Keyon Dooling fidgeted anxiously, rubbing his hands together as if to keep warm.  He stood near the baseline, a stride’s length separating him from a corner-bound Mario Chalmers.  He watched Shane Battier send the sideline inbound to Dwyane Wade several feet above the arc.  He rocked side-to-side on his feet, separated his hands, leaned forward, and waited.

There were 21 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and the Celtics and Heat were locked in an 89-all tie.  Sixteen seconds earlier, LeBron James had erased a three-point Celtics lead with an improbably wide-open, maddeningly uncontested shot from downtown.  Shortly after that, Boston’s chance to respond had gusted away on the blow of a whistle; an off-the-ball offensive foul called on Kevin Garnett, who had ensnared James’ hand as he attempted to break to the hoop to put a contest on a driving Rajon Rondo.  James’ efforts to pull free drew Garnett smack into his body with a force that tumbled the two men to the floor in a heap.  It was a 50-50 play that just as easily could have been called a double personal.  Instead, Boston came up with the short straw, turning possession over to the Heat.

LeBron’s three-point dagger had been the culmination of a second-half scramble that had seen Miami use three separate 7-0 runs to overcome an 18-point first-half deficit.  For the second time in three games, they had found themselves tied with the Celtics in regulation’s dying moments.  For the second time in three games, it was up to them to decide whether to run it back or pull the plug.

Dooling grasped his calves and shifted some more, perhaps knocking the last few kinks out of a body that had grown stiff from the more-than-30-minute stretch he had just spent on the bench.  This was now his sixth stint of the game.  He had played anywhere from two to four minutes in each of the previous five, turning in 10 points off three triples and a free throw while providing an unrelenting, ultra-aggressive, in-your-jorts defensive effort.

He had also provided what was, to this point, the most rafter-quaking, soul-stirring moment of the game.  Through the first quarter, the Celtics had put forth an incredibly potent offensive effort.  They had scored 34 points, hitting 13 of their 22 shots to build an 11-point lead.  The performance carried through to the start of the second quarter, as Kevin Garnett answered a James Jones three by sinking a long two, then picking off a Dwyane Wade pass to give the Celtics a possession that would result in three more points from Ray Allen.

On the ensuing Miami possession, Wade put up an unbalanced runner that rolled off the far side of the rim and into the arms of Mickael Pietrus.  Mickael handed the ball off to Rondo, who opened the throttle on a transition run.  Keyon Dooling sprinted up the sideline ahead of him, pulled to a stop in the corner, and cocked the hammer.

With momentum carrying him forward all the while, Rondo stepped into the free throw circle, faked a shovel pass to a lane-filling Garnett, pulled it back, and then laser-sighted the ball to Dooling.  The pass came in low.  Keyon collected it at the knees, gathered it into himself, and uncorked a shot over an onrushing Mike Miller.  The ball dead-stopped against the inside of the rim before splashing the net.

The crowd, which had been in full throat from the onset, exploded in rapture.  A barely-audible whistle blew, signaling a Miami timeout.  As it did so, Dooling ran to the half-court line and let loose with the old Michael Jordan flying scissor-kick fist-pump celebration.

After that, he turned the Mean Mug-o-Meter up full blast.  That amp goes up to 11, you say?  This baby tops out at 51!

On the very next Celtic possession, Keyon had not just the audacity to stick another three in Mike Miller’s face from the exact same spot, but the unmitigated gall to cover yet another player’s copyrighted celebration move, this time taking Jason Terry’s JET out for a spin.

Dooling’s last stint had ended at the 9:49 mark of the fourth quarter.  He had now been called upon to assist the Celtics’ efforts toward extending the game by another five minutes.

With 14 seconds remaining, Wade walked the ball to his right, triggering the onset of Miami’s final play.  LeBron James stood in the corner opposite, defended by Pietrus, while Udonis Haslem and Shane Battier took station at the elbows.  Keyon leaned forward at the waist and gathered the fabric of his shorts into his fists, taking on the appearance of a gunfighter on the verge of the draw.

James sprung forward from the corner and curled along the line of the arc.  As he did so, Chalmers took off along the baseline, filling LeBron’s vacated corner at the other end.  Wade swung the ball to James and cleared away, leaving the league’s MVP in a momentary iso against Pietrus.

