Playoffs Post Ups - Conference Semifinals vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Tix: Conference Finals On Sale Tomorrow at 12 p.m.

Postgame Wrap Up

The Celtics had not lost a home playoff game this season, and in Sunday's Game 7 the outcome was no different as Boston slid past the Cavaliers 97-92 to earn a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Paul Pierce poured in 41 points and Kevin Garnett added 13 along with 13 rebounds in a contest that saw the Celts hold four of the Cavs' starters to 26 total points.

With their second Game 7 victory of the playoffs secured, the Celtics now face the Detroit Pistons. Game 1 of the East Finals tips off Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET in Boston.

Tickets for Games 1 and 2 will go on sale Monday at noon. For fans purchasing at the Garden, random number distribution will begin Monday at 11 a.m.

- NBA.com Newsdesk

Live from Courtside

Game Preview | Live Scoreboard

97-92 Celtics, FINAL: Eddie House steals a pass back to LeBron, dribbles out the clock and tosses the ball into the stands...Bring on the Pistons...

97-92 Celtics, 8 seconds: Pavlovic for three in front of the Celtics bench. Pierce to the line. Bounces high off the back rim and falls. Second one is a splash.

95-89 Celtics, 16.5 seconds James makes 1 of 2 from the line, backrimming the first. House to the line to nail a pair.

91-88 Celtics, 18 seconds. Ray at the line for two, and despite being 1/6 from the field, he knocks them both down. Before that KG missed a long jumper at 35 seconds, but rebounded James' drive at 25 seconds, and they got it to their best free throw shooter.

91-88 Celtics, 58.1 seconds: Jumpball...Posey and Z...Pierce comes up with it on the floor and Doc calls timeout from the sideline. The Celtics have one left, the Cavs have a pair. After the timeout, Pierce calls a huddle with the players before the inbounds pass. P.J., House and the Three on the floor.

91-88 Celtics, 1:21/4th: If you're just jumping on the bandwagon now, P.J. Brown was retired in mid-February until Paul and Ray talked him out of it at the All-Star Game. He just hit a 17' jumper to give the Celtics a three-point lead with 1:21 to play.

89-88 Celtics, 2:20/4th: LeBron swipes the ball from Pierce and beats Posey to the basket for the slam. It's a one-point game.

89-86 Celtics, 2:35/4th: P.J. Brown wraps up Z, that's his 5th foul.

87-82 Celtics, 3:19/4th: This one is getting crazy. James has 42, Pierce 39. KG just hit a fade-away before the timeout for 13 and 12 rebounds.

The Celtics lead in second-chance points, 16-7.

85-80 Celtics, 5:01/4th: Somebody check on Tommy Heinsohn. LeBron just grabbed Pierce's jersey on a pick and roll, yanking it a foot behind him...and no call!

77-72 Celtics, 8:29/4th: A couple of tough calls have the crowd riled up midway through the fourth. Thank goodness for the Celtics Dancers to calm everyone down. WE could be in for a long quarter; each team has three fulls and a :20 second timeout left.

73-68 Celtics, End of 3rd: Well, buckle up. Pierce and James each had nine in the third. Look for more from each here in the fourth. Meanwhile, KG has a quiet nine points and 11 rebounds. Rondo? Just four points, but seven rebounds and six assists. Since neither team is running, Rondo's been able to hit the glass.

69-62 Celtics, 1:36/3rd: Rondo just picked up his fourth foul. He's probably a danger to foul out but keep your eyes on it.

61-56 Celtics, 5:21/3rd: We've got a duel. James (30) and Pierce (33) are trading hoops, the last of which was Pierce catching Delonte on a switch and draining a fallaway on him from the right wing. Interesting to note: All of Paul's jumpers have come from the right side; James' hits have been exclusively from the left.

52-49 Celtics, 8:03/3rd: Zydrunas Ilgauskas is in the building. After barely touching the ball in the first half and going 0/3, Z's been getting his touches and quickly dropped four points as the Cavs mounted a 9-2 run to start the third.

