NBA Playoffs 2012 – Preview: Boston Celtics look to wrap up the series against Atlanta Hawks at the TD Garden
Game 6 at the TD Garden on Thursday night will see the Boston Celtics play hosts to the Atlanta Hawks for the third time in this series. Celtics hold a 3-2 lead in the series and had it not been for the heroics of Al Horford in game 5, they would have been enjoying a well deserved rest while awaiting their opponents for the second round of the playoffs.
Horford, who was returning back from injury only recently had a huge impact in the game, finishing with 19 points, but perhaps his most important play of the night came when he closed down Rajon Rondo`s drive to the basket from the sideline on the last possession.
Along with 19 points in the game, Horford collected 11 rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots helping his team put off elimination for another game. His influence was so huge in the game that head coach, Larry Drew was ecstatic;
“Al Horford was absolutely huge tonight” Larry Drew said.
The most surprising part of the whole story is that Horford was ruled out of this series before it even began and had no business being on the court making plays like that. Al, himself admitted that coming back to play around 41 minutes in a crunch game was tiring but he did what his team needed him to do.
“You’re fighting for your life out there. I wanted to bring energy to the team tonight. We needed to win this game.” – Horford.
On the other hand for the Celtics, players like Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce who chipped in with 16 points each in the Game 5 loss and Rondo who contributed 13 points and 12 assists tried their best to wrap up the series but were unable to do so.
The Game 6 on Thursday hold more importance for the Celtics as they would not want to give up home court advantage having to play another game at Atlanta`s home. So this would mean that C`s would bring the required amount of intensity in the game.
The odds also seem to be in their favour as 94% of the teams who have led 3-1 in the series have gone on to eventually win the series but the Celtics would not want to rely on fate and don’t give the Hawks any kind of space to make their way back into the series.
Boston would want to forget all about the loss in Game 5, especially Rondo who after the game was very disappointed with himself for making the steal and then failing to convert on the other end which would have meant a completely different outcome of the game.
"I tried to make a play, but got caught on the [sideline]. Give Al credit . . . Al makes a big difference. He can guard anybody on the court."—Rondo
So come Game 6, if the C`s are able to take the game with a new approach and look to dominate from the get go, it would be an intense battle as the Hawks would also not want to give up anything in this all important game of the series.
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