BOSTONRajon Rondo (sore back) was not at the TD Garden for Wednesday night's game against Orlando, but you would have sworn he somehow managed to take on the form of Paul Pierce.
But when the game was on the line, Pierce played like, well, Paul Pierce.
The Captain delivered a very Rondo-esque performance in leading the Celtics to a 102-98 win over the Magic, but it was his clutch jumper with 7.6 seconds to play over former teammate Glen Davis and a pair of clutch free throws with 2.9 seconds to play, that ultimately propelled the C's to victory.
Pierce finished with a game-high 29 points in addition to a career-high 14 assists.With the win, Boston (37-26) clinched their fifth straight Atlantic Division title. And depending on how they fare in their final three regular season games, the C's may very well clinch home court advantage in the first round, too.
In addition to Rondo, who took a hard spill and landed on his tailbone in Boston's loss at New York on Tuesday, the Celtics were also without Ray Allen (ankle) and Mickael Pietrus (knee).
C's coach Doc Rivers expects both Allen and Pietrus not to play in Friday's game at Atlanta.
With so many players out, much of the burden for carrying the C's fell on the shoulders of Pierce, who had a season-high 43 points against the Knicks.
Instead of playing his customary role as the Celtics' primary scorer, Pierce became the C's primary facilitator -- a role usually held by Rondo.
And the result was a career-night for the veteran, with many of his assists going to Avery Bradley, who may be gaining some momentum for the league's Most Improved award with his play of late.
In addition to playing solid defense, Bradley also had 23 points on 10-for-14 shooting from the field. It was the second time he has eclipsed the 20-point barrier in the last three games, and third time this season.
For Orlando, which was playing without their best player Dwight Howard (back), picking up the slack in his absence was former Celtics big man Glen Davis.
Davis, who came into the game averaging 17.1 points and 10.3 rebounds for Orlando in the month of April, he led all Orlando scorers with 23 points.
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