In the warm afterglow of a stirring comeback performance like the one the Celtics pulled off in their 89-85 win over New Orleans on Saturday night, it’s easy to overrate the significance.

This wasn’t the biggest victory the Celtics have had. Three wins over Miami and a decisive triumph in Los Angeles loom larger in the long narrative of the 2010-11 season. But for many reasons this may have been their most important win. (Click here for a recap)

The Celtics have been scuffling, losing four of their last six and were coming off a disastrous outing in Houston the night before that caused them to slip behind the Bulls for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Then there was the back-to-back element. The Celtics had not won the second game of a back-to-back on the road since Dec. 9 in Philadelphia and they had strung together lackluster showings that included losses to the likes of the Wizards, Pistons, Bobcats and Nets.

Finally, there was the rally. After getting outhustled, outplayed and out-everything else you can think of in the first quarter, the Celtics rallied for their largest comeback win of the season.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers purposefully pushed his team in this one. He stuck with a tight eight-man rotation that left players like Troy Murphy, Carlos Arroyo and Sasha Pavlovic with DNP-coaches decisions. He acknowledged after the game to reporters in New Orleans that he had been, “forcing rest,” which explains part of the reason for their struggles. The Celtics have decided that burning through the regular season to make a run for the top spot in the Eastern Conference is not worth the health risk.

This is not unique. Many teams – notably the Spurs and Lakers – have done similar things over the years. For lack of a better term, they can be called big-picture teams because they know that March wins against lottery teams mean nothing compared to playoff games in May. What makes the Celtics different is the timeline. While the Lakers struggled through parts of the winter, they are hitting their stride now and even without the top seed have to be considered the favorite to make it through the West.

The Celtics have done the reverse – peaking in January and gliding down the home stretch -- which tends to raise panic alarms and shrieking to hysterical levels. Making things worse, they have five new players and three key pieces coming back from injuries, all of which adds an air of chaos to the proceedings.

To be sure, they have opened themselves up to questions by taking this approach. Is there enough time to develop trust and confidence with the new/old players? Why is Rajon Rondo going through what may be the worst stretch of his career now? Perhaps most importantly, why do the Celtics seem determined to make their path through the playoffs as difficult as possible? You don’t get any bonus RPI points in the NBA for beating both the Heat and the Bulls in the playoffs, after all.

The first two questions have no definitive answer right now, but their response to the third is that they believe they can beat anybody in a seven-game series as long as their most important players are healthy, and they have the track record to prove it.

But there are times when the big picture gives way to more pressing daily concerns and that was the situation the Celtics found themselves in on Saturday after falling behind 28-14. It was so bad that the Hornets’ Marco Belinelli actually equaled their entire offensive output all by himself.

Their comeback featured a 12-for-16 shooting performance in the third quarter, but it was based on the sturdy foundation of their defense.
In the biggest sequence of the game, Kevin Garnett blocked an Emeka Okafor dunk attempt at the rim with the Celtics leading 83-81, which forced a jump ball. The Hornets won the tip, but Ray Allen came up with a clean steal of Belinelli and Garnett drained a 20-footer on the other end of the floor to put them up four.

It was the kind of play we have grown used to seeing from the Celtics over the years and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Whether it pushes them to finish the regular season strong, or merely serves as a forceful reminder of how good they can be remains to be seen. That’s why it’s too early to really know the importance of this victory on March 19, but in terms of the daily grind this was a truly meaningful game.

“To come back the way we came back,” Rivers said. “I thought it meant a lot to the guys.” 

We also got a good look at what the playoff rotation will look like this spring as Glen Davis, Jeff Green and Delonte West all played significant roles. The trio combined for 39 points on 17-for-23 shooting in 69 minutes and outscored the New Orleans bench by 33 points.

Davis, in particular, changed the game with his defensive energy and scored a team-high 20 points to go with eight rebounds. This was the Glen Davis of early-season Sixth Man of the Year acclaim and it’s not hard to see that he will be the first option in crunch time to play alongside the four All-Stars, no matter who lines up at center.

Green was more understated, scoring 10 points in 20 minutes of action but it was his third-straight double-digit scoring game and his seventh in his last nine. That’s exactly what Rivers needs when he calls on him.

Finally, there was West who played so well that it was tempting to think he should have stayed on the floor in the fourth quarter with Rondo working through another subpar performance and sporting an ice wrap on his right hand. But West isn’t all the way back yet and Rondo, through thick and thin, has earned the right to be out there if his body is able. Still, it must be comforting to Rivers to know that he finally has a realistic option to play behind Rondo. 

All that remains for the rotation to be firm is for one of the O’Neals to come back from injury.

To be sure, there were some troubling aspects for the Celtics to sort through. Their dreadful start was as bad as any they have had all season, especially considering the way they were beat in Houston the night before. Rondo remains, if not in a funk, then not the Rondo they need to make a long playoff run. On top of that, Paul Pierce shot 1-for-9 and the Celtics didn’t get Allen involved at all in the first half.

But they overcame all of that and in doing so got their season back on track for at least one night.