Don't look now, but the Boston Celtics (19-17) are slowly climbing up the ranks in the Eastern Conference. They are now riding a season-high five-game winning streak after defeating the Houston Rocket, 103-91.
After a three-pointer from Courtney Lee to put them up 20-19, the Celtics never looked back. They won every quarter except the fourth -- a quarter in which both teams scored 25 points -- en route to victory.
Here's a recap:
The good:
* As an 18-year veteran, Kevin Garnett knows when to pick and choose his spots. Tonight, his timing was impeccable. The Big Ticket turned in a very impressive 2-minute stretch from the 5:07 mark to the 3:07 mark of the fourth quarter. It all started with a block on a Toney Douglas layup, then a block on a Chandler Parsons layup on Houston's very next possession. Then, Garnett hit a step-back jumper, was the recipient of an alley-oop from Rajon Rondo, and then made a fantastic move that ended with a ferocious one-hand flush, all coming on three consecutive possessions. 10 of his 17 points came in the final frame.
* With the way his week has gone, Jared Sullinger should go buy himself a Lottery ticket. The rookie turned in his second-consecutive double-double, and he got to the mark early in the third quarter. Sullinger finished tied with a bench-high 14 points and had 11 rebounds, 5 of which came on the offensive glass. Coming into tonight, Sullinger had the highest plus/minus for any player in the NBA in the month of January. Did you read that correctly? The entire league. With a plus -7 tonight, you have to think that number only went up.
* The bench continues to impress. Boston's bench scored 40 points to Houston's 25. Over their last three games, Boston's bench has averaged 28.6 points per game. Now that's more like it.
* Boston had five guys in double-figures, and three of those guys were bench players.
* Remember Courtney Lee's prolonged shooting slump? Yeah, me neither. Lee tied with Sullinger for most points off the bench with 14 points. He was 5-of-7 from the field and 2-of-3 from behind the three-point line. In his last 14 games (including tonight), Lee has turned it around, shooting 52.1% from the floor and 41.0% from the beyond the arc in those games. Along with his usual superb defense, Lee is finally looking like the player the Celtics made all that trouble to try to get.
* The Celtics did a good job of containing James Harden. After Avery Bradley got into early foul trouble, the Celtics made an adjustment in the second half of finally making Harden go to his right hand. Boston held Harden to 9-of-19 from the floor and 2-of-8 from beyond the arc.
* After Houston cut the Celtics' lead to 2, it was the hustle of the Celtics that helped them regain their double-digit lead. It started when Brandon Bass put back a missed shot on the offensive glass, then Paul Pierce stole the ball and drove to the hoop for a 3-point play.
The bad:
* Houston took advantage of Boston's turnovers. Houston blew away the Celtics in the fast break department, as they outscored Boston 24-6. If only they hit their free throws, this stat would've been more important.
* The Celtics have had trouble of holding big leads this season. Boston saw their 17-point third-quarter lead dwindle to 2 in the opening minutes in the fourth after a 15-3 run by the Rockets. The NBA is a game of runs, but the Celtics have to work on the way they manage big leads.
Miscellaneous:
* After the game, Jason Terry told reporters that he along with the rest of Boston's bench had decided on their nickname for the season: the Gangster Squad. It's fitting that they decide on that name today, as the movie Gangster Squad was released in theaters today.
* After I mentioned that it would only be a matter of time before Tommy Heinsohn would freak out about the fact that Houston had shot 12 free throws at the half to Boston's zero, it only took him a minute and a half into the second half to get it off his chest. I knew he just couldn't resist.
* Coming into tonight, Houston was smack-dab in the middle of the league in free-throw percentage at 75.3%. Over their last three games, they shot 61.5%. Tonight, they continued that downward trend. Houston shot 41.4% on 12-of-29 from the line tonight. Most of that damage came from Omer Asik, who started 0-of-7 before hitting his last free throw of the night. Imagine if they hit just a few more free throws? We'd be talking about a totally different outcome.
* James Harden's streak of 14 consecutive games with at least 25 points -- a new Houston record after passing Hakeem Olajuwon on Wednesday night -- began the game after the Rockets played the Celtics back on December 14. It was only fitting for the streak to end tonight against the Celtics. Of all the teams in the league, Harden has his lowest points per game average against none other than the Celtics. Harden finished just shy of extending his streak, as he scored 24 points.
Boston has the weekend off before continuing their homestand on Monday night against the Charlotte Bobcats.
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