Not just a game.

I wish the title didn't have to feel this corny but it's true. A game 7 rematch WITH Kendrick Perkins in. Not 100% but still in the game. Oh this game couldn't be ruined. Well, maybe except for the referees.

I don't care what the score was until the 4th. This was a back and forth battle that until the end, no one was sure of. Boston would take the lead and L.A would come back. Then Boston would jump back and take a lead. I mean sure it seemed Joey Crawford wouldn't back off Boston and was buying into Derrick Fishers flops but did that help them in the long run? Hint: It didn't. Boston came out on top in a game where it seemed Kobe and Pierce would go back and forth from long distance to see who could hit the last shot. Looking back on the 4th, it was ALL Kobe. I wish I could say I was stretching it a bit but I'm not. With about 7:20 left in the game, the Lakers ran 11 straight plays with Kobe (thanks Bill Simmons for the stat. Twitter: @sportsguy33). ELEVEN! If Doc ran eleven with Pierce or Ray, even I would be having fits. Luckily, Kobe is not the endless stream of baskets that he is made out to be and didn't end up single handedly beating Boston.

Pierce dropped 32 points on L.A which I'm 90% sure is a season high. Ray hit three 3 pointers, now even closer to Reggie Miller. KG looked great in his double double, despite being knocked on the head and needing stitches.

Celtics win 109-96.

This couldn't feel better. If for some reason you're reading this without knowing my Twitter name, read my annoying sports and life updates at twitter.com/theauerbach

And the Streak Goes On...

"Well I can't wait until Perk comes back in February." That was me this morning. Less than an hour before the game, my mind had been changed. Reports came in through people like Chris Forsberg and then both ESPN and the official Celtics twitter account reported it. Oh it was a joyous occasion.

Cleveland's 17 game winning streak came into the Garden with most people thinking easy win with a few skeptics asking if this was going to be another one of "those" games. 4 of the 10 losses for Boston comes from teams with records under .500. Well, this one won't be a loss. Oh no it won't. A 17 point blowout was inevitable from the minute Perk came out to the floor. Perk had 7 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in his return. Not bad for someone who has been out for months. Pierce knocked down 24 points in 23 minutes. Great defense in 112-95 rout of Cavs.

Numbers of interest:
Rondo moves into the number 10 spot for assists in Celtics history. Passed Nate Archibald.

Ray Allen splashed 3 three pointers to jump closer to passing Reggie Miller's record for 3 pointers made.

Celtics bench vs. Musical Genre

What a game to go to. I haven't been to a game since the Celtics barely beat the Nets last season. Well, this game was good.

Celtics lead early and never looked back. Second half was bench dominated and the Jazz were still blown out. Big games from Semih and Big Baby lead the bench to a big win over Utah. Big Al's return was ruined by the Celtics D and only scored 7 points. Utahs leading scorer had 12 and four Celtics had more points than him (Semih, Davis, Pierce, KG).

Numbers of interest:

12 assists from Rondo. Nothing new here.

2 three pointers from Ray to inch him closer to Reggie Miller's record. Pierce was 3 for 3 as well from 3 beyond the line.

21 turnovers for the Jazz. Not going to win with that many.

31 assists for the C's. They continue to pass....alot.

Next game is against Washington on Saturday.

We missed you.

The return of KG couldn't come at a better time. An MLK day game against the (sort of) rival Magic? Sounds good to me.

If someone told me an Eastern Conference Finals game would be exciting I'd believe them. If they told me that two elite teams in the East would play in the regular season, I probably wouldn't. This game however, looked just like a playoff game. It was another teeter totter game as well. Back and forth until the fourth. It looked scary with "Big Bad Dwight Howard" going to the free throw line every few minutes. Until the C's came alive. Shots were falling and fans were excited. Ray hit a 3, Paul hit an "And 1", and KG recorded a game winning steal. How about that for Big 3?

*Because this post is so late after the game, I won't be doing any numbers down here. If you want the player stats, look on NBA.com

Scouting Report: Bobcats

Leading scorer: Stephen Jackson with 18.7 PPG
Leading rebounder: Gerald Wallace with 8.1 RPG
Assist leader: Dj Augustin with 6.3 APG
Steals leader: Stephen Jackson with 1.5 SPG
Block leader: Tyrus Thomas with 1.7 BPG

Watch out for: Gerald Wallace, Stephen Jackson.

New post coming next Celtics win (Read Post)

I'll do a game recap win or lose but am going to have my first post on a win.