BOSTON – The Truth was finally set free. After what may have been his final game in the TD Garden, Paul Pierce walked off the court with his hand held high.
But it was Isaiah Thomas and Evan Turner who stole the show, leading a memorable comeback to grind to an overtime win 139-134. Thomas scored 36 points with 11 assists while Turner scored 7 of his 14 points in the overtime run that gave the Celtics the lead.
It was one of the first true playoff tests for a Celtics team that has been waiting for an opponent to push its offensive capability to the breaking point.
“I just thought they got to every loose ball,” Doc Rivers said. “They’re so athletic and I just thought that their athleticism won out at the end of the day.”
But the Celtics’ fight got only stronger in the closing minutes, as Isaiah Thomas yet again scored incredible buckets to narrow the gap in crunch time. This was partnered with incredible hustle plays from Marcus Smart, who nearly gave the Celtics three possessions in a row when he was erroneously called for a loose ball foul on JJ Redick.
“I’ve never seen a little guy—other than Spudd [Webb] – that makes his living in the paint,” Doc said of Thomas. “You very rarely see one that gets in the paint and makes shots. And he does it consistently.”
After forcing a Chris Paul missed three with 24 seconds left, Jae Crowder was hit with...READ FULL REPORT