No Rondo, No Problem

Somebody had to step up in Rajon Rondo's absence. Paul Pierce has built a career on stepping up when it matters the most. 36 points, 13 rebounds. We've seen this kind of night from Pierce before in postseason play. He is, without a doubt in my mind, a member of the prestigious Best Celtics Ever club.

He scored 13 points in the 4th quarter. The Hawks, as a team scored 14.

Garnett also showed up. 15 points from him along with 12 rebounds. Bradley added 14. And the bench contributed 14.

Although the Celtics didn't look like the superior team for the first three quarters, they kept themselves in the game. Atlanta pulled out to a lead, but the Hawks haven't been very good at maintaining leads, let alone building on them.

Then in the 4th quarter, the Celtics demonstrated the difference between a talented team and a Championship team. Atlanta faced pressure and failed. The Celtics faced pressure and excelled.

And speaking of pressure, all of it is on the Hawks. Rondo will be back for Game 3, and the Celtics now have home court advantage in this series. The Celtics were 24-9 in the Garden this season. The Hawks were 17-19 on the road.

Game 3 Friday night in Boston.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo