Philly knows it dodged a Paul Pierce-sized bullet

How many times have you seen this happen?...

Paul Pierce isolates near the top of the key with time winding down. He takes one step, one dribble, towards the basket. He makes contact with a defender, and then his next step is away from the hoop, away from the defender, as he makes space to launch a shot that inevitably finds the bottom of the hoop.

Only this time, it didn't fall, and as Pierce's jumper missed its mark the Celtics' 11-game winning streak crumbled. But Philadelphia knows Pierce doesn't always miss that shot, especially with the game clock winding down.

Via the Philadelphia Inquirer:

"Truthfully?" said Sixers guard Willie Green of Pierce's last shot. "My heart sank a little bit. And I just froze. I don't know if there was, what, a couple of seconds left? But it felt like a minute. Thank God he missed it."

"Pierce?" said Sixers coach Eddie Jordan was asked about that last shot. "I even thought Ray Allen's shot was going to go: fallaway, probably bank shot. . . . That's [Pierce's] pet move, and that's his comfortable spot on the floor, right off the elbow. So he got where he wanted to go. But we had a break."

Whether or not Pierce's miss was a break for Philly, they deserved to win the game. On a night when it first looked like the Celtics would open up a huge lead and never turn back, Philly scrapped, clawed and fought its way back into the lead, outworking the Celtics every step of the way.

So while the last miss might have been a break for the 76ers, they earned it. For the most part, for last night at least, Philadelphia made their own breaks.

Celtics-76ers preview: How will Iverson react to not starting tonight?

I would say "Home, sweet home," but, well, the Celtics seem to be better away from the confines of the Boston Gah-den.  Philly will be without Allen Iverson tonight (who I wish would play), and his spot in the starting lineup will likely be taken by Willie Green.  The same Willie Green who somehow, miraculously and unexpectedly, torched the Celts in the two teams' last meeting.

Here are three things to look out for during tonight's game: 

1. Allen Iverson's reaction to not starting - I know he's hurt and all, and not even cleared to play but, well, it's Allen Iverson we're talking about.  We're not talking about practice, we're talking about a game... and Allen Iverson likes to start games on the floor, not on the bench.  Can't you just see a postgame explosion from Iverson, ripping into a bewildered Eddie Jordan for not starting him while Jordan thinks to himself, But you weren't even healthy enough to play...?
2. Celtics big men - Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins and Rasheed Wallace will be going against a thin, injury-riddled front line lacking much punch.  The Celtics should look inside early and often tonight.
3. Philly's athleticism - Philly doesn't have much going for them so far this season, but one thing they do have is athleticism.  With wings like Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young, Philly can get up and down the court in a hurry, and could cause problems for Boston... that is, if Boston plays like they're in a coma.  If Boston exerts even minimal effort in this one, they'll win.  They're just far more talented than Philly.  Period.