Meanwhile, Pierce looks a little gimpy out there. Look for him to see double and triple teams here in the second half.

50-40 Celtics, Halftime: Pierce made an early exit to the locker room before the half ended but he's a warrior. I'd expect him back in the second half. The numbers between him and LeBron are very similar. They're having quite a duel.

60% of the Cavs starters (Ilgauskas, Szczerbiak and Wallace) have been blanked in the half, and together they've missed just five shots. Cleveland appeared to go to their fourth quarter offense (isolate James and get the heck out of the way) early in the first quarter...

50-38 Celtics, 23 seconds: Pierce hit the stanchion hard on a breakaway layup thanks to a half-hearted tackle by Pavlovic. He feel right at my feet, taking out a cameraman and was slow to get up after hitting the floor and grabbing his left leg. But The Truth stroked both free throws after the timeout and appears to be OK. Pierce has 26.

43-32 Celtics, 1:54/2nd: Wally Szczerbiak chased down KG on a fast break and delivered a pretty good shot to take down Garnett. There's no love lost there from their days in Minnesota but it wasn't dirty. Just a playoff foul.

39-27 Celtics, 3:50/2nd: With Posey and Pierce on the floor at the same time, Sasha Pavlovic, not exactly known for defense, has been guarding Pierce while LeBron guards Posey. You would think the Cavs would put James on Pierce and take their chances with Posey.

35-23 Celtics, 5:43/2nd: Another floor dive by E-House brings the House down with "ED-DIE" chants. He and Delonte went to the floor for a loose ball and had to be separated by teammates and officials. Double technicals on House and West.

34-23 Celtics, 6:31/2nd: E- House just dove to the floor for a ball and kicked it back to Posey who got free throws out of House's hustle. Nicely done. "ED-DIE!"

24-15 Celtics, 9:06/2nd: Pierce continues to make plays and get to the paint, and he's hurting the Cavs. Meanwhile, E-House is providing the scoring punch off the bench we grew accustomed to during the regular season.

Cleveland continues to be stifled by the Celtics' swarming defense. James is 3/9 for nine of Cleveland's 15 points, the team is 6/22 and 27% from the field can't continue for them if they want to compete today.

18-13 Celtics, End of 1st: After a quick pace to start, the game has slowed considerably. Ray Allen is getting swarmed every time he touches the ball and is just 0/1 from the field on a tough pull-up from the free throw line.

The Cavs are shooting just 28% from the field and the ball isn't moving for them.

16-13 Celtics, 1:00/1st: Doc just made a House call...and the C's pick up back-to-back defensive three seconds calls.

16-8 Celtics, 2:59/1st: The Cavs' offense seems to be get it to LeBron and clear out for him. He's 3/7 and all of his looks have been highly contested. But he's only reached the basket once on a drive.

12-4 Celtics, 7:38/1st: We may have our answer...Paul Pierce has seven of the first 12 points and looks dialed in. The Truth hit a pair of midrange jumpers from the right elbow and then sank a three to force a hot timeout. He's 3/5 from the field. KG has also been on the glass early; he's got three boards.

Tipoff: Once again, the building is smoky and loud. Where else would you want to be. It's Game 7 at the Garden...22 years ago today, Larry dropped 30 on the Bucks to sweep them in the Eastern Conference Finals. So who will step up to lead the C's into the Conference Finals? We're about to find out...

Pregame Media Access

Other than Leon Powe walking around in circles and Big Baby scribbling some thoughts down on a notepad in his locker, the Celtics dressing room was very quiet. And as for Doc Rivers, he reports sleeping well last night. What he couldn't tell was whether his guys were ready. According to Rivers, you never really can tell.

"I never have been able to. Sometimes you think so, sometimes you can see individuals at times, but no," Rivers said. "And listen, a lot of times guys are tight and then the game starts and then they're loose."