Six seconds remained.  Dooling trailed Chalmers to the extended elbow.  At five seconds, Miami’s players began to fan out across the court, positioning themselves as bail-out options for James.  Battier stepped into the corner, Haslem and Wade to the blocks, and Chalmers out beyond the arc, behind the action.

The Celtics aligned their defense in response.  Paul Pierce stayed below the hoop, prepared to react to a pass in whatever direction it might sail.  Garnett and Rondo danced about the elbows, with KG positioned to help out on the back end of James’ drive while Rajon stayed in contesting distance of the now-open Battier.

Dooling had been caught against Haslem’s body on his drift from elbow to block.  He had let Chalmers go, recognizing that Mario was effectively removing himself from the play.  He jogged forward, angling slightly toward James.  With four seconds to go, LeBron made his move, rising slowly up on his toes and then driving hard to his right, into the middle of the Celtics’ defense.

Keyon burst forward as James approached, sliding just to the right of LeBron’s body as he stepped inside the arc, teaming with Pietrus to create a split-second trap.  LeBron raised the ball above his head, pivoted left and leapt.

Dooling timed his jump perfectly, rising up just a shade before LeBron.  Now behind James, he raised his right arm and swiped, just as LeBron loaded up to fire a pass to Haslem, who had drifted from the block toward the corner.  Keyon’s fingers caught the ball before it was released, turning what was surely intended to be a frozen rope into a limp bounder.  The ball bounced into the floor just off the elbow, then eephused gently toward its recipient.  By the time it arrived in Haslem’s hands, Garnett was fully upon him.  One second remained, just time enough for Udonis to take one dribble and launch an off-balance fade-away jumper that missed the rim entirely.

The buzzer sounded.  The Celtics got their extra five.

Boston would go on to win, 93-91, evening the series at two games apiece.

Bonus Tracks

Partway through the game, Rajon Rondo engaged a bench-bound Chris Bosh in an impromptu staring contest.  These photos were taken mere seconds before Bosh cracked, dissolving into a pool of tears and nosebleed.

We’re pleased to announce the return of the Celtics Fan of the Game award, which goes to this kid in the cast.  Congratulations, kid!

Finally, we have access to a fair bit of information on how people find our work.  Among other things, we can see the search terms that people use to get to our site.  The least acceptable term that’s been used to get to our site?  “Rajon Rondo Sucks.”  We wish we could throw that click back like it was a Butch Heddo homerun at Wrigley.

The most acceptable term, however, came in just the other day: “Rajon Rondo Ripped.”  To the reader who was looking for pictures of a totally jacked Rondo, we’re happy to contribute to the enjoyment of your day.

Here’s a version where it looks like he’s in a Bee Gees video.

There was, perhaps, some comedown in order after Game Four’s unsustainably scorching shooting performance, a 51-percent affair that was actually suppressed by some garbage time bench-emptying during the final quarter.  The Celtics’ field goal percentage stood at 60 when they entered the final 12 with a 90-63 lead, and fell to 51 as Keyon Dooling, Marquis Daniels, E’Twaun Moore, Sasha Pavlovic and Ryan Hollins shot two-for-14 down the stretch.

Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett keyed the charge through the first three quarters of that game, each connecting on better than 70 percent of their shots.  Pierce led all scorers with 24, despite a tweaked knee that limited him to only 17 minutes of action.  Following the tweak, which came off a third-quarter tumble that aggravated a pre-existing injury, Pierce retired to his off-court laboratory to put the Wells-inspired time traveling apparatus he’s been tinkering with through a few paces.

Rondo knocked down a pair of threes on his way to 20 points and 16 assists.  Garnett scored 13, including a twisting and-one in the lane late in the first quarter that capped off an 11-4 Celtic run.  As the ball splashed through the net, he wheeled around, his face a hideous, snarling Death’s mask cast from the vilely viscid blood of the damned, a living paean to Man’s most awful and feral inner self, and appeared to say to no one in particular, “I’m so excited…I’m so excited.”

Tuesday’s story was quite different.  The Celtics’ 44-percent shooting was back in line with their season mark of 46.  Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were efficient enough, combining for 31 points off 12-of-22 from the floor.  Pierce, on the other hand, had gone from being merely bothered by his bum knee to fully hobbled by it.  He fatigued quickly after a hot first-quarter start, hitting only three of his 11 shots from the second quarter onward after going four-of-six in the first.  He walked with a hiccup in his stride, favoring his good leg as he limped up and down the court.  His shot was flat and often short.  One possession after pulling the Celtics to within one on a soul-stirring three-pointer with less than a minute to play, Pierce missed badly on the potential go-ahead, a 20-footer that pffished against the bottom of the net before bouncing out of bounds.

To underline just how damaged a state he is presently in, the Captain has attempted only one free throw over the last pair of games after shooting 27 in the previous two.

Though Pierce’s struggles were certainly glaring, the Celtics truly lived and died with the play of Rajon Rondo.  His game was as up-and-down as they come.  While he struggled with his shot throughout the night, knocking down only six of his 17 field goal attempts, he seemed to make them when they were to matter the most.  He sent the game into halftime at a 40-40 tie on a buzzer-beating three from 27 feet out.  Over the final minute-plus of the third quarter, he brought the Celtics from down 10 to within two in a sequence that saw him (1) swoop in from the arc to rebound and put back a missed Ray Allen three; (2) pick off the subsequent in-bounding pass and knock down a 20-footer, and (3) miss a three-pointer, then slash into the lane to collect a pass off Ryan Hollins’ offensive rebound and bank in a swooping righty lay-in.

The game will surely be remembered for what transpired over its final 10 seconds.  Following Pierce’s air ball, the Hawks advanced into the front court, running eight critical seconds off the clock before Ray Allen found the wherewithal to foul Josh Smith.  As the Celtics had a foul to give, the Hawks set up to inbound from the sideline.

Atlanta’s players gathered in a cluster in the paint.  The Celtic defenders grouped around them, with the exception of Rondo, who stood several feet removed from the pack with his back to the inbounding Smith.  Rondo’s role was that of the rover; we imagine that he would have been responsible for following the ball to wherever it was sent to ensure that its recipient would be put on the line with a foul.

Smith collected the ball from the official and the Hawks broke, or attempted to.  Their defensive counterparts glued to their bodies, the Hawks struggled to break free from each other.  Smith searched desperately for an open man.  With four seconds ticked off the silent count, a possibility presented itself as Joe Johnson split from the pack and darted to the corner.

As Rondo watched the action unfold before him, he kept a backwards eye on Smith, sporadically twitching his head to the side to track his movements.  Perhaps he saw what the television cameras did; as soon Johnson broke for the corner, Smith locked in with his eyes, telegraphing the pass to anyone who was paying close enough attention.

Rondo shadowed Johnson perfectly, staying a few feet above and a step to the side to suggest an open passing lane to Smith.  When the pass came, Rondo was positioned not just to poke the ball away, but to fully wrap it into his body.

The Celtics trailed by one.  They had no timeouts.  Rondo launched forward.  After only two short steps, he was stonewalled by Smith, who shut off the sideline and angled his body outward to the center of the court, forcing Rondo to change direction.  He cut in and moved forward.  Smith reversed and barred his path again, this time angling back toward the sideline to prevent his man from gaining the middle.  Smith defended the play expertly.  Playing a step ahead of Rondo and off his right shoulder, he sidled up the court, face to the sideline to ensure that Rondo wouldn’t catch even a glimpse of the lane.

Rondo continued forward, searching for an opening.  At the arc, Kevin Garnett set a hard screen on Smith, springing Rondo into the corner.  He was immediately swallowed up by Al Horford.  Garnett stood above the top of the key, separated from Rondo by Smith.  The three other Celtics on the floor stood on the weak side, too far from the action to help.  With the clock near its expiration, Rondo briefly lost his dribble, then sent a desperation pass toward Garnett.  Smith batted it away as the buzzer sounded.  The series shifted back to Boston; the momentum, to Atlanta.

