You know it's bad when Zaza Pachulia is unstoppable

Last night in Atlanta, it was a battle of who cared less (apologies to Ben Folds): the Boston Celtics or the Atlanta Hawks.

Neither team was into it (as evidenced by the numerous easy baskets and layups) but the Hawks (44-32) eventually made enough plays to come away with a depressing 88-83 win over the Celtics (52-23) at the Philips Arena.

I say depressing because the main reason that Atlanta was victorious had to do with the energy provided by goofball big man Zaza Pachulia. He had 15 points and 10 rebounds in just 23 minutes off the bench. Jamal Crawford led the Hawks with 20 points off the bench but that's at least forgivable since he's a good NBA player. There is absolutely no reason that Zaza should be dropping double-doubles in your eyeball.

Paul Pierce led Boston with a game-high 25 points and eight rebounds but he couldn't do it alone in the second night of the back-to-back road games. Rajon Rondo had 13 points, 10 assists and five rebounds while Ray Allen (11 points), Kevin Garnett (10 points) and Delonte West (10 points, 5 assists off the bench) all barely reached double figures.

The terrible pro sports fans in Atlanta were treated to a real snoozefest in the first half as the Hawks led 23-21 after the first quarter but the Celtics woke up for a 52-44 advantage.

The third quarter was another dud (18-16 Atlanta) and then the Hawks started looking like a playoff team in the fourth quarter (26-15 Hawks) while the Celtics were content to take hopeless 3-pointers and long jumpers.

Boston shot 44.6% to 36.7% for Atlanta. The Celtics made two more 3-pointers (6-4) but Atlanta lived at the free throw line (26-11 free throws made). Atlanta had 14 more rebounds (52-38) but Boston had eight more assists (22-14), four more blocks (5-1) and three more steals (5-2).

With the loss, the Cs fell half a game behind the Miami Heat (with a game in hand for Boston) into the third spot in the Eastern Conference. Only seven more games left, Boston hosts the Detroit Pistons tomorrow night at TD Garden.

Cupid's Got Nothing On Isiah Thomas

With Isiah Thomas and his train-wreck team-the New York Knicks-in town, what better way to get Valentine's Day started for all the lovers out there? Zeke didn't stay around for the whole thing (I'm guessing he had some last-minute shopping to do), but his Knicks stubbornly came back from down 27 but ultimately couldn't take the lead as Boston won its fifth in a row, 111-103, in the last game before the All-Star break.

The Celts (41-9) continue to pile up wins but unfortunately they've been accumulating the injuries lately at almost the same clip. Last night, Glen Davis left with a quad injury that looked serious and Brian Scalabrine hurt his groin (no joke needed, too easy). Boston was led by its two healthy all-stars, Paul Pierce (24 points, 7 assists, 6 turnovers, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) and Ray Allen (21 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 turnovers). Yes, Caron Butler is sitting out the All-Star game and therefore Ray got the call (instead of the more deserving Hedo Turkoglu, who also plays the same position). Whatever, hopefully Ray enjoys his time in the Crescent City and doesn't drink too many Hurricanes before the game.

Jamal Crawford (game-high 26 points, 7 assists, 6 steals) shined despite still sporting that big bandage on his shoulder. I bet Eddy Curry tried to take a bite out of Crawford, just one man's take. Zach Randolph had his typical useless double-double, 20 points and 13 rebounds. David Lee had 18 points and eight boards while Nate Robinson (11 points, 5 assists) and Fred Jones (10 points, 6 assists) made their three fantasy owners happy.

New York took the first quarter, 24-21 but Boston effectively clinched it in the second (you don't say that everyday) by outscoring the Knicks, 32-16. The aforementioned lead became 27 in the third quarter before New York decided to earn a fraction of their paychecks. The funny part about Thomas getting two technicals in the third quarter was that it was in the middle of his team coming back (it was 11 at the time of the second). What a bozo.

Leon Powe (18 points, 8 rebounds) and Rajon Rondo (18 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks) continued to piss excellence as the Celtics started with only nine guys and ended it with seven. Yikes. Tony Allen (14 points) and James Posey (5 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists) were other standouts. Powe (38 minutes) and Posey (40 minutes) both had season-high minutes on the court so they had to be gassed by the end.

Boston shot 50.7% for the game and New York shot 44.3%. The Celts led in assists (29-20) and blocks (6-0). It wasn't pretty but it was a win and that's all you can ask from such a depleted team. Now, most of the C's (other than Doc, Pierce, Ray and Rondo) get to enjoy the short break before going to Denver on Tuesday night.