Paul Pierce admitted as much after yesterday's practice, saying that he gets nervous before every game, but once he steps on the court it all goes away.

I guess we're about to find out.

Pregame Links

Grande: Seven

More Game 6: Rivers Makes House Call in Game 6 | Physical Game 6 Finds C's in Foul Trouble

Saturday, May 17 - Practice

Practice Update

When the Celtics played the Atlanta Hawks in a Game 7 two weeks ago, several guys said that they couldn't sleep the night before. But now that they've already got a Game 7 under their belt, will it be any easier tomorrow?

"Second time around. Let's hope it's like the last time, that's all you can do," Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said after Saturday's practice. "Good film today, good walkthrough. We're ready to play."

The Celtics practiced for about 90 minutes at the Sports Authority Training Center at HealthPoint today, and seemed pretty loose and ready to go afterwards. Sam Cassell, Tony Allen, Brian Scalabrine and Paul Pierce had a heated game of rotating one-on-ones going, and the assembled media sat by and watched for about 20 minutes, waiting to talk to Paul Pierce.

Pierce confessed he gets nervous before every game, so Game 7 would be no different. He said he's got a few bumps and bruises but cut his media pow-wow short to head for the whirlpool.

As for getting any sleep tonight, Pierce doesn't expect sleep any night these days, since he says his newborn daughter keeps waking him up every night.

Morning Update

The Celtics will practice in Waltham at 3 p.m. in preparation for tomorrow's Game 7 at the Garden. We'll have an update this evening after practice concludes.

Friday, May 16 - Celtics at Cavaliers, Game 6

Postgame Recap

First, the bad news. The Celtics again were unable to break through for a road win Friday, stalling for stretches on the offensive end in a 74-69 loss at Cleveland.

Kevin Garnett scored 25 points and Paul Pierce added 16 for Boston, which could not control LeBron James the way it had in previous games. The C's dropped to 0-6 away from home in the postseason and face their second Game 7 in as many rounds on Sunday afternoon.

Now, the good news. The Celtics have been virtually untouchable at TD Banknorth Garden, going 7-0 with an average victory margin of 18.3 points. They will be gunning for their first trip to the Eastern Conference finals in six years.

Game Info | Series Info | Highlights

Rivers Makes House Call in Game 6 | Physical Game 6 Finds C's in Foul Trouble

Live from High Above Courtside

Rondo's Threes Ignite Second-Half Rally

74-69 Cavaliers, FINAL:See you in Boston for Game 7. Tickets are on sale tomorrow at 11 am here on Celtics.com

74-69 Cavaliers, 14.4 seconds/4th:14.4 Joe Smith travels, (whistles, anyone?), then hits two at the line for a five point lead.

72-69 Cavs, 16 seconds Wally fouled in the front court but the Cavs weren't in the bonus. Next foul is but the Cavs had to take a 20-second TO to try to get the ball in a second time.

72-69 Cavaliers, 23 secondsAllen gets fouled by Szczerbiak under the hoop (maybe) and knocks down two.

72-67 Cavs, 54LeBron flops against Pierce...Offensive foul. That could cost the C's the game.

72-67 Cavs, 1:19/4th: Pierce goes to the line and cuts it to five after a Perk dunk.

72-63 Cavs, 2:09/4th: Wally for three...

69-60 Cavaliers, 4:06/4th: Back to back hoops by LeBron have the Cavs back up to nine. Every time the Celtics have made a run, James has had an answer. He's got 32.

65-58 Cavaliers, 6:50/4th: Buckets by Allen and Pierce have the lead back down to seven points. Meanwhile, Anderson Varejao just went back to the locker room. Is the knee acting up again?

65-54 Cavaliers, 8:32/4th: The game is getting very physical under the hoop, and the refs seem to have put the whistles away. The Celtics are starting to adjust here in the fourth because there's a lot of elbow and arms flying in the paint and the calls aren't coming.

