Eddie House

131-92. Embrace it. Ogle it. Relish it. But, above all, believe it. The Boston Celtics did not just win franchise championship No. 17 last night. They snatched it. They swallowed it. They demanded it. So they've done it. They have claimed the honor of having the greatest single-season turnaround in NBA history. One year ago today, the franchise could accurately be described as forlorn. The Celtics were coming off a 24-58 season punctuated by an 18-game losing streak.

By Tony Massarotti, Boston.com Columnist Sights, sounds and observations while couch-ridden: On those nights the shots are falling, like Sunday, the Celtics look positively unbeatable. There is no one to stop them. From Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to even Mickael Pietrus, Brandon Bass and Greg Stiemsma, the Celtics have a collection of shooters like few other teams in the league. That is why LeBron James, in April, called them the best jump-shooting team in the league.

By Tony Massarotti, Boston.com Columnist Sights, sounds and observations while couch-ridden: On those nights the shots are falling, like Sunday, the Celtics look positively unbeatable. There is no one to stop them. From Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to even Mickael Pietrus, Brandon Bass and Greg Stiemsma, the Celtics have a collection of shooters like few other teams in the league. That is why LeBron James, in April, called them the best jump-shooting team in the league.

131-92. Embrace it. Ogle it. Relish it. But, above all, believe it. The Boston Celtics did not just win franchise championship No. 17 last night. They snatched it. They swallowed it. They demanded it. So they've done it. They have claimed the honor of having the greatest single-season turnaround in NBA history. One year ago today, the franchise could accurately be described as forlorn. The Celtics were coming off a 24-58 season punctuated by an 18-game losing streak.

LOS ANGELES - It’s done. The trading deadline has come and gone. The Big Three will have their chance to win one more championship before the whole thing blows up. Strap yourselves in for the famous final scene, the last roundup of Three Amigos. It was appropriate that the Celtics were at the Staples Center in the hours after the deadline passed yesterday. The Lakers are the gold standard in the NBA in 2010. They are the ones who took the throne vacated by the Green last spring.

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge had a mild heart attack yesterday and underwent surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. Ainge will miss the team's playoff opener against the Chicago Bulls tomorrow afternoon but is expected to make a full recovery. Ainge, 50, missed the Celtics' 115-107 victory over Washington in the regular-season finale Wednesday night at TD Banknorth Garden. He awoke yesterday with chest pains and was admitted to the hospital. Ainge had a clogged artery relieved by a stent, according to a report on Channel 5. "It's a...

131-92. Embrace it. Ogle it. Relish it. But, above all, believe it. The Boston Celtics did not just win franchise championship No. 17 last night. They snatched it. They swallowed it. They demanded it. So they've done it. They have claimed the honor of having the greatest single-season turnaround in NBA history. One year ago today, the franchise could accurately be described as forlorn. The Celtics were coming off a 24-58 season punctuated by an 18-game losing streak.

SAN ANTONIO - Sam Cassell has nailed numerous clutch shots in his 14-year NBA career. Last night, he added another to his long résumé as he hit his first big one as a member of the Celtics. Cassell nailed a late 3-pointer that helped the Celtics to a 93-91 victory over the reigning NBA champion Spurs at a sold-out and playoff-intense AT&T Center. Cassell had 17 points off the bench, and his momentum-changing three with 46.4 seconds left gave Boston an 89-87 lead. "If I get the opportunity, I'm going to make shots," said Cassell, who was playing in just his fourth game since signing with the Celtics...

WALTHAM - Ex-Celtics point guard Gary Payton watched on television from his Las Vegas home Wednesday night as his former team lost to the Pistons. And once Chauncey Billups hit the winning free throws with a tenth of a second remaining, Payton called his agent. "He called me and said, 'Hey, I'm reminding you that the Celtics are a team I feel like I can help,' " said agent Aaron Goodwin. The Celtics have been pleased with the play of second-year point guard Rajon Rondo. But there has been a feeling that Boston still needs a veteran backup at the position.

It is the mystery of the Celtics' playoff run. What happened to Ray Allen? Can the Celtics win the NBA championship with the Big 2 1/3? The Celtics stuffed the Detroit Pistons, 88-79, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals last night, but once again, Allen's jump shot was MIA. He made 3 of 10 shots from the floor: All of his makes were layups. Allen did not connect on a jump shot. He could feel the crowd pulling for him, trying to will the ball through the basket when he launched from the perimeter.

