This was not a game that will make the end of the year highlight DVD. There were too many turnovers — especially by Rajon Rondo — too many second-chance points and way too many wasted possessions.

There were good reasons for this. The Celtics had just nine players, and almost half of them were either with other teams or out of the league 10 days ago. The Bucks, for all their offensive faults, are a tough-minded defensive team that makes its opponents play ugly, hideous basketball.

“It was going to be a funky game,” Rivers told reporters in Milwaukee. “Somebody’s got to win it, it might as well be us.”

The Celtics came away with an 89-83 win (click here for a full recap) and took another important step in their season-long quest to capture the top spot in the Eastern Conference. 

The general assumption all season long was that the Celtics would slow down after the All-Star break and the younger Heat would surge forward and get the top seed. They were the ones with something to prove, after all. All of a sudden, Doc Rivers’ quest doesn’t seem so quixotic anymore.

The Celtics now have a three-game lead over Chicago (not Miami, which is five games back in the loss column) for the top seed, and while the Heat cried themselves to sleep after another missed opportunity against a good team, the shorthanded Celtics grinded out another win.

This is why the top seed matters this season:

-- Whoever gets it will avoid a 2-3 matchup with one of the other three in the semifinals. From the Celtics' perspective, they would much rather have to beat Miami or Chicago as opposed to both to get to the finals.

-- The top seed likely will play Indiana in the first round, while the 6-7 seeds figure to be either New York or Philadelphia.
The Knicks may lack the necessary pieces (and defense) for a long playoff run, but no one wants to deal with Chauncey Billups, Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire in the first round. The Sixers, meanwhile, have very quietly put together a 15-5 stretch since late January and have one of the league’s top 10 defenses.

-- Homecourt advantage, obviously. While the Celtics have proven capable of winning playoff series without the benefit of home court, it’s worth pointing out that they closed out two series at home last year, while losing their only Game 7 on the road.

They are 27-5 at home this season, a stark turnaround from last season’s Garden struggles. That, plus the advantages of rest and fewer travel dates are important factors in surviving the two-month playoff grind. 

The Celtics are now 46-15, and 60 wins ought to be enough to win the East. To get there, they must go 14-7 over the last six weeks of the season.

Their toughest stretch will begin next Sunday against these same Bucks when they play 10 games in 15 days with three sets of back-to-backs on the road. Only two of their opponents have winning records. It will be a slog, but if they can continue to work through the rest of the season the rewards will be plentiful.  

Here are three more points:  

THE ROSTER AFTERMATH

The Celtics made the Carlos Arroyo signing official before the game, which gives them the maximum 15 players signed through the end of the year. Arroyo, who started 42 games for Miami, provides a veteran backup point guard and insurance behind Rajon Rondo and Delonte West.

Rivers is worried about playing Rondo too many minutes — he played 38 against Milwaukee and looked tired — and while the C's love what West can do, he is simply too injury-prone to place that much trust in his ability to stay healthy.

With Arroyo in the fold, we can now offer an honest assessment of the moves made by team president Danny Ainge after he turned over a third of the roster at the trade deadline.

Ainge traded Kendrick Perkins, Nate Robinson, Marquis Daniels, Luke Harangody and Semih Erden and replaced them with Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic, Troy Murphy, Sasha Pavlovic and Arroyo.

While Rivers has his hands full incorporating so many new players, the most obvious takeaway from Ainge’s plan is that he replaced four injured players with five healthy ones. With Green and Pavlovic’s ability to play multiple positions, they are also three deep at every spot. 

With so many injuries, the second unit may never have time to jell in the final month of the season, but there were some encouraging signs after a disastrous first half. Green scored 11 points and was on the floor in crunch time and Pavlovic provided the kind of defense the C's were looking for on the wing.

Expect the word "process" to be used over and over again, but the pieces are now all in place and it’s finally time to move on from the deadline deals. 

NENAD KRSTIC PROVIDES A NEW DIMENSION

Thunder coach Scott Brooks made a point of telling Rivers that Krstic has a fine low-post game. Brooks just didn’t have any use for it in Oklahoma City, where Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook dominate so much of the offense.

The Celtics, on the other hand, have been looking for a back-to-the-basket center for the last four years. Shaquille O’Neal provided some of that before he got hurt, but in Krstic they have a player who can not only score down low, he’s also a strong passer out of the post and he has the ability to step out and make jump shots.

He made seven of his eight shots and finished with 17 points and was particularly valuable in the first quarter when he made all six of his shots and helped the Celtics recover from a slow start. Krstic will never replace Perkins defensively, and the Celtics were pounded on the offensive glass in the first half, but he’s providing the kind of offensive flexibility they were looking for when they made the deals.

Speaking of O’Neal, he is now out "indefinitely," according to what Rivers told reporters in Milwaukee. O’Neal is still slotted to regain his starting job once he returns — assuming he does — but the Celtics are in good hands with Krstic.

KEVIN GARNETT MAKES A DEFENSIVE STAND

The Celtics were clinging to a four-point lead (thanks to a Garnett jump shot) when Ray Allen made a mistake. His foul before the ball was inbounded gave the Bucks a free throw and a chance to tie the game with a 3-pointer.

Fortunately for the Celtics, Garnett was there. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute soared through the lane and looked he had an easy two points, but Garnett swatted his shot away, preserving the lead and clinching the win.

Garnett’s defense this season has been a purist’s delight. His subtle — and sometimes not so subtle — craft has been on display for anyone who chooses to watch his work carefully.

He doesn’t make the kind of emphatic crowd-stirring plays that Dwight Howard makes on a nightly basis anymore, but he has had his moments, such as his game-saving steal against Orlando in his early-January return and Sunday night’s play against the Bucks.

Howard is the deserved favorite for Defensive Player of the Year, but Garnett’s play this season should make voters pause before simply handing the trophy to Howard.