Rondo finally got in the book after three quarters scoreless action.

59-50 Cavaliers, End of 3rd: The Cavs ran off six straight points after the C's cut a 16 point lead to three points. KG has 21 and seven; James has 24 and 10 with four assists.

53-50 Cavaliers, 1:55/3rd: Tough call against Perk under the basket. That's five on him. P.J. Brown will get some big minutes in the fourth.

53-48 Cavaliers, 2:55/3rd: LeBron ended the run on a defensive breakdown under the hoop.

51-48 Cavaliers, 3:44/3rd: Hello, 13-0 run. The Truth just buried a three to cap a run and gave a nice fist pump for good measure. The Cavs went 0-for-7 in that stretch.

51-41 Cavaliers, 6:43/3rd: The Celtics offense is slowly coming back to life. Eddie House came into the game and seems to be getting the team into its stuff nicely.

47-33 Cavaliers, 10:44/3rd: LeBron hits a pair of jumpers and just like that it's a 14-point lead. That was quick.

42-33 Cavaliers, HALFTIME: The Cavs offense for much of the second quarter has been mostly just LeBron watching. Big Baby just picked up his fourth foul because James just threw himself into the rookie under the basket. But the Celtics are three of their last 12 and just watched the Cavs retake the lead with a 12-0 run to end the half. Delonte West capped the run with a desperation three at the horn that barely got off in time.

Neither team's offense looks great, but the Celtics are at least moving the ball around somewhat. 10 assists on 14 field goals is great -- for the first quarter. Way too low for a half of basketball, playoffs or not. Either way, too much of the Celtics' offense here in the first half was based on jumpers. Very few attempts in the paint for just 14 points for Boston Then again, Cleveland has just 10 in the paint.

LeBron's got 13 points, nine of which have come from the line. Expect more of the same in the second half.

33-30 Celtics, 3:21/2nd: KG leads all scorers with 13 points on 6/9 shooting, while Pierce and Allen are again having a tough time getting their offense going.

25-19 Celtics, 9:02/2nd: The Cavs' shooting woes continue...LeBron is 1/6 and so is Wally Szczerbiak. Meanwhile the Celtics started the second quarter 3/4 and opened up a six point lead. E-House and Big Baby have combined for nine points off the bench, which is equal to the entire bench's output in Game 5.

18-18, End of 1st: Is that Eddie House's music?? He just checked in and drained a long two from the corner before the end of the quarter. Apparently he stepped on the line. Meanwhile, Pierce just picked up his second foul on a ticky-tack call on the baseline.

11-10 Cavaliers, 2:59/1st: Neither team can hit Lake Erie tonight...But Kid Rock and Reverend Run from Run DMC are sitting courtside. Not exactly Jay-Z and Beyonce, but hey, this is Cleveland. Besides, doesn't Kid Rock like the Pistons? Is he an Advance Scout?

9-7 Cavaliers, 5:57/1st: Delonte West is running the offense and attacking the hoop for Cleveland, while KG is getting busy in the paint and just got to the line. Too early for any trends at this point but both teams are shooting poorly to start the game. The Cavs are 4/12 and beating the C's to the glass early (9 rebounds); the Celtics are 3/8 with just three boards.

4-0 Celtics, 11:00/1st: The Quicken Loans Arena's scoreboard showed it as 10-2 Cavs about a minute into the game. It was actually 4-0. Now that's some home cookin'...

Here's a shot of some of the braver Celtics fans in the building...

Pregame Media Access

Paul Pierce gets some shots up about three hours before tip off in Cleveland Friday night.
Peter Stringer/Celtics.com

The guys seem a bit looser tonight than they did for Game 3 and Game 4, and to that end, Paul Pierce had some fun with Celtics.com tonight. He promised the assembled media some exclusive interview access in his hotel room if your intrepid reporter could rotate his foot clockwise, keep it going, and draw a "6" while doing so.

