I am convinced that making things difficult is in this team's DNA.
After their franchise record 11th overtime game of the season, the Celtics (34-27) edged the Hawks, 107-102.
The Celtics blew a 12-point fourth quarter lead, but silly turnovers and bad shots by the Hawks left the door open for the Celtics to come away victorious.
Here's a recap:
The good:
* Paul Pierce showed why he shouldn't have been traded for Josh Smith. The Captain led the way for the Celtics with 27 points on 10-of-16 from the floor to go along with 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals. Pierce made some huge shots down the stretch. He scored 9 of Boston's final 14 points of the game.
* The Celtics withstood a combined 54 points from Al Horford and Josh Smith, arguably Atlanta's two best players. If Atlanta can't win with those two putting up huge numbers like they did tonight, then I don't know how Atlanta can beat Boston.
* After getting called for an illegal screen near the end of overtime, Jason Terry redeemed himself on the very next possession. He put the Celtics ahead for good with a three-pointer to make it 105-102. He scored the final 5 points of the game, and scored a bench-high 19 points.
* Boston did a good job of limiting Atlanta on the perimeter. Atlanta only shot 33% from beyond the arc. They held Kyle Korver, the best three-point shooter in the league, to 1-of-4 from long range.
The bad:
* Atlanta attempted 88 shots to Boston's 78. The reason for that? 10 offensive rebounds for the Hawks. The Celtics had 2.
* The Celtics let Jeff Teague do whatever he wanted. 14 of his 20 shots came inside the paint. He penetrated the Celtics defense with ease and shot from the perimeter whenever he wanted.
Boston will travel to Oklahoma City for a date with the Thunder on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
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