NBA Playoffs 2012: Why the Boston Celtics Won Game 3 over the Philadelphia 76ers

With 1:10 to play in the first quarter, Paul Pierce drove the lane, rose up and threw down a vicious tomahawk dunk over the top of Thaddeus Young, letting out a primal scream in the process. It was at that point that you knew Pierce and the Boston Celtics meant business.

And that may be putting it lightly.

After a horrendous performance in their 82-81 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Celtics rebounded in Game 3 Wednesday night with a dominant 107-91 drubbing of host Philadelphia to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

After Game 2, I wrote an article detailing 10 reasons why Boston lost and what it had to do to improve for the rest of the series.

Well, now I am going to bring back those 10 reasons and discuss how the C's remedied each of their problems in Game 3—a game in which Boston led Philadelphia by 27 at one point.

1. Not Enough Kevin Garnett

In Game 2, Garnett simply did not get the ball enough. He took only three shots in the first half, and it wasn't until the fourth quarter that Doc Rivers finally decided to get him involved in the offense. K.G. would score 11 points and 5-of-7 shooting in that final period, but it was too little, too late.

It was a different story in Game 3.

Garnett got the ball early and often on Wednesday night, dropping in 27 points—17 coming in the first half—off of 12-of-17 shooting. He also grabbed 13 rebounds, dished out four assists and was his usual dominant self on the defensive end.

Once again, the 76ers have absolutely no answer for Garnett. They have no one who can defend him one-on-one, and he proved that tonight with a series of mid-ranger jumpers, turnarounds, fadeaways and layups as he picked apart Philadelphia's frontline with precision.

If Rivers continues to run the offense through K.G. for the remainder of the series, I don't see the Sixers winning another game.

2. Too Much Brandon Bass

Bass led the Celtics in field goal attempts in Game 2, firing 15 shots and hitting on only five of them.

Well, he was reined in in Game 3, taking only 10 shots and making five for an efficient 50 percent clip. Also, Bass was putting the ball on the floor instead of merely settling for mid-range jump shots. He also had a huge block on a Spencer Hawes-dunk attempt that led to a transition bucket for Boston.

Bass looked good in this one.

3. Avery Bradley's Shoulder

Bradley separated his shoulder (again) in the first half of Game 2 and proceeded to miss two quarters because of it.

It was a shame, because he was playing extremely well, and may have ended up being the difference had he not had to sit out half the game. Bradley really wasn't much of a factor offensively in Game 3 as he was held scoreless, but he did have a nice block and played some of his trademark great perimeter defense.

He only played 20 minutes, so that shoulder certainly got some much-needed rest.

4. Rajon Rondo's Decision-Making

Rondo made some questionable calls in Game 2, none more puzzling than his decision to fire up a jumper instead of passing to a wide open Ray Allen on the wing with Boston up one late in the game.

We saw none of that in Game 3, as Rondo put together what may have been his best performance of the postseason, thus far.

Rondo paced the Celtics early, scoring 13 points in the first quarter alone, getting to the basket at will and even draining a three-pointer. He finished with 23 points, 14 assists and six boards and was absolutely brilliant in transition.

Rondo controlled the tempo of this game from start to finish and was an enormous factor in Boston's blowout victory.

5. Benching Mickael Pietrus

I questioned Rivers' decision to sit Pietrus after he knocked down two huge threes in the fourth quarter of Game 2. Well, Rivers must have felt that Pietrus had gotten his confidence back, as Doc played Pietrus big minutes in Game 3, and the reserve rewarded him with a big game.

Pietrus scored 13 off the bench, hitting on three of his four three-point tries.

Don't underestimate the significance of Pietrus getting his legs back underneath him. Ever since sustaining that concussion in Philly back in March, Pietrus has admittedly been playing scared. He looked great on Wednesday night, and that bodes extremely well for the future, as the C's need his production off the bench.

6. Poor Rebounding

After being out-rebounded 47-36 in Game 2, Boston finished with a 44-37 edge in Game 3.

7. Horrific Third Quarter

The Celtics scored only 11 points in the third quarter in Game 2.

In Game 3? They out-scored the 76ers 29-17 to build a 23-point lead heading into the fourth. Boston has been a good third quarter team all year long, so it's certainly looking like all of those missed shots on Monday night was an aberration.

8. End-of-Game Management

I called into question Rivers' decision to have Rondo foul down by one with 14.4 seconds remaining in Game 2, which reset the shot clock for the 76ers.

Obviously, no clock management was needed in the Celtics' 16-point Game 3 win.

9. Overconfidence

I think this is the biggest one.

I mentioned that Charles Barkley said at halftime in Game 2 that Boston didn't seem to respect Philadelphia and was just going through the motions.

Clearly, Monday night's loss resonated with the group, and the C's came out tonight with a purpose. The Sixers shot the lights out in the first quarter, but, after that, the Celtics took complete control and grabbed the game by the throat.

You have to think that Boston smells blood now and will come out with the same type of killer attitude in Game 4.

10. Paul Pierce Is Playing Injured

Pierce put forth one of the weakest playoff performances of his career in Game 2, tallying only seven points and being a virtual non-factor on offense.

That wasn't the case at all in Game 3, as Rivers made it a point to get The Truth going from the get-go. He missed his first six shots, but he then proceeded to throw down two angry slams en route to a 24-point, 12-rebound performance.

I said after Game 2 that I had a feeling Pierce would have a big game in Game 3, as he knew his team's back was against the wall and that he would have to step up.

Step up he did.

I'm not sure how exactly Pierce's knee is feeling right now, but this is the best he's looked since Game 4 against the Atlanta Hawks in the first round.

Prediction

I really thought the Celtics should have won Game 2, and I think they did, too. I said after the game that I still thought they would win the series because they are simply better than the 76ers. They would just have to come out and demonstrate that.

Boston did that and more in Game 3, thoroughly trashing Philadelphia and perhaps ripping out their will in the process. During a timeout in the third quarter, Sixers coach Doug Collins was telling his dejected team not to keep their heads down because it was the playoffs.

I expect to see more of that the rest of the series. Why?

Because the Celtics smell blood.

Like I said coming into this series: Boston in five.