Boston Celtics Beat Atlanta Hawks 87-80: Pierce Huge, but Garnett the Key

It was a masterful performance by Paul Pierce on Tuesday night, one of many masterful playoff performances that we have seen from Pierce over the course of his illustrious career. "The Truth" poured in 36 points, 13 of them coming in the decisive fourth quarter, and grabbed 14 rebounds in an 87-80 Game 2 win for the shorthanded Boston Celtics over the Atlanta Hawks.

With Ray Allen sidelined yet another game due to his bothersome right ankle and Rajon Rondo being forced to sit due to a one-game suspension for bumping an official during Game 1, Pierce carried the load offensively, scoring Boston's first nine points in a dazzling display of layups, jumpers, and and-ones. After a brief drought in the second quarter, Pierce resumed dominance in the second half and helped the C's tie the series up at one game apiece heading back to Boston.

If you turn on the television this morning or read the countless articles about this game online, all of the talk will be about Pierce's performance, and there is nothing wrong with that, as the 34-year-old veteran was absolutely magnificent. However, he was not the key to the Celtics' victory. The key was defense, something that Boston has prided itself on ever since the Big Three came to fruition in 2007. And who is the backbone of that defense? Kevin Garnett.

With the Celtics trailing 65-54 midway through the third quarter, Boston flipped the switch and turned up its defensive intensity. Jeff Teague, who easily sliced his way through the defense throughout the first 30 minutes or so, was then stifled. Josh Smith, who later left the game with a sprained knee, was unable to maneuver his way into the paint. Joe Johnson was forced into bad decisions and was not able to get into any kind of rhythm. This was a defensive clinic by the C's, and it was orchestrated by Garnett.

Garnett did nothing short of shutting down Smith, sticking to the younger, more spry forward like glue and coercing him to take tough, contested jump shots. We all know that jump shots are not exactly a strong point for Smith. K.G. altered shots. He swatted shots. He snatched rebounds in traffic. He barked signals to his teammates. He provided otherworldly help defense, and his rotations were ridiculously efficient.

Garnett's statline will not necessarily jump out at you. 15 points, 12 boards and five assists. That seems like a rather average night for the all-time great, but make no mistake—this was a performance that exemplified why Garnett is a future Hall-of-Famer. His energy clearly rubbed off on the rest of his Boston brethren, as players such as Keyon Dooling, not really known for his defense, and Marquis Daniels (who was a team-best +11) stepped up their intensity and played outstandingly. As incredible as Pierce was, that was the driving force behind the Celtics' Game 2 win.

A lot of times, great players will do productive things on the floor that are not all that discernible to the untrained eye. However, what K.G. did last night was all too visible, and the utter bewilderment that it threw the Hawks into was proof enough. Atlanta looked completely lost, and you don't have to look any further than Garnett's defensive heroics to comprehend why.

Now, while Garnett is the primary focus of this article, I will also give credit to other Boston players, particularly Dooling and Daniels.

Dooling hit two huge threes in the third period, the first two triples for the C's in the series, to keep the Celtics in the game and played pesky perimeter defense to make life very difficult for Teague, the Hawks' catalyst.

Daniels, for the first time in his Boston career, played significant playoff minutes in crunch time, coming through with some great D and making two huge free throws late in the game.

You also have to love how Avery Bradley played last night, blocking three shots (two of them coming in the fourth quarter) and doing an admirable job manning the point guard position in Rondo's absence. Yes, he certainly made some mistakes by trying to force the issue at different points in the game, but the kid is 21 years old and was baptized by fire by being thrown into the starting point guard role in a gigantic postseason game.

Bradley's stat sheet for the night? 14 points off 4-of-8 shooting, those three blocks and three steals. He also went 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. I would say that that is a pretty solid performance for a second-year player, wouldn't you?

Again, their jobs on the defensive side of the ball were made much easier by the big man in the middle. When you're down by 11, I don't care how unbelievable your offense is the rest of the way. If you don't get stops, you are not going to come out on top, and thanks to Garnett, the Celtics got stops. The result? A 1-1 series heading back to TD Banknorth Garden.

Something tells me Boston will be more than ready. Atlanta? That's another story altogether.