Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Celtics appear to be getting it together on offense after their win against the New York Knicks in Game 4 of the 2013 NBA playoffs. If small forward Paul Pierce and power forward Jeff Green can continue their outstanding play on offense, while Jason Terry puts forth another efficient shooting performance, the Celtics could very well take Game 5 as well.
Boston’s problem has been not being able to put together a consistent performance on offense for four quarters. The team scored less than 80 points in their first three games until they finally were able to hit some shots in Sunday’s contest.
“We’ve got a lot of basketball in us,” Terry told NBA.com, “but there’s always something like one quarter that holds us back. So if we can put together four quarters of great Celtics basketball, ball movement, getting out in transition, then this series is going to be a long one.”
Terry posted 18 points, four assists and one steal while shooting 70.0 percent (7-for-10) from the field in Sunday’s overtime victory. The 35-year-old has increasingly been more productive as each game passes, a trend that must continue on Wednesday.
“He’s got to be our X-factor,” Pierce said, according to NBA.com. “Guys are going to load up to me, load up to Kevin, and he’s got to be our X-factor and we depend on him for that.”
Pierce is another player that will have to repeat his performance from Game 4 if the Celtics want any chance of winning Game 5. He has averaged a team-high 21.3 points, 6.0 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 42.0 minutes per game in the series. Anything less than the 29 points he scored on Sunday could mean Boston is going home earlier than they hoped.