I regret to report that I let the Boston media down. Apparently, one of Ray Allen's friends e-mailed him the challenge and at least a half a dozen players and team employees have also failed the challenge. NBA TV was there to capture Pierce punking Celtics.com, so keep your eyes out for it.

Actually, on second thought, don't.

We should mention that about an hour and a half before that, Pierce was out getting some extra shots up.

As far as basketball goes, Doc Rivers almost made it through his whole pregame presser without getting the "why can't this team win on the road?" question. Almost. But more interesting was his take on personnel moves like Sam Cassell's playing time. To that end, Rivers said that Cassell was costing the Celtics defensively on pick and rolls, and that he wasn't worried about any offensive struggles.

"The offensive part doesn't bother me. As long as guys aren't hurting us on defense, things will work out," Rivers said.

As for when Cassell might play, Rivers said it would depend on the matchups and who Cleveland plays. The injury to Daniel Gibson may indeed play a role in this scenario. Eddie House, it appears, is still behind Cassell on the depth chart.

"The bottom line is, if Sam plays well, you don't have Eddie questions. That's the way it works and they've been in this business to understand that," Rivers said.

As for getting Ray Allen more involved -- Allen's shooting just 34% from the field and scoring just 10.4 PPG -- Rivers said the Celtics aren't going to change anything to make it happen.

"He's getting good looks. He'll make some and start getting it going and the ball will tend to find him," Rivers said.

Cavs' Gibson Out for Series

Cleveland Cavaliers sharpshooter Daniel Gibson, who hit some big shots in Game 4 in Cleveland, is done for the series after separating his shoulder in a collision under the basket on Wednesday night in Boston.

"It's not good seeing a guy that key to your team in a suit," LeBron James told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "Somebody's going to have to step up. A guy who hasn't played much minutes is probably going to have to step up."

Plain Dealer: Determined Cavaliers stressing the positive for Game 6, even without Gibson

Thursday, May 15 - Travel Day

BEDFORD, MA - 12:45 p.m. The team plane is just about to depart for Cleveland and players and staff are filing on. We'll have an update tomorrow morning after shootaround availability.

Wednesday, May 14 - Cavaliers at Celtics, Game 5

Postgame Links

Recap | Boxscore | Highlights

Locker Room Video

Postgame Wrap Up

The Celtics may have started off slow, but they certainly finished with a flourish.

Led by Kevin Garnett, the C's used a strong second-half performance on both ends of the floor to produce a 96-89 victory over the Cavaliers in Wednesday's Game 5 at the Garden.

Boston leads the series 3-2 and can earn a trip to the Eastern Conference final with a win in Game 6, which is set for 8 p.m. ET Friday in Cleveland. The C's are now 7-0 overall at home in the postseason and the home team has won every game in this series.

Garnett was red-hot in the second half, finishing with 26 points on 12-of-19 shooting to go with 16 rebounds for his seventh double-double of this postseason. Paul Pierce led with 29 points, including four big free throws in the final 1:23 to seal it. Rajon Rondo added 20 points and 13 assists, both career playoff highs.

The C's, once down by 14 in the first half, overcame a three-point halftime deficit with a strong third quarter. KG scored eight of his points in the third as Boston outscored Cleveland 29-17 in the period to take a nine-point lead into the fourth.

- NBA.com Newsdesk

Live from Courtside

96-89 Celtics, FINAL: GINO TIME! Celtics head to Cleveland up 3-2 with another chance to notch their first road win.

95-89 Celtics, :10.1/4th: Pierce knocks down two more to presumably ice this one. Delonte couldn't get it in and draws a five-second violation, so they foul Pierce again...

93-89 Celtics, :12/4th: Tough blocking call on Pierce against Delonte, who knocked down a pair.

93-87 Celtics, :15.6/4th: Ray Allen comes up with a huge lose ball tip to KG at the end of the shotclock, forcing the Cavs to foul Pierce. The Truth is true at the line and the Celtics are up six with just under 16 ticks.

