New Orleans, fresh off a 14-point loss in Philadelphia the night before, took the Garden parquet last night with one of the most stripped down lineups in the NBA. With Anthony Davis shut down, and too many other regulars to mention also in sick bay, the Pelicans had the look of a fine D-League team.
But the Celtics, three days off their triumphant 3-2 western road trip, seemed to be playing with a success hangover in last night's 104-97 win over New Orleans. In other words, it was the kind of night that begged for Isaiah Thomas to take control.
The Celtics guard responded with a 32-point performance that included a seven-point fourth quarter.
But the Celtics didn't reach a comfort level until, with 32.7 seconds left, Avery Bradley hit his first 3-pointer of the night for a 102-95 lead.
The Celtics had lived on the edge a little too long for comfort, though. They were forced to take the lead eight times in the fourth quarter, with New Orleans able to tie the score eight times, without actually falling behind.
But this is how it goes sometimes. From the four stitches Marcus Smart took over his left eye - the C's guard later said he's had 22 total near his eyes from basketball-related cuts - to the damage the Celtics absorbed all night, there are going to be less than optimal nights in the life of this team.
The bottom line is that they won their third straight game and are tied with Indiana for the Eastern Conference's longest winning streak. They also remain tied with the Hawks for the conference's third playoff seed at 46-32, with the final game of that season series set for Saturday night in Atlanta.
So forget that they lost leads of nine, 16 and 14 points last night. Sometimes a team has to make due with its 'B' or 'C' game.
"It's tough physically for the most part," said Jae Crowder. "A lot of guys were talking at the end of the game, like we were just fatigued. I'm fighting injuries and trying to get back into game shape. It was tough. "Those guys played very hard. They didn't lay down at all. We got up 10 and they fought back. That's what you expect from a team whose really playing for nothing but pride and the organization. Props to them."
And the Celtics get a much-needed light workout today, with four games left in the regular season starting Friday against Milwaukee. "It just shows it's a scary sight to see when we do bring our A-game, and we're on, and everybody's rolling, and everything's going together as a team," Smart said of this team's standard, as opposed to what was put on display last night, from 41.4 percent shooting to far too many open shots by the Pelicans' Luke Babbitt down the other end.
"I said if Luke Babbitt is standing wide-open like he was in the last two shots, we are going to lose by whatever multiple of three that he gets," coach Brad Stevens said of an angry timeout during this stretch. "That happened a few times tonight, where off dead balls we were just slow to react. "That's not a trend with us. I think this was a game that we had to find a way, and we found a way. We will improve. We'll get better off of the things we didn't do well from watching film and again, get off of our feet before Friday night."
But after New Orleans tie the game for the last time at 93-93 on an open jumper by, you guessed it, Babbitt, the Celtics finally found consistent range. They closed out the game with an 11-2 run, including Bradley's 3-pointer with 32.7 seconds left. But that was made possible by what Thomas and Bradley both called the most important play of the game - Amir Johnson's block on Babbitt along the right baseline. The Pelicans forward, and his team, finally went down for good.
"I thought we looked a little road-weary, but on those nights you have to find a way," said Stevens. "When we went up 14 (early in the third quarter) we let our foot off the gas. They did a great job of putting their foot on the gas and getting back into the game. I was actually pretty pleased because I knew it was going to be really hard, due to the circumstances of everything, so getting back, getting a game under our belt and getting 48 more hours should feel pretty good to us."
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