Though the Celtics maintain the series lead, it’s hard not to feel that the Hawks have gained an upper hand.  With Pierce running the floor on one leg, Avery Bradley dealing with a banged-up shoulder, Ray Allen playing with bone spurs in his ankles, Mickael Pietrus battling a bum hamstring and Greg Stiemsma barely able to make it on to the floor due to a foot injury, able bodies are in short supply.   The Hawks, on the other hand, have received an injection of vigor and spirit thanks to the return of Al Horford, who has been marvelous in his first two games back since a torn pectoral muscle knocked him out of action in January.

The Atlanta team that was so thoroughly chumped in Game Four is likely not the one that will show up for Game Six.  Aside from youth, athleticism and size, the Hawks have two things going for them: their backs are to the wall, and they smell blood in the water.  The Celtics will need an answer to the fervency they can expect to face.  As has happened so often this season, they may find it where they least expected to.

Ryan Hollins signed with the Celtics on March 23, three days after being waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Now in his sixth season in the league, Hollins has played for five different teams, averaging 4.2 points and 2.3 rebounds over 13 minutes per game.  Along the way, he’s earned two rather dubious distinctions:

1) Though he is listed at seven feet tall, he has a marked inability to rebound the basketball.  In fact, according to Basketball-Reference, he is one of only four players in NBA history listed at seven feet or above who have played in 100 games or more and turned in a total rebound percentage of 10.0 or less.  He is joined in this by Andrea Bargnani, Brad Sellers and Nikoloz Tskitishvili.

2) He has garnered a reputation, at least amongst his peers, as an especially dirty player, ranking 11^th in a Sports Illustrated player’s poll on the league’s dirtiest.

Hollins played in 15 games for the C’s.  He averaged nearly three points and two rebounds in just under 11 minutes of action per game.  In mid-April, as Doc began to rest his starters in preparation for the playoffs, Hollins saw his run extend to nearly 20 minutes per game.  Along the way, he demonstrated the type of play that earned him dubious distinction number two.

When one thinks of a poor-rebounding big, the word “soft” might be among the first that pops into their head.  This isn’t necessarily the case with Ryan Hollins.  He is incredibly handsy and physical, and plays the game with great zeal.  On defense, he stays in close contact with his man, constantly grabbing, pushing and tugging.  On offense, he throws his body around with reckless abandon, jumping in front of drivers to take charges, and using his shoulders, hips and rear end to pinball defenders as they chase his perimeter teammates through their off-the-ball actions.

Of course, these tactics are very sneaky and quite often illegal.  When you add those two descriptors together and factor in long limbs and loads of energy, “dirty” is what comes through the back end of the equation.

Ryan Hollins brought the dirty to the Atlanta Hawks in Game Five.  He played 19 minutes and scored five points.  He grabbed four rebounds.  He blocked a shot.  As it goes with Hollins, the stats were but a fraction of the story.

Hollins replaced Greg Stiemsma with 1:52 left in the first quarter.  On the ensuing Celtic possession, he drifted down to the mid-post and stood still for a moment, whipping his head back and forth in search of someone to hit.  He spotted Ray Allen pulling Joe Johnson behind him as he cut along the baseline, and drifted down to the low block to set a screen.  The screen he set was a right-shoulder check into Johnson’s chest followed by a thrust of his backside into Johnson’s hip as he passed by.

Ray was freed to collect a pass on the wing, but was immediately swallowed up by Josh Smith.  The possession eventually ended with a lay-in for the Celtics that put them up 17-13.

Ryan sprinted to the other end of the floor to pick up Erick Dampier at the elbow.  Hollins kept his hands on Dampier for nearly the entire possession, breaking contact only to pick up the ball man off a screen.  Ryan linked arms with his man, and held him at the elbow, the hip, and the bicep.  The possession ended with Dampier looking fairly irritated after knocking Mickael Pietrus to the floor with a brick-wall screen.

These are the actions that Hollins would go on to build the bulk of his minutes around: patrolling the paint in search of a screen to set on offense, and defending his man like they’re attached at the wrist.  He contributed several fine plays throughout the game, including:

0:07, First Quarter.  The Hawks hold the ball with 19 seconds left in the quarter and 13 on the shot clock.  Kirk Hinrich dribbles near the half-court line, guarded closely by Keyon Dooling.  Erick Dampier sprints up above the top of the key to set a screen, bringing Hollins with him.  Dooling starts to literally run circles around the slow-footed Dampier to avoid the pick.  As he does so, Hollins crouches low with his arms spread before him, barring Hinrich from a left-handed drive.

