It looked like they might finally win a road playoff game last night. Boston trailed by a mere 3 points after three. But the New Three vanished in crunch time. Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen swallowed fourth-quarter doughnuts and Paul Pierce forced a bunch of shots while scoring 6 of the paltry dozen.
"We have to play better under stress, there's no doubt about it," acknowledged coach Doc Rivers, who went with a curious quintet of Glen Davis, James Posey, Sam Cassell, P.J. Brown, and Pierce for the first 4 1/2 minutes of the final quarter.
It was the latest chapter in an annoying postseason in which the Celtics suddenly can't win on the road. The NBA's best regular-season road team is 0-5 away from home in the 2008 playoffs. They resume tomorrow night at the Garden and, of course, they are expected to win. Then they must return to Cleveland Friday.
"We can play better at home, then break the road streak and get everybody to stop talking about it," said Pierce.
The talk will not stop until the Celtics win one away from home.
If you are a glass-half-full person, you can look at this and conclude that the Celtics can win the title simply by holding serve throughout the playoffs. Theoretically, Boston can go 16-0 at home and 0-12 on the road and raise banner No. 17.
But does any card-carrying Celtic fan feel good about this team? Going a combined 0-5 in Atlanta and Cleveland does little to inspire confidence. And a glass-half-empty person might say that, sooner or later, somebody is going to crash the Garden party and walk out of the Causeway Street gym with a win. You don't think the Pistons can do it? Or maybe, just maybe, the Cavaliers?
Remember that Cleveland beat Detroit four straight times after losing the first two in the conference finals last spring.
The Celtics trailed, 23-21, after one and 45-43 at intermission. Garnett (13 points, 8 rebounds) carried the Green in the first half and Allen got hot in the third period. But the Celtics showed an alarming lack of poise in the fourth.
