No matter how much they insist that the regular season is meaningless from here on out, the Celtics needed to get a win Wednesday night against the Raptors.

They needed one because of the way they played against the Knicks on Tuesday and they needed one because Toronto was playing without Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu who both took elbows to the face in consecutive games. (Bosh went down on Tuesday with a facial fracture. Turkoglu left Wednesday’s game after colliding with Tony Allen in the first quarter).

The Celtics might have needed a win, but that doesn’t mean they necessarily played like it. For two and a half quarters it was the same Celtics team we’ve seen over the last few weeks. They were fine offensively, but the defense lacked the ability, or the focus, to get stops. That all changed late in the third quarter and the C’s were able to ride a strong effort from their reserves in a 115-104 win over Toronto (click here for the complete recap).

They did it despite sitting Paul Pierce and Kendrick Perkins for major stretches of the second half. Pierce in fact didn’t play in the fourth quarter despite scoring 20 points as Doc Rivers stayed with Michael Finley who scored 14 points and had six rebounds in 24 minutes. Rasheed Wallace and Glen Davis also played 20 minutes.

Rivers was able to accomplish two goals. He got his team a victory and he was able to rest three of his starters (Kevin Garnett included) on the second game of a back-to-back.

It was a good win for the Celtics, and maybe even a necessary win. The Hawks lost to the Pistons last night, as well, and now the two teams are tied for third place in the East with the Celtics holding the tiebreaker.

That leads us right into our three things:

WHY THE THIRD SEED MATTERS

Doc Rivers has publicly stated that playing for the third seed in the Eastern Conference is of little interest to him and his team right now. There are good reasons for that. The third seed won’t get you homecourt beyond the first round and blowing out your veteran players when they are finally healthy wouldn’t make any sense at all.

But, there is still value in trying to get it.

Obviously, there is the matter of matchups. The Celtics first round opponent will be Miami, Milwaukee or Charlotte. The Heat are tied with the Bucks for fifth place, but they have been playing their best basketball of the season down the stretch. They also have the one true superstar among the bottom four playoff teams – Dwyane Wade.

The Bucks, meanwhile will be without Andrew Bogut after his horrific fall. And as much as they have accomplished this season, they are simply not the same team without their emerging center in the middle.

The Bobcats, meanwhile, appear dangerous and have an intriguing blend of athleticism matched with the coaching genius of Larry Brown, but they simply don’t shoot well enough and the Celtics have handled them with ease this season.

If you had your choice, Miami would be the team to avoid and there are good reasons for wanting to get Milwaukee or Charlotte in the first round. 

The third seed would also bring a second-round matchup with the Magic and not Cleveland. True, Orlando won three of four against the Celtics this season, as well as the playoff series last season. It’s also true that the Celtics split their four games with the Cavs, but that comes with major caveats and Cleveland has simply been the better team this season.

Moreover, it sends the wrong message. The Celtics have stopped playing for anything since Christmas and this is just one more small goal that could have been accomplished but was pushed aside in the name of promoting continuity and rhythm.

It wouldn’t be much, but it would be something and there hasn’t been much of anything for the Celtics to hang their hat on this season.

MICHAEL FINLEY PROVES HIS WORTH

When the Celtics signed Michael Finley after his release from the Spurs, no one knew exactly what they were getting out of the arrangement. Rivers didn’t seem to have a plan in place for the veteran shooter and Finley didn’t seem to mind the uncertainty.

After 17 games he has become an invaluable reserve, the only true shooter on the team after Ray Allen and Pierce, and an obvious part of the rotation.

“He’s a pro’s pro,” Rivers said to reporters after the game. “Even when he’s got it going he makes the extra pass. I said it when we signed him. Even if he doesn’t make shots he’ll be good for us. When he does make shots he’s really good for us.” 

Finley has been making shots. In his last nine games Finley is 18-for-27 and moreover he has provided the kind of heady veteran play that the second unit has lacked at times this season.

Rivers left him on the floor for the duration of the fourth quarter Wednesday and he responded by scoring 11 of his 14 points in the final 12 minutes. He also knocked down a big 3 at the end of the third quarter that gave the Celtics a five-point lead and sent them on their way.

The Celtics have been trying to recapture the genius that was the P.J. Brown signing during their championship season, and they may very well have done it again with Michael Finley.

THE DEFENSE RESTS?

The Celtics allowed 104 points against Toronto, which is not that surprising considering that the Raptors are one of the better offensive teams in the league. But it also marked the fifth straight game that the Celtics have allowed 100 or more points to an opponent.

That’s the second time that has happened since late February. That didn’t happen at all last season or the season before that when the most they allowed was three-straight 100-point games by opponents.

The Celtics are not playing very good defense right now and if it hasn’t been obvious by watching them it has manifested itself in the numbers. Coming into the game they ranked fourth in defensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions, adjusted for pace), which is still quite good. But this time last week they ranked first.

It could be that they have relaxed a bit as the season is coming to a close. It could also be that they’ve played good offensive teams during this stretch.

But this ultimately comes back to the whole notion of turning it on and turning it off. In the past the Celtics were good enough to lay back for quarters, or even halves, and then run you right out of the gym with their pressure defense.

That isn’t the case anymore. When they absolutely have had to make a defensive stand they haven’t been able to do it.

They won last night because of their offense and their 56 percent shooting. They can win games like this. They did it often in the playoffs after Garnett went down with his injury. But it remains to be seen if they can get it back to their previous level, and that is what winning championships and playoff series is ultimately all about.