When it comes to the Celtics, the only thing that comes to mind is that when playing in the clutch, they have a determination to win like no other team in the league.

     The Cs played badly- terribly bad- for the entire first half of the game on Monday, March 21, 2011, against the New York Knicks. In fact, going in to the third quarter they were down by 14, and the Knicks soon extended that lead to 15. During the final minute of the third quarter, it looked like this game was over and all we needed was the final score. Then, the Cs gained a little momentum when they scored 3 points in the final 6 seconds off of a free throw and a layup.

     The fourth quarter opened with a bang, and Paul Pierce, who had been relatively quiet for the entire night, made 7 points alone in less than 2 minutes. After a few nifty plays from Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, and Jeff Green, the game was tied at 82 and even the announcers were stunned. The Celtics would go on to win the game 96-86, and Garnett made it sound like the team’s motivation came from Coach Doc Rivers.

     "Doc thought we were soft," said KG after the game. "He thought our play was soft, he thought everything we were doing was soft and we weren't the Cs. So we got firm." Garnett had a great game with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Rondo also posted a double-double, with 13 points and 12 assists.

     One of the more interesting aspects of the game was the amount of blood that was shed. 3 players (Celtics Troy Murphy and Ray Allen, and Knicks Carmelo Anthony) all had to be taken out of the game at times to get patched up. Allen and Anthony were both cut above the eye, while Murphy was cut on the nose. Aside from the injury, Anthony had 22 points in the first 3 quarters of play, but in the end it was not enough to stop Boston.

     The Celtics will play on Wednesday night at home against the Memphis Grizzlies, while the Knicks will have another tough task on Wednesday against the Orlando Magic.

Source: ESPN.com