91-87 Celtics, :45/4th: West at the line after a Pavlovic steal from Allen who lost control of the ball.

91-85 Celtics, :55/4th: LeBron at the line after Posey grabs his arm on a leaner. He hits the second of two.

91-84 Celtics, 1:05/4th: Pierce goes to the hoop again, gets fouled and cans both...

89-82 Ce ltics, 1:23/4th: Pierce makes the last of two free throws.

88-79 Celtics, 3:10/4th: Rajon Rondo is playing a solid game...20 and 13. He's really done a great job of probing the paint, and he's knocking down his floaters tonight. And KG, well, he's been superhuman tonight. Still a long way to go here but the C's are on the attack.

84-76 Celtics, 4:24/4th: Two straight turnovers have the Cavs climbing back in it...

82-70 Celtics, 6:17/4th: The pace is slowing down considerably, but it appears the Celtics smell blood. KG has 24 and 12; Pierce has 19, 6 and 3.

80-70 Celtics, 7:30/4th: The momentum is picking up for the Celtics, as Kevin Garnett's "gas is high" and the rest of the team is following suit. The Celtics are scoring inside and the Cavs appear to be backing down.

74-63 Celtics, 10:59/4th: Daniel Gibson appeared to injure his left shoulder and checked out and made a trip to the Cavs locker room. Huge loss for Cleveland if he can't return.

72-63 Celtics, End of 3rd: Rondo's got 16 points and nine assists. The C's were 12/16 from the field in the third and racked up 29 points, while holding Cleveland to just 17 in the quarter. LeBron had just two points in the frame.

69-58 Celtics, 1:23/3rd: A Paul Pierce give-and-go (KG) baseline slam has the Garden deafening...

62-57, 4:27/3rd: Pierce, Allen and Garnett are forcing their will now too. The Celtics have opened up a five point lead and the house is rockin' again. Even the fat guy from Superbad is getting into it. He's also courtside.

49-49, 8:55/3rd: Rondo is forcing his will upon the third quarter, coming up with a pair of steals and then a nice assist to find KG on the baseline...

46-43 Celtics, HALFTIME: Paul Pierce has 14 to lead the Celtics into the half, but the Celtics will need to work on getting into the paint more in the second half. They've got just 12 points in the paint.

43-39 Cavs, 1:33/2nd: Rajon Rondo hit back to back threes -- do not adjust your monitor, that's threes -- for the first time in his career I think to cut a 12 point lead down to 6, and after a steal Paul Pierce was rapped up by Wally Szczerbiak, who usually saves his hugs for teammates. Pierce went to the line to cut it to four points.

By the way, LeBron has 23 points, and Jay-Z just flashed the Diamond Dallas Page Diamond Cutter symbol that he and James stole....

35-27 Cavs, 6:31/2nd: Ray Allen drained a baseline threeball to bring the Celtics within eight points, but the Celtics' struggles from the field continue. They're not getting much inside at all.

29-20 Cavs, 9:13/2nd: LBJ just went to the locker room...

23-18 Cavs, End of 1st: It's a five point game but the Celtics are coming alive here as the quarter closes. After starting 4/17 from the field, they're 4 of their last 6. Cleveland's shooting 50% from the field.

16-9 Cavs, 3:16/1st: LeBron's "struggles" are apparently over. James is 5/7 with 11 points. The Celtics are just 4/17 from the field.

12-9 Cavs, 5:55/1st: It's pretty sloppy out there in the early goings (five turnovers between the two teams already). Jay-Z, who's sitting courtisde next to the Cavs bench, seems to be enjoying it, mimicing his boy LeBron after he hit a fadeaway baseline jumper.

Ray Allen picked up his second foul on a ghost call...

Meanwhile, Rob Lowe is seated behind Danny Ainge in the courtside baseline seats, presumably telling Danny that his shoes are Italian, and they're worth more than KG's contract.

