Rondo, Celts take down 9th place foe

The Boston Celtics have sat in the 7th or 8th position in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, and the last two nights they were given the opportunity to solidify their lead playing the 9th and 10th place teams and that is exactly what they did.  The Celtics were led by All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo who posted his third triple-double of the season, the Celts beat the Milwaukee Bucks 102-96.

The Celtics' veteran Kevin Garnett was on top of his game as well.  Garnett scored a team-high 25 points accompanied with 10 rebounds.  Garnett scored 11 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, when the Celtics needed it most.  Many people thought KG was starting to drop off heading into this season and he has shown no signs of this.  The man is showing he is 35 years young and ready to pounce on opposing teams.

Doc Rivers spoke with a clear sense of relief after the game.  Thanks to Garnett, the Celts went off offensively over a 6:40 stretch during the third quarter, where they outscored the Bucks 23-6.  Doc Rivers had this to say after the game, "I'm just glad we're back to .500. And we've won the first two after the break and both games were grind games. Our guys are buying into that."

The Celtics have three big games to try and build off a hot start to the second half.  This starts with playing the New Jersey Nets, followed by the Knicks, and then the Houston Rockets all at home.  This team seems to be getting back in stride and with a few home games in a row, the Celts will look to capitalize and extend their cushion in the Eastern Conference.