Ray Allen yesterday exercised the player option on the two-year, $20 million contract he signed last summer, returning to the Celtics for a fifth season. The decision guarantees that the Big Three will return next season. Allen never gave the organization reason to believe he wouldn’t pick up the option, and president of basketball operations Danny Ainge had spoken about next season as if Allen’s return was a certainty. But Ainge said yesterday that Allen’s return wasn’t necessarily an afterthought as the team reconstructs for next season.

It took a roster to bring down the mighty Miami Heat. It took a Rondo, it took a Garnett, it took an O’Neal (Shaquille), it took a Pierce, it took a Daniels, it took a Davis, and, with the game hanging in the balance — and losing this would have been a catastrophe — it took an Allen with a typically nerveless and artful game-clinching 3-pointer. Anything less from any of those people, and last night’s game would have gone the other way. This was the most hyped and anticipated opening-night game in the league’s 65-year history.

LOS ANGELES - It’s done. The trading deadline has come and gone. The Big Three will have their chance to win one more championship before the whole thing blows up. Strap yourselves in for the famous final scene, the last roundup of Three Amigos. It was appropriate that the Celtics were at the Staples Center in the hours after the deadline passed yesterday. The Lakers are the gold standard in the NBA in 2010. They are the ones who took the throne vacated by the Green last spring.

Trailing, 55-51, at halftime to the Nets, this year’s poster children for futility in the NBA, Celtics coach Doc Rivers kept his locker room message to a few short words. “I don’t think I need to talk,’’ he told his team, which at that point had been more than adequate offensively, getting 14 assists on 19 field goals, but had been a downed stop sign on defense, letting the Nets shoot 63 percent from the floor. “We’re a defensive team and tonight we want to outscore them.’’ Then, Rivers gave them his last words.

MIAMI - So much for easing Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo back into action. The Celtics threw both players into the fire last night, and they responded with some spectacular late-game heroics in a 112-106 victory over the Miami Heat. Pierce, out since Dec. 22 with a knee infection, and Rondo, recovering from a hamstring strain, combined to tie the score just before the buzzer in regulation time. Then, Rondo scored 6 of the team’s 11 overtime points as the Celtics overcame a 44-point performance from Dwyane Wade.

LOS ANGELES - Eventually, Rajon Rondo would be tested with pressure free throws. We learned early this morning (Boston time) that Rondo still needs work. Luckily, this occurred in December, not April. With a chance to possibly win a difficult game against a motivated Los Angeles Clippers team, Rondo missed two free throws with 1.5 seconds left, then watched helplessly as Baron Davis drained a 22-foot fallaway shot at the buzzer, handing the Celtics a 92-90 defeat in front of 19,060 at Staples Center.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Like every other Thunder opponent, the Celtics did not have much luck trying to stop Kevin Durant last night. But the Celtics slowed Durant when it counted and took care of every other order of business in a 105-87 victory. The Celtics (16-4) extended their winning streak to seven games, concluding a four-game road trip with an average margin of victory of 12.5 points against Miami, Charlotte, San Antonio, and the Thunder. After playing six games in 10 days, the Celtics have a break until hosting Milwaukee Tuesday.

The Celtics found a cure for the post-Chicago blues they had been experiencing since eliminating the Bulls in the first round of the playoffs. A healthy dose of Rajon Rondo's aggression and speed, plus the sharpshooting of Eddie House (31 points) and Ray Allen (22), took the Celtics to a 112-94 win last night over the Orlando Magic at TD Banknorth Garden, tying their best-of-seven Eastern Conference second-round series at 1-1. In Game 1, just 48 hours after beating the Bulls, the Celtics started slowly and trailed by as many as 28 points in absorbing a 95-90 defeat.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Like every other Thunder opponent, the Celtics did not have much luck trying to stop Kevin Durant last night. But the Celtics slowed Durant when it counted and took care of every other order of business in a 105-87 victory. The Celtics (16-4) extended their winning streak to seven games, concluding a four-game road trip with an average margin of victory of 12.5 points against Miami, Charlotte, San Antonio, and the Thunder. After playing six games in 10 days, the Celtics have a break until hosting Milwaukee Tuesday.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Ray Allen shook off a month of uncertainty about his perimeter game and returned to form last night against the Bobcats. After jokingly pondering whether every NBA rim needed to be oiled, Allen flicked his 3-pointer with confidence, canning a season-high-tying five as the Celtics enjoyed a laugher. An anticipated rugged matchup against a streaking Charlotte club never materialized as the Celtics raced to an early double-digit lead and cruised to a 108-90 win at Time Warner Cable Arena.