Hinrich drives to his right, getting past Dooling who, though not necessarily screened by Dampier, was at least distracted by his presence.  Hollins shows impressive lateral quickness for a man of his size, sliding down a diagonal line from above the arc to cut Hinrich off at the elbow.

Kirk sends a pass to Josh Smith on the low block.  Defended by Garnett, Smith holds the ball for a moment, then uses a drop-step to slip along the baseline for a bunny at the rim.  Monitoring the play from the mid-post, Hollins drops down and elevates to block the shot off the backboard.  If you freeze it just so, he appears to have levitated into the air to wipe some schmutz off the glass.

10:56, Second Quarter.  Ray Allen collects the rebound off a missed baseline jumper from Al Horford and pushes it up the court.  Followed closely by Horford, Hollins is the first one down to the other end.  Allen loads up a pass and lets it fly when Ryan does something quite interesting: he plants at the free throw line, uprights, and lets Horford run directly into him.  As the whistle is blown, Hollins extends his arm toward the pass and gets a hand on it before it bounces out of bounds.  Horford is called for a shove.

Hollins pumps his fist and high-fives Garnett.

9:49.  After leading Horford into a foul a minute prior, Hollins baits Josh Smith into one.  Once again, Hollins is the first man down the floor in transition.  With Smith tailing, Ryan plants at the free throw line, bends his knees and thrusts his arms back, sealing Josh off from the paint.  Though no shot has gone up, he’s essentially boxing Smith out.  Josh responds by shoving Ryan toward the baseline, then complaining to the official when the whistle is blown.

9:15.  Al Horford sets up a screen for Kirk Hinrich above the arc at the wing.  As he seals off Ray Allen, Ryan steps forward to pick up Hinrich.  He bars the sideline path to the corner, leaving a small space between himself and Horford for Kirk to attempt to sneak through.  As Kirk drives at it, Ryan leans into his path and punches the ball out of his hands and into the front row.  Only four seconds remain on the shot clock.  Off the inbounding pass, Jeff Teague rushes a baseline runner that caroms off the side of the backboard.

3:14.  Avery Bradley commits a foul on Joe Johnson, biting on a fake of an up-fake – Johnson bends at the knees as though he’s going to pump, but never actually does it – and jumping into him as he goes up for a shot.  Hollins comes over and either chastises him or tells him to keep up the solid D.  Either way, Avery looks like someone put more than a couple bees in his bonnet.

Third Quarter, 2:42.  Hollins checks in for his first action of the second half with 5:28 left in the third.  He proceeds to commit three fouls in the span of about two minutes.  With the first, he makes Jeff Teague earn his two points at the free throw line rather than the rim, clipping him in the head while contesting a driving lay-in.

With the second, he’s finally called for some of his off-the-ball shenanigans, getting whistled for clutching on to Al Horford’s jersey while the action develops several feet away.

The third comes at the end of a battle with Horford below the rim.  With 3:05 left in the quarter, Horford collects the ball just inside the extended elbow and engages one-on-one with Hollins.  He dribbles forward to his right, then spins down the post, looking for a shot from the baseline.  Hollins stands above him with his arms raised, keeping him from a clean line at the basket.  With nothing doing, Horford reverse-spins into the lane, moving about the semicircle to get a shot up over Ryan’s left shoulder.  The ball rolls around the rim and falls out.

Hollins and Horford leap for the rebound.  Horford has the better position and collects it deep underneath the hoop.  Hollins stands his ground, fully upright with his arms raised above Horford’s head.  Facing away from the basket, Al leaps into Ryan’s body and flings the ball backward over his shoulder, drawing the foul.  He makes one of his two shots.  The Hawks lead, 66-54.

At the other end of the court, Hollins sets up at the free throw line.  The Celtics have been outscored eight-to-nothing over the past two-and-a-half minutes.  Rajon Rondo curls around the arc to collect a handoff from Ray Allen.  As he does so, he loses Jeff Teague behind a crowd of Hawks and Celtics alike.  This forces Horford to abandon Hollins and pick up Rondo until Teague can recover.  Hollins sees an opening and takes it.

