“That’s the point we make with this team. When the ball moves, there’s assists,” coach Doc Rivers said. “Guys are going to get assists and they’re getting that.”

This was Pierce’s first triple-double since 2006 against the Philadelphiaa 76ers.

“I pride myself in trying to be a complete player,” Pierce said. “Throughout the course of my career I’ve worked on a lot of things on both sides of the ball.”

Nate Robinson filled in well for Rondo, putting up 18 points. Shaq returned from injury, and he had eleven points including a great alley-oop jam over Jeff Foster in the game.

“Shaq is a big guy. When he looks up, I get his head nod and he says ‘throw it to the rim’ — that’s what I try to do,” Pierce said. “He doesn’t have to jump too high to dunk the ball, so I just try to put it right next to the rim.”

Roy Hibbert played solid, and had a big game as predicted with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Danny Granger added to it with 19 points, but it wasn’t enough for a Pacers’ victory as they drop to 12-14. The C’s improve to 22-4. Indiana shouldn’t worry, however, as they are the seventh best team in the standings in the Eastern Conference. They’ve been playing well and they are bound to have games like these.

But they gave the Celtics a competition and they showed they could possibly beat them. But sometimes it may take luck. Just ask Granger.

“They can be beat, but you have to play a near perfect game,” he said. “I think the Celtics are more talented than those other teams across the board. They probably have 40 years of All-Star games between [them].”

Indiana knows they can beat them.

But it sometimes they need to be near-perfect to beat this team.

The Boston Celtics added a new familiar face to their aging squad. His name is Shaquille O’Neal. O’Neal is one of the most endorsed athletes in the NBA and also in the sports world among many figures. He featured in movies, books, clothes, shoes, and even video games. He was just a guy you had to love and watch play. But this was happening a few years back. Once he got traded to the Phoenix Suns, things changed.

He wasn’t loved anymore. Other players were getting more endorsed like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, and several other more popular figures among the National Basketball Association. When it all went down and he was finished in his 2009-10 season, he was considered “old” and not needed anymore. Why? Even at 38 years old, people could still use a big body like his and he could really be needed. (more…)