BOSTONWinning the Atlantic Division for years has been a given for the Boston Celtics.
Not any more, not with vastly improved teams in the division like the Brooklyn Nets who defeated the Celtics 95-83 on Wednesday.
As much as the focus going into this game was on both teams trying to improve their status as one of the top teams in the East, that became an afterthought with 29.5 seconds to play in the second quarter.
That is when Kevin Garnett was fouled by Kris Humphries, and an incident involving players from both teams spilled into the front row near the Celtics bench.
When the dust finally cleared, Rajon Rondo was ejected along with Humphries and Gerald Wallace for Brooklyn.
And with his ejection, Rajon Rondo's double-digit assists streak is over at 37, which ties John Stockton for the second-longest streak in NBA history.
Rondo had six points and three assists.
Despite winning the division each of the last five seasons, Celtics head coach Doc Rivers says he doesn't pay much attention to it.
"I honestly don't look at it (division standings)," Rivers said. "I really don't. I know it's a lot of good teams. Philly and Brooklyn, New York, I mean everybody is pretty good now. But I honestly can't tell you where anyone's at. I never look."
That's a good thing right now, because the C's (8-7) are looking up to a lot of teams -- and there's nothing good about that.
As for Brooklyn, they have now won both matchups with the Celtics, the kind of success that can not be ignored.
Leading the way for them on Wednesday was a surprisingly strong showing from their bench.
Andray Blatche had 17 points and 13 rebounds while veteran Jerry Stackhouse chipped in 17 which included five 3-pointers.
"I know my role here," Stackhouse told CSNNE.com earlier. "Wherever they need me to fit in, that's what I'm going to do. For me at this point in my career, it's all about winning."
As for the C's, Brandon Bass and Kevin Garnett each had 16 points. Pierce had 14 points and nine rebounds, in addition to a team-high seven assists.