Celtics Title Town

The Celtcs got a big boost from Daniels, and Dooling. It's remarkable seeing Daniels playing such a key role again. It's also nice to see Dooling aid the Celtics. Dooling hit the only two three's in the series. That was untl Pierce hit the Larry Bird style three in the 4th. Pietrus was solid on defense, and so was Daniels. But Daniels,and Dooling just play smart. They ran the offense, and they didn't buckle under the pressure. The Celtics will continue to need Dooling,and Daniels to step up. Because Ray is still out, and it's the playoffs.

Quasi-Celtics get even

Marquis Daniels, who rotated between guarding Joe Johnson and Kirk Hinrich down the stretch, provided the kind of reserve value Rivers has been counting on for the past month. Coupled with strong late defense by Mickael Pietrus — an early non-entity because of foul trouble — this duo was an important part of the Celtics’ finishing unit.

And then there was Keyon Dooling’s 3-pointer with 6:34 left in the third quarter. The Celtics had missed their first 19 treys of the series before that shot, but Dooling’s corner bomb broke an emotional dam.

He hit another from the same spot three minutes later, and the engine finally had turned over. The Celtics, who outscored Atlanta by a 33-16 margin the rest of the way starting with Dooling’s second trey, were ready for their most satisfying comeback of the season.

“I thought Keyon’s shot was the biggest shot of the game,” Rivers said. “(The coaches) notice it, you guys notice it. Well, the players notice it. Paul walked into the locker room after the game and the first guy he searched out was Keyon. He said that was huge. That shot got our feet back. Just a huge shot for us.”

Dooling, choosing instead to talk about the collective defense played by the Celtics reserves, pretended not to remember that salutation from Pierce.

“Man, a lot was said,” Dooling said. “Obviously I contributed tonight. It was in the 3-point category that people notice, but we did the job defensively. We were able to slow (Jeff) Teague down, Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, all of their players. That’s what stands out mostly in my mind.

“It’s not about what I did. It’s about our team and our defense, but it was nice to see the ball go through the hoop.”

Dooling's three's were huge.They were really one of the top difference makers of the night. Daniels had four good points,and a big dunk also. If the Celtics continue to see Dooling,and Daniels. Watch out world.