Ainge Named NBA Executive of the Year

In 2006-07, the Celtics were 24-58 and the Boston basketball scene was on life support after an agonizing NBA Draft Lottery left the team out of reach of prospects Greg Oden and Kevin Garnett.

Something had to change, and as Executive Director, Basketball Operations and General Manager, Danny Ainge shouldered the responsibility.

The Celtics started by Thinking Big, acquiring All-Star Ray Allen from Seattle during the NBA Draft and former NBA MVP Kevin Garnett from Minnesota later in the summer.

"He was working tirelessly all summer long to bring me and Kevin over," Allen said.

By training camp, nine of the 15 players on the Celtics 06-07 roster were gone.

A year later, after what Senior Vice President of the Orlando Magic Pat Williams called, "the most dramatic NBA turnaround ever," the team finished the regular season 66-16, the top seed in the Eastern Conference and as the best defensive team in the league.

The NBA and the Sporting News thought that resume fit the bill in naming Ainge the 2007-08 NBA Executive of the Year award winner today.

"I'm really happy for him. The last two years, he and I took a lot of heat," Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said. "He's been great for me as a coach."

But the former Celtic, though honored by the award, had his concerns elsewhere.

"Quite honestly, I'm more excited about Game 5 and the birth of my sixth grandchild," Ainge said, his granddaughter, Siena, having been born about an hour before. "I don't want to diminish the award but there's a lot going on right now."

The second Celtic behind Red Auerbach to win the award, Ainge went on to say that the turnaround started with an ownership that enabled such roster turnover. But he again shifted the focus back to the high stakes home game the team he manufactured was about to play with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"Our objectives are postseason awards and postseason success," Ainge said.

- Couper Moorhead

Game 5 Preview

Couper Moorhead checks in with today's Game 5 Preview.

Monday, May 12 - Celtics at Cavaliers, Game 4

Postgame Links

Despite Road Woes, C's Still in Driver's Seat | Brown Lone Bright Spot in Game 4

Postgame Wrap Up

The Celtics may be undefeated at home in the 2008 playoffs, but they still can't figure out how to win on the road.

Rajon Rondo fired off nine of his 15 points in the third quarter to keep Boston close, but its offense sputtered down the stretch in Game 4 as it fell in Cleveland, 88-77, on Monday, evening the best-of-seven series at 2-2.

Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett added 15 points apiece, but neither player scored in the final frame.

The Celtics return home for Game 5 on Wednesday, where they'll attempt to regain their series lead over the Cavaliers at 8 p.m. ET.

- NBA.com Newsdesk

Live from High Above Courtside...

88-77 Cavs, FINAL: Big win for Cleveland to tie up the series. I guess we'll be back here on Friday...

84-75 Cavs, 1:45/4th: James dunks over Garnett for a nine-point lead and the foul. That might do it.

79-73 Cavs, 3:13/4th: LeBron knocked down a three to put the Cavs up six. Talk about a big shot.

76-73 Cavs, 4:09/4th: Looks like Doc's opting to keep P.J. on the floor for his experience to play alongside KG, Pierce, Allen and Rondo. It's a tight game and both defenses are really stifling the other team. This one's coming down to who can execute on the offensive end. The Cavs are just 3/13 in the 4th quarter...

76-71 Cavs, 7:26/4th: James just handed off his 11th assist when he drew the defense and dumped it off to Joe Smith on a duck-in under the hoop. The Cavs have 21 dimes as a team.

71-69 Cavs, 8:59/4th: Paul Pierce is just 3/10 from the field for seven points. Look for him to attack the hoop here in the fourth quarter.

68-65 Cavs, End of 3rd: P.J. Brown is getting extended minutes and doing the little things to keep the Celtics in the game. Boxing out, etc. His minutes have increased each game this series...

64-63 Cavs, 2:26/3rd: Allen and Rondo have 18 of the Celtics' 20 points in the third quarter. Rondo has been knocking down outside shots and Allen's bagged a pair of threeballs.

