Boston Celtics: Coming into tonight’s game with the Atlanta Hawks, the Boston Celtics held a 1-game lead over the Orlando Magic for second place in the Eastern Conference. At the end of the night, the Celtics still held that 1-game advantage as they beat the Hawks 104-92. The Celtics had all 5 starters in double figures led by Paul Pierce’s 21 points. Rajon Rondo added 20 points and Glen “Big Baby” Davis had 19. Kendrick Perkins chipped in with 12 points and 10 rebounds and former UConn Husky Ray Allen had 10 for the Green.  The Hawks were led by Mike Bibby’s 20 points with Joe Johnson adding 15. The Celtics will get some time to rest as they are back in action on Wednesday night when they will host the New Jersey Nets. [ESPN.com]

Boston Celtics: It a few comebacks and two overtimes and Ray Allen three-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in the second overtime to give the Boston Celtics a 111-109 win over the Charlotte Bobcats at the TD Banknorth Garden. The win coupled with Orlando’s loss gives the Celtics a 1-game lead for second place in the Eastern Conference. Paul Pierce led the Green with 32 points while the former UConn Husky Allen had 22. Rajon Rando chipped in with 21 points and 9 assists while Eddie House had 18 off the bench. Gerald Wallace led the Bobcats with 20 points and 10 rebounds while Boris Diaw had 17. Former UConn Husky Emeka Okafor had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Charlotte. The Celtics are back in action on Friday night at home as they will host the Atlanta Hawks. [ESPN.com]

For the next 3 games and maybe the final 7, the Boston Celtics will try to improve their standing in the Eastern Conference without the services of Kevin Garnett.

This morning during practice, head coach Doc Rivers decided that it would be best to shutdown Kevin Garnett for the next 3 games and the practices in between to allow his knee more time to heal in time for the playoffs.

“You can tell by his gait that he’s still not right,” Rivers said.

Doc: Garnett still not right [Boston Herald]

Celtics shut down Kevin Garnett [Green Street]

Boston Celtics: A big fourth quarter by the Boston Celtics that saw them score 32 points helped them to an 103-84 win over the lowly Oklahoma City Thunder at the TD Banknorth area in Boston on Sunday. Paul Pierce led the way for the Green with 27 points. Glen “Big Baby” Davis, starting again for the injured Kevin Garnett, had 19 points and 10 rebounds and also was the recipient of 10 stitches. Eddie House added 16 while Ray Allen had 14 and Mikki Moore had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 23 points and Kevin Durant added 21. The Celtics are back in action on Wednesday night when former UConn Husky Emeka Okafor and the Charlotte Bobcats come to town. [ESPN.com]

Boston Celtics: Playing without, Kevin Garnett, the Boston Celtics got a double-double out of his replacement Glen “Big Baby” Davis and held off the Atlanta Hawks down the stretch to take home a 99-93 win in Atlanta. “Big Baby” had 19 points and 12 rebounds while former UConn Husky Ray Allen led the Green with 22 points. Paul Pierce added 21 and Eddie House had 12. Garnett was held of out the lineup due to soreness in his right knee. The Hawks were paced by Josh Smith and Joe Johnson who both had 22 points. The Celtics now head home to take on Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night. [ESPN.com]

Boston Celtics: The Boston Celtics used a 14-0 run in the third quarter to put away the Los Angeles Clippers 90-77 at the TD BankNorth Garden. Former UConn Husky Ray Allen led the Celtics with 20 points and Rajon Rondo added 14 points and 7 assists. Kevin Garnett had 12 points as did Kendrick Perkins who also pulled down 13 rebounds. Zach Randolph led the Clippers with 17 points and 14 rebounds while Baron Davis had 13 points. The Celtics now head out on a 2-game road trip that takes them to Orlando and Atlanta on Wednesday night and Friday night respectively. [ESPN.com]

Boston Celtics: After a big third quarter, the Boston Celtics used an 11-4 run to start the 4th to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 105-87 at FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN. Glen “Big Baby” Davis led the Green with 24 points and former UConn Husky Ray Allen had 20. Eddie House chipped in with 15 points and Kevin Garnett added 10 points in his second game back from his knee injury. Hakim Warrick led the Grizzlies with 20 points while another former UConn Husky, Rudy Gay, had 15 points. Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo both added 12 points each. The Celtics return back to the TD BankNorth Garden on Monday night to take on the Los Angeles Clippers. [ESPN.com]

Boston Celtics: Key missed free throws by the San Antonio Spurs gave the Boston Celtics an 80-77 win in Kevin Garnett’s return to the lineup in San Antonio. Garnett played only 15 minutes in his return scoring 10 points and pulling down 4 rebounds. Also back in the lineup was former UConn Husky Ray Allen who led the Green with 19 points. Rajon Rondo finished with 16 points and 12 assists while Kendrick Perkins had 10 points and Paul Pierce had 9 points and 12 rebounds. The Spurs’ Eva Longoria Tony Parker led the all scorers with 25 points with Tim Duncan chipping in 15. The Celtics have 12 games left in the season and head to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies tomorrow night at 8 PM. [ESPN.com]

Boston Celtics: It took overtime for the injury-depleted Boston Celtics but a strong overtime period led them to a 112-108 win over the Dwyane Wade-less Miami Heat. The win for the Celtics clinches the Atlantic Division title. The Celtics who are still without Kevin Garnett, Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine were also without Ray Allen and Leon Powe. They did get 36 points and 11 rebounds from Paul Pierce while Rajon Rondo had 27 points and 10 assists. Eddie House came off the bench to add 16 points and Glen “Big Baby” Davis returned to the lineup with 8 points. Michael Beasley had 21 points to lead the Heat while Mario Chalmers had 19 points and Jermaine O’Neal had 17. The Celtics now head out on the road for games in San Antonio on Friday night and Memphis on Saturday night. [ESPN.com]

Boston Celtics: The Atlantic Division clinching will have to wait another day for the Boston Celtics as former UConn Husky Charlie Villanueva had 11 of his 19 points in the 4th quarter to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to an 86-77 win. Kendrick Perkins led the Celtics with a career-high 26 points and added 12 rebounds while Paul Pierce added 15 points. Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo and Pierce combined to shoot 8-of-36 during the game. Richard Jefferson chipped in with 17 points and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute added 15 points. The Celtics stay in the midwest as they head to Chicago to take on the Bulls on Tuesday night. [ESPN.com]