NBA Playoffs 2012: 4 Major Causes of Celtics' Game 2 Loss

The Boston Celtics dropped Game 2 at home to the Philadelphia 76ers, 82-81, to even the series at one apiece. It was an ugly game for both teams most of the way through.

At the end, though, the game got exciting as both teams battled down the stretch. In the end, the Sixers pulled out the close win.

For the Sixers, this is a big win. They wanted a split in Boston and that is exactly what they got. On the other hand, the Celtics have lost their home-court advantage in the series and will travel to Philadelphia for a Game 3 that will be close to a must-win for them.

As with every other loss in these playoffs, I feel it is my duty to harp on the mistakes made and the major causes for the loss. 

That Third Quarter....

Gross, ugly, horrible, atrocious, gruesome, horrific and sickening are the only words I have for that third quarter. Really, those 12 minutes of (take your pick from the list of words above) basketball lost the game for the Celtics.

Just 11 points in 13 minutes? That should never happen, especially not to a veteran team like the Celtics.

Every possession was the same and nearly every possession had the same result: a miss or a turnover. Throughout the quarter, the Celtics just kept banging their heads against the wall and digging themselves into a deeper ditch.

It was hard to stay sane while watching that horrible showing for the C's. If I were Doc Rivers, I would have the team watch the film of that quarter once and then destroy all tapes of it. 

Paul Pierce

It really has been a tale of two series for Paul Pierce this postseason. Against the Hawks, he was, well, simply put, himself. He could be counted on for clutch scoring and even a throwback 30-point performance.

Thus far in the second round, though, we have certainly not seen the same Pierce. The Captain scored just seven points on 2-of-9 shooting, and to make matters worse, he committed five turnovers. His performance was almost as bad as the third quarter for the Celtics.

For the series, Pierce is shooting 5-of-20. To put it bluntly, that is horrible, for anyone, but for Pierce, it is flat out unacceptable. He is the leader of this team, but the only leading he did for the Celtics in Game 2 was leading them into a 1-1 series tie with the Sixers.

Pierce needs to bring more offense to the table if the Celtics want to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. 

Rebounding

All throughout the season, it has been clear that if this Celtics team were to lose, poor rebounding would play some role. While Pierce and the third quarter should take the majority of the blame for the loss, the continuing rebounding woes certainly can't be ignored after a loss like this where every possession is big.

The Sixers out-rebounded the Celtics 47-36 and pulled down 11 offensive rebounds. One more defensive rebound and the Celtics could be headed to Philly with a 2-0 lead. Alas, once again, the rebounding has failed the Celtics, and the series is tied 1-1 heading to the Wells Fargo Center. 

The Refs

I really hate complaining about referees, but sometimes I just have to. That being said, I do understand that the refs have a hard job and can't keep everyone happy and that, with the possible exception of some games in the Tim Donaghy era, mainly Kings-Lakers, the refs are not the sole cause of losses. Such was the case in Game 2, the third quarter should have never gone down the way it did and the Celtics should have been able to win the game on their own.

However, the refs certainly did not do the C's any favors. Throughout the game, the refs were letting a lot go and swallowing their whistles on most drives to the hoop with contact (Avery Bradley popped out his shoulder and there was no call). Then, on a critical possession late in the fourth quarter, Evan Turner took the ball to the hoop, and, when his defender retreated, Turner took at least four steps and hit a shot in the lane. No travel call, Sixers go up by one, Sixers win by one. To me that was the biggest blunder by the refs in the game, but it would not be the most costly though.

The most costly call was the illegal screen by Kevin Garnett with just 12 seconds left in a three-point game. Was it an illegal screen? Maybe. The more important questions are, has KG been getting away with screens like that for 16 years? Yes. And, is that call ever made in that situation? No.

Somewhere, Tommy Heinsohn is having a conniption.