The lane below him is wide open.  Ryan springs toward the hoop, triggering a lob from Rondo.  The two points off the throw-down trigger a 10-0 Celtic run that will last out the rest of the quarter and close the Hawks’ lead to two.

Fourth Quarter, 10:04.  Four minutes later, they do it again.  With 10:15 left in the quarter and the shot clock winding down, Jeff Teague takes a hard drive at the hoop, attempting a floater over the top of a leaping Ryan Hollins.  The ball bounces off the back iron and is rebounded by Rajon Rondo.  Rajon sprints the ball forward, pulling up his drive above the elbow with Josh Smith and Willie Green barring his way.  Joe Johnson stands on the opposite side of the paint, available to contest if needed on either Ray Allen or Mickael Pietrus, who are stationed along the perimeter behind him.  The lane between the three Hawks is wide open.

Ryan Hollins sprints into view.  As he passes into Rondo’s line of sight, he turns to face him, hands up, palms out.  Rondo pulls back and sends another lob.  Hollins’ dunk ties the game at 68.  Josh Smith can’t help but exult at the knee-quaking majesty of the Rondo-to-Hollins connection.

Ryan Hollins won’t score 20 Thursday night and he won’t board worth a lick.  He won’t need to.  Using great mobility, energy to burn and a knack for being in the right place at the right time, Hollins will influence the game in ways that won’t be reflected in the stat sheet.  He’ll set a bunch of barely-legal screens, provide a reliable defensive presence, goad a few fouls out of the Hawks’ key players, and throw down the odd oop when the conditions are right.  If another low-scoring, slim-margin contest is on the books, those are just the sort of contributions that could swing the game in the Celtics’ favor.

May 6, 2012; Boston, MA USA; Boston Celtics power forward Kevin Garnett (5) celebrates with small forward Paul Pierce (34) and point guard Rajon Rondo (9) in the first quarter of game four in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-US PRESSWIRE

Game four of the series between the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks was to come to a head tonight. Tonight was supposed to be a turning point in the series for both teams. For Boston, they could use this game to put a chokehold on an Atlanta Hawks team that still has a little fight left in them. Atlanta was to take this opportunity to get swing homecourt and the momentum of the series back to the Highlight Factory in Atlanta.

Boston was able to come out on top of the Hawks 101-79 and they could do no wrong for the whole game. The intensity was definitely there from the very beginning. With the Celtics at full strength with Ray Allen back in the line-up at 100% they were able to score easily and Rondo was able to get into a rhythm in facilitating shots for his scorers.

Atlanta was trying to keep up early, but they couldn’t. The lead increased to 10, then 20, then 30. Paul Pierce couldn’t miss, even after an injury in the game. He managed to score 24 points on 10 of 13 shooting in only 17 minutes played. Pierce and Rondo set the pace for what the Celtics were going to do all night long, and they did it early.

Rondo finished the game with 20 points and 16 assists. What was astounding about the way he played was how confident he was in his jumper all night long. I’ve always been a believer that Rondo’s jumper wasn’t as broken as some of the critics think it is, tonight he made me look good. Rondo made six shots outside of the painted area, all from above 18 feet. Overall he was six of seven when shooting jump shots. He even added two threes to that total.

Confidence seemed to be oozing out of the Celtics tonight as they were all knocking down their jump shots. A lot of what Boston does is predicated off of the mid-range area of the floor. That’s common for a team who is getting older and can’t get to the rim as easily as they could before, but tonight was simply spectacular. Out of 101 points, Boston only scored 26 of them in the pain. They went 11 of 26 from beyond the arch as well.

While this isn’t a common night for the Celtics at all, they’ve shown us why they should still be a team that is feared throughout the league and why they can still make a run to the NBA finals.

Al Horford returned to the Atlanta Hawks tonight after not having played on an NBA floor since January. He posted 12 points and five rebounds in 20 minutes of play. Look for him to start, possibly, in Atlanta’s Do-or-Die game five. Game five is on Tuesday at 8 P.M Eastern time on TNT.