76ers vs. Celtics: What Went Right and What Went Wrong for Celtics in Game 1 Win

The Boston Celtics rallied from 13 down in the first half and 10 down in the fourth quarter for a thrilling 92-91 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of their conference semifinal matchup on Saturday night. It was anything but an easy win for the Celtics, as the 76ers led for most of the game. Let's examine what went right and what went wrong for Boston.

What Went Right

1. Kevin Garnett was, once again, spectacular. After tallying 28 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks and three steals in the Celtics' series-clinching Game 6 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, Garnett came up huge in Game 1 against Philadelphia, recording a season-high 29 points (off of 12-of-20 shooting), 11 boards and three blocks. One of those blocks as a vicious swat on an Andre Iguodala dunk attempt that represented a momentum-shifter in the fourth quarter.

Garnett converted a game-changing three-point play that put Boston up 86-84 with 2:52 to play. Then, he hit a jumper to put the Celtics up 88-84 at the 2:21 mark.

Before Game 6 against the Hawks, Garnett's season high was 25 points. He has broken that number twice in these last two playoff games. The 76ers have no answer for K.G., and I expect him to continue this type of play for the rest of the series. This is the best Garnett has looked in the postseason since 2008 when Boston won it all, and I think it's safe to say that he is the key to whether or not this Celtics team can win another title this year.

2. Rajon Rondo came to life in the fourth quarter. After being disengaged offensively for the entire first half (he started out 1-of-6 from the floor), Rondo imposed his will on the game late, nailing three clutch mid-range jump shots all inside the four-minute mark and finishing the contest with his eighth playoff triple-double (one fewer than the rest of the NBA combined in the last five postseasons), posting 13 points, 17 assists and 12 rebounds.

He (along with Avery Bradley) made life miserable for Jrue Holiday, holding him to eight points on 3-of-13 shooting. I also have to note Rondo's heads-up play to foul Holiday with 3.4 seconds remaining when the Celtics had a three-point edge. The foul put Holiday at the line and prevented the 76ers from getting off a three to tie the game.

3. Rebounding. Early on, Philadelphia was owning the boards, having a 17-6 edge at one point in the first half. The end result, though? Boston coming out with a 45-41 advantage on the glass, as the Celts' intensity clearly changed in the second half.

4. Free throws. Boston went 18-of-19 from the charity stripe, and that ended up being a huge difference-maker. While Paul Pierce struggled from the field (he shot 3-of-11), he went 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Garnett converted on all five of his foul shots.

5. The Celtics held the 76ers to jumpers. Early on, Philly was hitting those jumpers, and that is why it was able to jump out to a 45-32 lead at one point in the second quarter. However, everyone knows that the Sixers are not a very good jump shooting team, and that came to fruition in the second half when Iguodala misfired badly on a few shots and Evan Turner, who scored 12 points in the first half, had only four points during the final 24 minutes.

6. For the most part, Boston kept Philadelphia out of transition, as even when the 76ers tried to run, the Celtics did a tremendous job of getting back on defense. Philly was able to get a couple of buckets on the fastbreak early, but the C's quickly buckled down and contained the Sixers' fastbreak game.

What Went Wrong 

1. Once again, Pierce was unable to get going, and it makes you wonder how severe that sprained MCL really is. It's pretty clear that Pierce isn't getting the kind of lift that he would like on his jump shot, and at times, it looks like he isn't even a part of the offense. He's doing a lot of standing around, and that probably means that that knee is feeling worse than he is letting on.

As usual, though, the 34-year-old demonstrated why he is nicknamed "The Truth" late in the game, draining a jumper to put Boston up 90-84 with 1:18 to play. That said, Pierce can get away with having these types of performance against the Hawks and 76ers. He can't do that against the Miami Heat and expect his Celtics to win the series.

2. Brandon Bass couldn't buy a jump shot. Bass missed his first four shots of the game, all mid-range jumpers. Since he is one of the best in the business at knocking down those shots, Boston relies on him to be able to hit those coming off of pick-and-rolls. He wasn't able to do that in Game 1, hitting only one jump shot.

He did hit four of his last five shots to finish 4-of-9 from the floor, but three of them were on either dunks or layups. Obviously, if Bass can keep getting points at the rim, great, but that is not his game. The C's need him to make those mid-range jumpers, especially with Pierce and Ray Allen hurting.

3. Carelessness. Boston seemed to be going through the motions early on, as it was settling for jumpers, missing assignments defensively and not doing a good job of boxing out. Also, it took nine minutes and change for a Celtic other than Garnett to make a field goal. I expect the C's to come out of the gates much quicker in Game 2.

4. Three-point shooting. Boston went only 2-of-18 from beyond the arc in this one, with Ray Allen hitting the only two. It's pretty evident that that balky ankle is giving him considerable issues, as he shot 2-for-7 from three and missed a couple of wide-open treys that are generally automatic for him when he is healthy.

5. They could do a better job of rotating out on shooters. There is absolutely no reason why Lavoy Allen should be scoring 12 points off 5-of-7 shooting off the bench, but he did, and it was largely because he was left wide open on several occasions. The same goes for Spencer Hawes, who had far too many easy opportunities in this one.

NOTABLES

- Coming into Game 1, the Celtics were 1-22 this season when trailing by 13 points at any point during a game. Well, they were down by 13 in the first half Saturday night, and they were able to rally for the win.

- Boston and Philadelphia both shot 43.9 percent from the field. What are the odds of that?

- Did anyone else find it odd that Elton Brand only played 15 minutes in this game? It didn't appear that he was hurt, so I'm not too sure what the issue was there.