It only took the first 12 minutes of Game 3 for the Celtics to remember that they are, in fact, the better team in this series.
Once that happened, it was all downhill for the Sixers, as evident by the C’s 107-91 stomping Wednesday night.
“We all were pretty focused [Wednesday] in shootaround,” Rajon Rondo said after Game 3. “Obviously, we had two close games at home and we wanted to show these guys, send a message [Wednesday night] and I think our guys did a good job of that.”
If the message was, “You can’t stop us,” then the Sixers heard it loud and clear. But it’s how Philly plays tonight — once again at home — that will determine if they have a snowball’s chance in this series.
Down 3-1 going back to Boston? Forget about it. But going back with a 2-2 split would be just fine for a Philly team that has already proven it can win on the road in Boston during the playoffs.
To win, the Sixers have to figure out a way to limit Kevin Garnett. Philadelphia successfully did that in Game 2, but KG had his way with Spencer Hawes, Elton Brand and Lavoy Allen in Game 3, dominating the second quarter and finishing with 27 points and 13 rebounds in 30 minutes.
Hawes, Brand and Allen combined for — wait for it — 11 points, and 10 rebounds in 60 minutes of playing time. That just ain’t gonna cut it fellas.
But Garnett knows that a repeat effort of Game 3 will be “the biggest challenge,” and Philly will be out for blood.
“[The Sixers] have a lot of young legs, have a lot of individual players that can put up buckets,” Garnett said after Game 3. “And we have to respect that and be ready for that. When you beat a team like this at home you have to expect them coming out with a lot of energy. But we’ll be ready and we’ll have a lot of energy ourselves, so we’ll see what happens.”
