Despite the Celtics holding a 27-point lead in the second quarter, Boston would lose to the Atlanta Hawks, 123-111, in double-overtime. This now becomes the Celtics sixth straight loss, which comes on the heels of a six game winning streak.

Rajon Rondo’s fifth triple-double of the season, 16 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds, was not enough to overcome Kyle Korver’s hot shooting. Korver hit eight 3-pointers in the game, an Atlanta Hawks single game record.

Boston had multiple chances to win the game. Rondo missed on a floater with seconds left in regulation that would have put Boston up two. Paul Pierce finished with 12 points but was blocked on what would have been the game winning shot at the end of the first overtime.

Boston’s next chance to snap this skid will come on Sunday when they take on the defending champion, Miami Heat. It will mark Ray Allen’s first return to Boston since leaving in the offseason.

Player Grades: 

Starters

Rajon Rondo: B+

Rondo had a triple-double and carried the Celtics for several stretches of the game. Normally it’s hard to give someone who puts up a triple-double anything less than an A. He was not A worthy though. The All-Star point guard only made eight of his 18 shots, including his failure to win the game at the end of regulation. He had six turnovers, and to make matters worse, Boston was -20 with him on the court.

Avery Bradley: B-

Bradley scored 14 points, but was never a major factor defensively. With the Celtics struggling to contain Korver in the second half, it’s questionable as to why Bradley did not matchup against him. Most of Bradley’s shots were from the perimeter. The next step for him will be to develop the ability to attack off the dribble.

Paul Pierce: F

Pierce was awful, and that is being kind. He missed all five of his 3-point attempts, and consistently got beat on defense. The Celtics were a mind blowing -30 with him on the court. Pierce had the chance to close it out at the end of the first overtime, but was blocked by Josh Smith. This is not the type of performance you expect from the captain.

Brandon Bass: F

It becomes more questionable by the game as to why Bass continues to start. He was scoreless today, and even missed a wide-open dunk attempt. He’s not even contributing on the glass, as he only had two rebounds in 19 minutes of play. With his jump shot not falling, Bass has become a liability on the offensive end.

Kevin Garnett: B+

Garnett scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, but fouled out early in the second overtime. Boston was never able to recover once Garnett left the game. He was most of the Celtics offense in the first overtime, but his defense proved most critical. As soon as he fouled out, Atlanta immediately picked on his replacement, Jared Sullinger, who couldn’t stop Al Horford. This game was lost the second Garnett picked up his sixth foul.

Bench

Jeff Green: A-

Green had one of his best games of the season. He was in attack mode early on, and totaled 17 points for the game. Green was also active defensively, grabbing six rebounds to help Boston on the glass. It’s hard to ask for much more out of Green.

Jared Sullinger: D

Sullinger did grab five rebounds, but never really made his presence felt in the game, missing all three of his shots. He could not handle Horford in the post once he came in for Garnett, picking up three quick fouls. It looks like it was one of those learning experiences for the rookie tonight.

Jason Terry: A-

Terry was the Celtics most efficient player. He scored 12 points on only six shots. He knocked down three shots from behind the arc, including several timely ones to momentarily halt the Hawks comeback in the fourth quarter. Boston needs to see more of these performances from the often inconsistent Terry.

Courtney Lee: A

Following along with Terry and Green, Lee was solid off the bench. He scored 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had four assists. He also made several great defensive plays. Lee has been another struggling to find consistency, but games like this could prove the turning point.

The Celtics allowed a season high 12 3-pointers to the San Antonio Spurs (19-6), resulting in a 15 point loss. Boston now falls to 12-11 on the year, following two consecutive losses in the state of Texas.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 22 points, while Tiago Splitter chipped in with 16 points and eight rebounds. San Antonio put on a clinic for ball movement. They racked up 28 assists on their 38 made shots. Six players had at least three assists for the Spurs.

Rebounding was a concern going into the game, but the Celtics held their own on the glass. Each team ended up with 38 rebounds. Despite being a rookie, Jared Sullinger led the Celtics with seven rebounds. Tim Duncan grabbed 12 rebounds but struggled offensively, only making two shots.

The largest discrepancy in the game came at the free-throw line. Boston was called for eight more fouls than San Antonio, who also attempted 12 more free throws. Doc Rivers was visibly upset on the sideline by the lack of calls in his team’s favor. He may have had some validity. The Spurs were not called for their first foul until 28 seconds into the second quarter.

Jason Terry was again assigned to the bench for the second consective game. He scored 18 points, and appeared comfortable in the role of sixth man. That should not be a surprise as Terry won the 2009 Sixth Man of the Year Award. Paul Pierce also scored 18 points to lead the Celtics in scoring along with Terry.

Courtney Lee, Terry’s replacement in the starting lineup, was solid with 11 points and 5 rebounds. He did miss several timely shots late in the game that would have put a Celtics’ comeback within reach though.

While the Spurs came out victorious, it may have come at a costly price. Manu Ginobili suffered a quad contusion in the second quarter after colliding with Chris Wilcox. He would never return to the game, finishing with just three points.

