The Celtics should have known you can’t read into a record.

After all, this is the same team that just a few years ago, at one of the low points of the franchise’s existence, stunned the Spurs on the road to “improve” to 20-46.

On Friday, the Nets came into Boston with the same intensity that the Celtics carried into San Antonio four seasons ago.

New Jersey shot a startling 63 percent from the field in the first half (this is the same team that ranks last in the league by shooting 42 percent from the floor), and had a one-point lead going into the fourth quarter.

It wasn’t until the final 12 minutes that the Celtics kicked into high gear and went on a run to claim a 96-87 victory (recap) and hand the Nets their 45th loss of the season.

“I don’t know what it was. I mean, we just didn’t play well in the first half,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “I thought it was a game that we thought that we could just outscore them, and we have those games. And you know, all of a sudden with about four minutes left in the second quarter, we missed a lot of open shots. And they kept making shots because we weren’t defending and they had a lead.

“I didn’t say much — very little — at halftime, if anything. I basically said, ‘I don’t think I need to talk. We’re a defensive team and tonight we want to outscore them.’ I said, ‘Good luck,’ and that was about it. 

“But in the second half, they were terrific. Our defensive energy picked up and that’s why we won the game. I thought Baby [Glen Davis] had just great energy tonight in the second half. Those plays where he kept the ball alive, took a charge, I just thought he came and played with great energy. And obviously Eddie [House] making shots bailed us out.”

The Celtics learned an important lesson to take nothing for granted, and we learned a few things from this game too:

PLAYING TO WIN, NOT TO 'NOT LOSE'

Let’s be honest: No one wants to lose to a four-win team.

But that doesn’t mean that a team can play to “not lose.” While the Celtics shrugged off the theory that they got caught up in the significance of losing to the Nets, the players admitted they lacked energy in this game.

“Tonight we [needed] to come out with that killer mentality to destroy them the first half,” Kevin Garnett said. “I thought that collectively as the quarters went on, we increased the intensity defensively. We pretty much got what we wanted on offense. When we started the game, we didn’t come out with that energy to get them out of here. When you look at the game in New Jersey, the tone was set right away defensively, hands were active. You could see the energy there, but it wasn’t the same. I think as the game went on, third and fourth quarter, I think that we picked up.”

Rajon Rondo echoed: “We just didn’t come out with the right energy or right effort tonight.”

It wasn’t that the Celtics struggled offensively. They shot 50 percent from the field and improved to 18-4 on the season when doing so. Rather, the team pointed to its defense, which allowed 55 points in the first half before holding the Nets to just 14 in the fourth quarter.

“Lackluster,” said Rasheed Wallace. “We didn’t pick it up probably until about the six or seven[-minute] mark in the fourth. But what my high school coach once said, ‘Winners find a way to win.’ We dug it out, they kept it close the whole game, and we just pulled it out last minute.”

BIGS HELP THE BACKCOURT

Read More

Blogs

• Chris Wilcox and JaJuan Johnson may not be Kareem Abdul-Jabar but they were pretty good Sunday
• Kevin Garnett on Rajon Rondo: ‘He had a bit of rough day’ (before his triple-double)

Audio on Demand

• JaJuan Johnson with Grande & Max post-win
• Grande & Max with Doris Burke

Columns

• The Rajon Rondo conundrum
• Sun begins to set on Celtics, Lakers

Tickets

02/15/2012

Boston Celtics vs Detroit Pistons - TD Garden, Boston, MA
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02/29/2012

Boston Celtics vs Milwaukee Bucks - TD Garden, Boston, MA
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03/2/2012

Boston Celtics vs New Jersey Nets - TD Garden, Boston, MA
[find tickets]

Ray Allen, Eddie House and Rajon Rondo combined for more than half of the Celtics' total points, as the backcourt was the driving force behind this victory.

While the C’s gave credit to their guards, House said it was the big men that helped them find their shots.

“They were getting us open,” House said. “Doc always says bigs’ jobs are to get guys open, and they were doing that tonight.”

House and Allen were able to get free in critical moments of the game. House scored all of his 10 points in the fourth quarter, while Allen scored 15 of his 26 in the second half.

Even though their performances were game-changing, Rasheed Wallace said he and his counterparts were simply playing their roles.

“We just did our normal jobs, got them picks, got them open, just tried to make it harder for their defenders to guard them,” he said nonchalantly. “When Baby and I were out there, it was: If I set this pick and they’re coming off of the curl, either that big is going to step up and try to take the shot away from them, or Ray or Eddie, they’re good with it to quick dump-down. Basic basketball.”

PERKINS MUST REDISCOVER MAGIC BEFORE FACING ORLANDO

Kendrick Perkins knows he can play better. Making only two field goals in 26 minutes will not cut it for the big man. On Friday he scored just seven points, and three of them came from free throws.

Perkins thought the team as a whole came out too relaxed. But while the backcourt and bench stepped it up in the second half, Perkins was disappointed in his own effort. He declined to attribute his performance to the Nets defense.

“It was just me,” he said. “I missed a lot of wide-open shots under the basket I don’t usually miss. A little bit was lack of focus, I think, just rushing it, missed free throws again. So a lot of it was just on me.”

Perkins will have to improve his focus by Sunday if he wants to help the Celtics beat the Magic. Containing Dwight Howard is imperative to a Boston victory. Perkins isn’t going to change his game, but he will hit the court hard on Saturday to prepare.

“It was a lot of missed, easy shots I had, uncontested that I usually make,” Perkins said. “So I’ve got to practice on them and just go from there.”