But at this point, we don’t care. Ugly wins are wins too. And we got the one we needed in Boston.

The game featured many ups and downs (but mostly bricks). The Sixers, who could not buy a basket or a call in the first two quarters, went on a run in the third quarter. Then the charitable lineup came in and let the Celtics back in the game. Eventually, the Sixers trailed by one with about two minutes left when Jrue Holiday hit a contested three, putting us up two. Ray Allen countered with one of his own, giving Boston the lead again. Then Evan Turner hit an acrobatic layup to get the lead back. Sixers up by one.

At this point, the question was “how do the Celtics score and how painful would it be” and not if. But my fears weren’t realized. The Sixers had an amazing defensive possession, getting possession back with 28.2 seconds left and not allowing a basket. The Celtics then waited, oddly, to foul, with a lot of time left. We eventually secured the ball, giving Evan Turner two free throws, which he made like only The Villain can. Boston would get it, up three, calling timeout so they had none remaining. After inbounding, the Celtics ran a play to get Paul Pierce open for a three at the top of the circle. Except in getting Pierce open, Kevin Garnett set a screen that included a major shove on Andre Iguodala – it was so flagrant that a foul call had to be made. Eventually, the Sixers hit enough free throws to seal the victory.

The reaction to the game was mixed. Sixers fans were just happy to get a win. Celtics fans thought their team played lazily and let a “lucky” Sixers team win. As much as people are putting on the Celtics for not playing to their potential, the Sixers were far from that level too. Only three players by my count played well. Another four were downright awful.

Despite his final two minutes on the court, Evan Turner had a bad game. He was responsible on his own for 5 turnovers, but also helped commit two more shot clock violations that weren’t added to his total. He missed defensive rotations and took bad shots. He failed to space the floor and generally help his team in any way. He was having the worst game of his professional career. Luckily, he redeemed himself a bit with the last-ditch layup and late free throws, as well as a successful post defense stand against Garnett. Lou Williams shot 3-13 and made many questionable decisions, but by the virtue of not being Evan Turner and having three point range, he was a +17 on the night (in 39 minutes, which is HUGE for him). Elton Brand is clearly hurt – a third quarter scoring spurt notwithstanding, he gave us practically nothing. And speaking of injured players, Thaddeus Young looked the part as well. He played just 13 minutes without a field goal and struggled to stay attached to Mickael Pietrus in the fourth quarter, resulting in six quick Celtics points.

Spencer Hawes played alright on offense and struggled on defense, per usual. And Jodie Meeks barely existed, so I can’t pass judgment on him.

As for the strong performers, we have three. Andre Iguodala effectively shut down Paul Pierce, who was 2-9 with 5 turnovers. The offense from Iguodala was just gravy on top of that Pierce nullification, but he did provide 13 points on 11 shots (although he missed 5 of 7 free throws), with 7 rebounds and 6 assists. He has soundly outplayed the slumbering, injured Pierce this series, and I cannot help but think this match up has become a clear advantage for the Sixers.

Jrue Holiday provided offense, which is something almost no one else can say. He scored 18 on 15 shots, including 4-6 on threes. He also defended Ray Allen for a large portion of the night, and per usual did a wonderful job tracking him as he weaves around Boston’s (illegal) screens.

And finally, Lavoy Allen. I clearly timed my post yesterday around this breakout performance. He played 30 minutes of super-solid basketball, looking more and more confident as time went along and effectively neutralizing Garnett on his own. He finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds, but his defense is what stood out. While not really a “KG Stopper” like I proclaimed earlier, he did allow the Sixers the ability to defend everyone one-on-one. With Hawes as the primary defender, Garnett got where he wanted, when he wanted, forcing the Sixers to double team him on occasion in the post, invariably leaving other players open. With Allen, this didn’t happen. We needed a big to step up, and Lavoy did. He was the difference tonight.

The Celtics cannot be feeling great about going to Philadelphia with a tied series, especially since they are currently overwhelmed by injuries. Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Avery Bradley are all facing different injuries which have significantly hampered their production. The Sixers aren’t all that healthy either, with Lou Williams, Thaddeus Young, Elton Brand, and Andre Iguodala facing injuries that are nagging or worse. It could be a war of attrition. The Sixers came one step closer to winning that war, now armed with home field advantage.

Credit: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

The Celtics-Sixers series featured 3 games, down from the usual 4. Each told a different story, which is to say, each of these teams changed over time. Here’s four things to take away from the season series:

1. The Celtics had a combined 0 days of rest before the three games during the season.

That’s right, the Celtics had no days of rest before any of the meetings, all occurring on the back ends of a back-to-back, having to travel between each. You could actually see some of the effects during the games – the lack of energy in the third quarter of Game 2 especially, when the Sixers outscored the Celtics by 20. They had little rest and were beaten up by injuries as well in that game – the Mickael Pietrus concussion happened, and the Celts were already without Ray Allen. However, that did open the door for Avery Bradley to start, which ultimately may have helped this aging Celtics team (I’ll have more on this later).

The Sixers had a day of rest before each of the two wins. They lost a back-to-back on the road in Boston handily. Because both series finished in six games, there will be no back-to-backs, so theoretically this favors the banged-up Celtics squad.

2. None of the games occurred before March.

This is important only because of the respective starts for each team. The Celtics started off dangerously slowly (there was talk about this team missing the playoffs, for heaven’s sake), while the Sixers started off extraordinarily well (there was talk that this team would be up there with Chicago and Miami, while healthy). But those starts had all but no effect on these games, because they took place after regression set in.

So the teams are more like themselves now than they would be if the games took place in, say, January. A lot has changed since then. With one notable exception, not much has changed since March either.

3. Paul Pierce shot stunningly well against Andre Iguodala.

One of the people that Andre Iguodala routinely abused to garner his defensive reputation in his earlier years was Paul Pierce. The Truth truly couldn’t shake Iggy – his size and strength advantages were mitigated by Iguodala’s extremely long wingspan. Iguodala also avoided body contact, which is Pierce’s primary method of gaining separation from defenders. Thus, Pierce routinely struggled to get his points against Andre.

This year, however, Pierce has shown that he can score against one of the best in the league. Between the three games, Pierce averaged just under 18 points, which isn’t bad but maybe not terrific. However, his 53 points overall on 36 shots is remarkable against Iguodala. It looks like Pierce was patient, knowing that he might not get as many looks as he’d like but converting the looks that he got.

4. Avery Bradley played a small role in the losses, a large role in the win.

This will undoubtedly change. Bradley played off the bench sparingly to start the year. His defense was always seen as a reason to give him playing time, but his point guard skills lacked. The Celtics need a player who, while not actually creating much offense, needs to get the ball in the hands of others so that they can create some. That’s why Rajon Rondo‘s assist numbers are off the charts and yet why the Celtics aren’t even an average offensive team.

Bradley couldn’t do that effectively. But since then, they’ve moved him into an off-guard role. With an improved jumper, he’s become a solid if unspectacular member of the offense and a dedicated defensive wizard (not of the Washington variety) who has helped make the Celtics the best defensive team in the NBA (along with DPOY candidate and self-motivation guru Kevin Garnett). He’ll likely have primary defensive duties on Jrue Holiday, and he’ll give Jrue as hard a time as any defender he will see.