The Celtics trailed by only three points at halftime, before being outscored by 12 in the second-half. The Celtics have now lost their last four road games. Boston will look to snap that streak when they head to Chicago to take on the Bulls this Tuesday.

They will then return home to play Cleveland the next day.

June 9, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat power forward Chris Bosh (1) celebrates with the trophy after defeating the Boston Celtics in game seven of the 2012 NBA Eastern Conference finals at the American Airlines Arena. The Heat defeated the Celtics 101-88. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

The Boston Celtics’ season came to an end on Saturday, as they fell 101-88 to a Miami Heat team now on its way to the NBA Finals.

As he had all season long, league MVP LeBron James led the way for Miami, notching his eighth double-double of the playoffs with 31 points and 12 rebounds.  He played nearly the entire game, checking out as Dwyane Wade hit a pair of free throws to give the Heat their decisive 13-point lead with 28 seconds remaining.

Wade pitched in with 23 points, six rebounds and six assists in 44 minutes of work.

While James posted the most conspicuous stat line, the Heat received their most crucial contribution from Chris Bosh, who scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 31 minutes off the bench.  Bosh was wonderfully efficient; he missed only two of his 10 field goal attempts, and hit a career-high three three-pointers.  Remarkably, all but two of the shots he put up came from 16 feet and out.

It was Bosh’s hot hand that allowed Miami to spread the floor extra-wide late in the game, pulling the Celtics’ defenders out of the paint and opening up boulevards to the basket for LeBron James to attack with dribble drives.

Shane Battier provided critical support, scoring 12 points off four three-pointers and collecting four steals.  All nine of his shot attempts came from beyond the arc.

Despite the tremendous performances from Miami’s stars, the road to victory was a treacherous one.  The Celtics were razor-sharp in the first half.  They out-played the Heat in just about every facet of the game, hitting 53 percent of their shots and forcing 10 turnovers to build the seven-point lead they would carry into the third quarter.  Paul Pierce seemed on the verge of a vintage Paul Pierce game as he turned in 13 points off five-of-nine from the floor.  Ray Allen contributed 12 to the cause while Brandon Bass added 14, including 10 during a three-minute 14-3 run that put the Celtics up by 11 with 3:12 left in the half.

The 14-3 run was unexpected to say the least, given that it began only 30 seconds after Kevin Garnett checked out of the game, having been whistled for his third personal foul at the 7:08 mark.

Bass was the Celtics’ leading scorer through the first two quarters.  He had played so well, in fact, that he was selected by Doris Burke for the post-half interview.  We’re fairly certain this was the only time that this has happened this season.  Bass explained that his performance was the result of “just playing with a lot of energy, starting on the defensive end, [which] translates to good offense for me.”

Bass, Allen and Pierce also combined for six first-half steals.

The Heat slowly began to chip away at the Celtics’ lead mere minutes into the third quarter.  With 6:26 remaining, Shane Battier picked off a Ray Allen pass and outletted to Mario Chalmers, who found LeBron James for a driving lay-in, tying the game at 61 apiece.  Over the next ten-and-a-half minutes, there would be 16 lead changes and four ties.

The Celtics could not sustain the hot shooting they had enjoyed in the first half.  After hitting 58 percent of their shots in the second quarter, they connected on 41 percent in the third and 39 percent in the fourth.  The Heat, meanwhile, were unrelenting in their assault.  After making 50 percent of their first-half shots, they would knock down 53 percent in the second.

Compounding the ill-timed cooling of Boston’s hot hands was the sudden scarcity of Miami turnovers.  Boston had forced 10 in the first half, repeatedly exploiting them for transition runs, while coughing the ball up only six times themselves.  In quarters three and four, Miami protected the ball well, giving up just three turnovers while taking seven from the Celtics.

June 9, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Boston Celtics small forward Paul Pierce (34) reacts on the bench after his fourth foul against the Miami Heat during the third quarter in game seven of the 2012 NBA Eastern Conference finals at the American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Miami took the lead for good off a driving one-handed slam from James with 7:58 left in the fourth that put the Heat up 83-82.  On the subsequent Heat possession — obtained via a Paul Pierce turnover — Bosh extended the lead to four with a corner three.  Ninety seconds later, James effectively put the game away, burying a 30-foot three-pointer over the outstretched hand of Brandon Bass as the shot clock approached its expiration.

The Celtics were unable to put together a response.  They would go on to miss six of their next seven shots, including an oh-for-five stretch that lasted out the most important four-and-a-half minutes of the game.  The drought ended with a Rajon Rondo three that was too little, too late.  Miami’s lead now stood at 11.  There were 39 seconds left to play.

Rondo was once again terrific for the Celtics, turning in his tenth career playoff triple-double with 22 points, 14 assists, and 10 rebounds.  Kevin Garnett added 14 points off 6-of-12 from the floor and seven rebounds.

The Heat now advance to the NBA Finals, where they will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in a series that will surely come to be regarded as a landmark in the league’s history.   With Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen joining Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki ,and Jason Kidd on the sidelines, the torch has officially been passed to the generation of stars who have already begun to mold the Association in their image, and will continue to do as the decade ensues.