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Seventeen games into the 2008 postseason, the Boston Celtics have finally gotten the monkey off their back with a road victory in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Detroit gave the Celtics quite a scare to begin the fourth quarter with their superior energy level and staggering trap defense, but at the end of the day, the men in green uniforms came out victorious. Prior to Detroit’s fourth-quarter mini-run, the Celtics made their presence felt and theoretically dominated the majority of the game through three quarters. At one point, Boston’s lead was 24, and fans at The Palace of Auburn Hills reverted to booing their club.

The main factors for tonight’s victory were as follows:

• Defense: While Detroit simply missed a wide range of open looks, the Celtic defense made a drastic improvement from Game 2’s disappointing home loss. For the most part, rotations were rarely missed, the effort was apparent, and fatigue didn’t seem to plague their fortunes.

• Offense: Boston’s offensive tempo is always a product of their play on the defensive end of the floor, and as mentioned above, they were on-point. That translated to the offensive end of the floor in this one, where the Celtics were able to capitalize off of their stops and show a great deal of offensive aggression. Rajon Rondo led the charge by initiating the tone, and the rest of the guys followed suit. The green shot over 46% from the floor, and based on their attack mindset, were able to get to the free throw line, where they shot 25-30. In addition, the ball movement was excellent as Celtics dished 20 assists on 32 baskets.

• Rebounding: Boston 44, Detroit 28. Enough said, really.

• Supporting Cast: The biggest problems in Game 2 were undeniably the defense and the lack of support from the role players. In fact, it was the only time throughout the postseason that Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce simultaneously had big offensive outings. The issue was that the role players didn’t step up, but they couldn’t have played any better in this one. The supporting cast, meaning everybody outside of “The Big Three,” combined for 47 points on 51.6% shooting, giving the C’s a huge lift on a night where Paul Pierce and Ray Allen shot a combined 9-22 from the floor for just 25 points.

Perhaps the biggest booster for Boston’s supporting cast was starting center Kendrick Perkins, who certainly put together his best road outing since the start of the playoffs. Perk tallied a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, while giving as much effort as anybody on the floor and playing superb defense throughout. Kevin Garnett may have had an MVP-like stat line of 22-13-6, but Perk deserves the game ball as much as anyone for his efforts.

On Detroit’s side, the number one thing that jumps out at you is the lackluster performance from Chauncey Billups. After a big Game 2 performance in which “Mr. Big Shot” lived up to his title and looked to have made physical progress, there isn’t any question that he was completely out of whack in Game 3. The obvious reasoning could point to his hamstring, but in the playoffs, excuses aren’t to be sympathized. Billups shot just 1-6 from the floor in this one, while rookie guard Rodney Stuckey was called on to fill the void for over 28 minutes of floor time. Luckily for Flip Saunders, the impressive rookie answered the call once again, as he put up 17 points, played aggressive defense, and attacked the basket more than any other player in the building.

Stuckey and “Rip” Hamilton combined for 43 points and 20 free throw attempts, but it wasn’t enough to pull out the W. The Pistons shot just 38.4% as a team, and connected on just one of their 13 three-point attempts. Additionally, Rasheed Wallace found himself in foul trouble, giving Detroit little to turn to defensively on the interior. Granted, that caused Flip Saunders to go with a small lineup to set up an aggressive trap defense that got them back into the game at one point in the fourth quarter, but that effort came bit too late.

Therefore, the Celtics have taken a 2-1 series lead heading into Game 4 back at The Palace. It’s great to get the monkey off their back (or the gorilla, as Paul Pierce put it), and hopefully that triggers an extra gear of confidence going forward, but this series is far from over. The job is just half-done, and you’d have to expect Detroit to come out with a better effort on Monday night.

Stay tuned.

Box Score

Player of the Game

Kendrick Perkins
12 PTS, 10 REBS, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 6-7 FG

Series Standings: Boston leads series 2-1
Game 4: Monday (5/26/08) at 8:30 pm ET.

One Response to “C’s Get the Gorilla Off Their Back”

1. Celtics247.com » Blog Archive » Today’s Links 5/25 Says:
   May 25th, 2008 at 10:09 am

   [...] Herald Celtics start loud, quiet crowd, silence Pistons in Detroit What’s up with Chauncey Billups? Biggest game of season brings best out of the Celtics Celtics on inside track to victory Lindsey Hunter, temporary Celtic, no fan of fast trade Seeing a golden future in Celtics Green Kendrick Perkins peaks in Motown Superb Rodney Stuckey spells subpar Chauncey Billups Globe Palace coup Bench responds when called upon Perkins emphatically got his points across This performance was worth the wait Post game videos and analysis Starting five: Boston 94, Pistons 80 We now have a bad connection Truth is, US squad has no position for Pierce Role call for the games Final say MetroWest Daily Celtics 94, Pistons 80: Road winners Celtics.com Celtics bigs control the paint in game 3 Garnett burns Pistons in game 3 rout Playoff postups live from courtside Post game presser CelticsBlog Perk’s finest and more from a monkey off back win Taking the D to Detroit LOY’s Place Comments from the other side - Pistons game 3 Full Court Press Boston defense dooms Detroit in game 3 NBA.com Celtics finally win on the road, open 2-1 lead KG: Haier play of the day ESPN For one game, C’s make road woes disappear Balanced Celtics stun Pistons for first playoff road win Celtics Pistons series page What the Celtics can learn from Road House Hoopsworld Beware of Tayshaun Prince Red’s Army Do it again Paul Pierce is environmentally friendly Detroit Free Press Inside the Rip - Ray Allen rivalry Celtics wanted it more but don’t blame Flip Saunders Best quotes from game 3 Perk most effective player for Boston in game 3 C-sick: How Celtics stormed the Palace, seized 2-1 lead in East finals Pistons cheer loudest for Tigers What’s wrong with Chauncey Billups? Pistons Coach on star rookie Stuckey, Sheed’s techs UK Wildcat Country Rondo, Celtics win battle, war up for grabs ProJo Postgame Celtics journal: The bench jump-started the victory At last Celtics find a winning road formula Away the Celtics finally get going Celtics window of opportunity: How quickly will it close? Real dogfight developing between ex-UConn players Worcester Telegram Baby got big in Detroit One for the road SI.com Celtics finally get road victory Bleacher Report Boston rediscovers winning on the road In Rajon Rondo we trust, but does he trust himself? Hoopsvibe Pistons find out the hard way that Celtics can win on the road Eagle Tribune Is Paul Pierce a Hall of Famer? Toledo Blade Celtics turn to Cassell against Pistons pressure Detroit News Perk a pleasant surprise for Celtics Celtics dominate Pistons to take 2-1 series lead Pistons deliver one of biggest flops in their playoff history Billups won’t make excuses for game 3 struggles CelticsNews C’s get the gorilla off their backs Fox Sports Celtics intensity leads to Celtics first road playoff win CBS Sports Boston’s road warrior status is back in style Cape Cod Times Celtics take Motown by storm Newsday Grousbeck and Celtics’ brass bringing back glory Parquet Pride K-Perk stepped it up big time in game 3 Sporting News Celtics finally win on the road but concerns linger Enterprise Celtics, Big Baby knew they could win in Motown MLive Pistons have no answers for Boston in game 3 Leon Powe Fan Site Celtics put an end to road woes SouthCoast Today Detroit shows they can handle divided loyalties Connecticut Post Road Win!! Celtics retake lead 94-80 Dime Celtics finally get road win, Pistons lose home court [...]

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