Leon Powe had been struggling with the Celtics' system, but played very well in the last two games, scoring 11 points and grabbing 15 rebounds against the Nets on Wednesday, then scored 16 points and had 9 rebounds against the Knicks on Saturday.
"If you all had come to me a game before (playing New Jersey), I wouldn't have said anything," Powe said. "I was just hoping and praying that I would get an opportunity. And I was thinking, What if I don't get an opportunity?' I didn't want to think of that.
"I never doubted myself, but you're sitting there so long you start thinking. Playing New Jersey, it just brought me back to reality, knowing what I can do and knowing all the work I did in the summer is going to pay off."