Plenty of people have the Boston Celtics already pencilled into the Eastern Conference finals, but Kevin Garnett and company found out the hard way Saturday night that the Philadelphia 76ers won't go away without a fight.
The second round of the 2012 NBA playoffs kicked off in Boston, and the Celtics needed every bit of their veteran playoff experience to squeak out a 92-91 victory.
It was a game of runs, and despite the Sixers leading by 10 after the first quarter, they could never extend the lead despite outplaying Boston for nearly three-and-a-half quarters.
Boston used the experience of the Big Three and a triple-double by Rajon Rondo to keep chipping away at the Philadelphia lead until a Garnett layup put the Celtics up 85-84 with 2:51 left—a lead the veteran Celtics wouldn't relinquish.
Boston was outshot and outrebounded but found a way to make their last run count and take a 1-0 series lead.
In addition to Rondo's triple-double, Garnett finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds as he almost single-handedly kept the Celtics in the game for the first three quarters.
Tweets of the Night
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Matt Shetler
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