How can a team that was an NBA-best 31-10 on the road during the regular season look so bad away from home in the playoffs?
That's the question the Boston Celtics are undoubtedly asking themselves heading into Monday night's Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal with the Cavaliers, with Cleveland a 2-point betting favorite (over/under: 182) on WagerWeb.com.
In Saturday's Game 3, the Celtics fell down 32-13, so the game was basically over after one quarter. That dropped Boston to 0-4 in this year's playoffs away from Beantown.
"We can't spot a team 15-20 points and try to dig ourselves out of it," Boston's Kevin Garnett said. "We talked about that in the locker room that we need to play with the same urgency like we have at home. We can definitely play better, and we will."
Boston really needs Ray Allen to play better. The usual sharpshooter is just 1-for-11 in the second round from the 3-point line, including 0-for-5 in Game 3. The Celtics are shooting 27.3 percent from long distance, down from 38.2 percent against the Hawks in Round 1. In addition, point guard Rajon Rondo has disappeared. Since scoring 15 points in the first half of Game 1, he has gone 3-for-16 from the field.
"We all need this win on the road," Paul Pierce (12.3 ppg in this series) said. "It's like a gorilla on our back trying to get this road win. I'm sure [my teammates] want it as much as everyone in the state of Massachusetts wants it. So, we're going to play better basketball from here on out on the road. I guarantee that."The Celtics averaged 100.5 points a game during the regular season, making nearly 48 percent of their field-goal attempts. Cleveland has held them to 83 points a game and they have made 41 percent (88 of 214) of their shots.
Only Garnett of the Celtics' Big 3 has exceeded his regular-season average in this series, scoring 19.3 points per game against Cleveland after a regular season in which he averaged 18.8.
Meanwhile, Cleveland star LeBron James remains stuck in a three-games-old shooting slide (he's only shooting 22 percent in this series), but the Cavs got key Game 3 contributions from Joe Smith, Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak and Ben Wallace, the veteran foursome brought in at the trading deadline by general manager Danny Ferry.
Smith went 7-of-8 from the field, grabbed six rebounds and helped control Garnett in 23 minutes. West finished 7-for-11 from the field overall - 4-of-6 from beyond the arc - and handed out seven assists. He also helped contain Rondo, who didn't have an assist in 24 minutes.
Szczerbiak scored 16 points, and Wallace, who wasn't expected to play because of an inner ear infection, came up with nine points, nine rebounds and inspiration.
Said Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskus: "My opinion is that even if LeBron's not having his usual night, all we need to do is hang around long enough to make it a one- or two-possession game at the end. If we put ourselves in that position, he gives us a chance."
Cleveland has won five of its last six Game 4s in the postseason. The Cavaliers are 3-1 at home in this year's playoffs and have won seven straight home games vs. Boston.
Betting trends: Celtics are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a SU loss of more than 10 points. ... Cavaliers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 playoff games as a favorite. ... Under is 6-0 in Celtics' last 6 games following a SU loss of more than 10 points. ... Under is 12-2 in Cavaliers' last 14 conference semifinal games. ... Underdog is 7-2-1 ATS in the last 10 meetings.
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