celtics will have between games. While the abbreviated schedule is not something that suits the Celtics in the long run, the current iteration of the Celtics normally gets off to a fast start. If the Celtics can steal some games early, they can help set themselves up nicely for making it into the post season. An advantage the Celtics have over most teams is that they already have a chemistry built up from playing hundreds of meaningful games together. Other teams may not be able to get things going early on and this is an area where the Celtics can capitalize.

3. Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. How many times in your life do you get to watch three first ballot Hall of Famers play on the same team night in and night out? Well, as Celtics fans this may seem to be the norm for some generations, but the Celtics went through some pretty lean years in between the current and original versions of the big three. Gone are the days of the $10 balcony tickets and countless nights. This may sound crazy, be we Bostonians can sometime take for granted how good we have it in Boston. With all four major sports franchises winning it all in the last 10 years, fans sometimes forget what it’s like to be a struggling team hoping the top 10 pick in the draft actually works out. This team is made up of winners and they are the epitome of unselfish team basketball.

4. Doc Rivers. Doc has become one of the best coaches in the NBA today, I would put him up there with best in franchise history, but some guy named Red has him beat. Any way, Doc has done what few others would be able to do. He took a collection of All-Stars and got them to buy into his defense first system. Paul, Ray, and KG were all used to being “The Man” with their previous teams and Doc has them convinced that they need to play as a team in order to succeed. This is a feat that is not easy to pull off, but it is something that Doc has been able to accomplish. Players respect Doc and his presence on the Celtics bench helps make Boston a desirable place to play for veterans looking to make a legitimate run at another title. A good coach can single handily steal a few games for his team and based on what the season may or may not look like, an extra few wins, courtesy of the coach, could be the difference the Celtics use to catapult them into the post season. Let’s face it; we need all the help we can get when it comes to luring free agents to New England. Winter in Boston does not make the city desirable, but having a respected coach sure does.

5. The unknown. What is going to happen next? One of the most exciting things about being a Celtics fan in recent years is you just never know what is going to happen next. In 2007 Danny Ainge worked his magic and pulled the franchise from the clutches of mediocrity by somehow pulling off deals that land both Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in Boston. Fans were barely done calling WEEI freaking out about missing a once and a lifetime player in Greg Oden. In 2009 Rasheed Wallace walked through that door and in 2010 Shaquille O’Neal did the same. Danny Ainge is not afraid to take chances and save from a certain 2010-2011 deadline trade; he has made some pretty good moves. Economics and the uncertainty of the new labor deal make it tough to speculate possible free agent or trade acquisitions at this point, the landscape of the NBA is about to undergo a drastic change, let’s just hope that it’s a change that we as fans get to benefit from for years to come.

Kevin Garnett was a participant for about half of today’s practice and looked good considering he has missed 8 games since injuring his calf against the Pistons in December.

Said Doc Rivers: “He’s not playing tomorrow. But he looked pretty good. Actually, besides his movement and stuff, I thought his wind was really good. I want to see him another practice, but he’s getting close. There were a couple of times where I wanted him off the floor and he stayed on the floor, he did all the pick and rolls defense live. We went up-and-down and he did all that live.”

As the week has gone on, it is looking more and more like KG will make his return against the Magic on Monday night.

The Celtics have enough star power to take on the Bobcats, but would need KG at 100% in order to have a good showing against the Magic.