56-55 Cavs, 5:52/3rd: "Wally" chant is underway, and he's knocked down two long-range twos because he stepped on the three-point line (how familiar!). I don't get it, he costs them two points and people chant his name?

45-43 Cavs, Halftime: It's a close game and the C's have to be much happier with what they're getting tonight. LeBron is taking alot of outside jumpers, and the Celtics seem to be making a concerted effort to take it to the hole. Those are good trends for the Green if they continue in the second half.

41-33 Cavs, 3:53/2nd: Paul Pierce wrapped up LeBron on a breakaway, around the arms and the ball, and the two careened into the crowd. James knew it was a hard playoff foul and had no complaints. The Q didn't like it though.

37-31 Cavs, 5:50/2nd; During the last timeout, the Cavs mascot Moondog just kicked a Celtics fan in the groin over a bottle of Diet Coke in a Jumbotron pre-taped skit. I can't see Lucky doing that to anyone...

31-27 Cavs, 8:51/2nd: Cleveland's 3/4 to start the quarter. The good news for the Celtics is that they're getting to the line early, and are 9/11 from the stripe..

23-21 Cavs, End of 1st: Rajon Rondo said he needed to be more aggressive after the Game 3 blowout, and he's certainly living up to that promise. He's taken seven shots, has six points, two rebounds and an assist. He's also knocked down a pair of baseline jumpers, something he worked on for quite a while after yesterday's practice...

The Cavs shot 47% for the quarter so the Boston defense needs to buckle down a bit more.

17-16 Celtics, 2:58/1st: James is just 1/5 from the field, and the Celtics have an 11-6 rebounding edge. But the Cavs are getting out on the break, which should be of concern to the Celtics...

13-13, 5:19/1st: LeBron is way too strong. James went to the hoop on a breakaway, and Ray Allen tried to tie him up in midair but basically bounced off him. What are you supposed to do to stop that???

13-9 Celtics, 6:36/1st: Kevin Garnett's back must be sore. He's got nine points.

Pregame Media Access

The storyline just won't go away. When it comes to simplistic analysis, it doesn't get any weaker than "the Celtics can't win on the road." So we tried to get a little more insight into what's really going on with the team, and find out if this whole playing on the road thing is actually creeping into the team's collective psyche.

Are guys on the team talking about the whole home vs. road phenomenon?

"No, that's just what [the media] talks about because that's the only storyline, really," Ray Allen said. "We're still [up] 2-1."

Center Kendrick Perkins seemed to be on the same page with Allen.

"We ain't talking about it. We're just trying to go out here and get a win," center Kendrick Perkins said before the game, reiterating several times that the team needed better focus.

So, can he tell in the locker room in the minutes before tip off whether or not the team is truly dialed in?

"Even if [guys] are smiling, that doesn't mean that they're not focused. It's really hard to tell," Perkins said.

Allen agreed with Perk's assessment.

"On past teams I could tell because younger players are very inconsistent in being ready and prepared, and watching their mannerisms before the game," Allen said. "Here, everybody's pretty stoic before the game."

Stoic is a good word for it. Paul Pierce was flipping through a People Magazine while Rajon Rondo went over video of the first qaurter with Assistant Coach Armond Hill, looking mostly at defensive responsibilities. Rondo said that he'd already watched that first quarter four times since yesterday.

You can listen to the interviews with Ray Allen, Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe and Doc Rivers' pregame presser in the Audio Archive.

Stern on Road Struggles; Pregame Pyro

Everybody's talking about the Celtics' struggles on the road, even NBA Commissioner David Stern.

In the media room, Stern mused upon the Green Team's Game 3 loss to Cleveland. "It's just interesting....I guess one thing you say is that's why teams play all year for that home court advantage because obviously this year it seems to mean a lot. I really think that our fans...maybe all sports fans, but NBA fans really feel that it's become their sacred obligation to help lift the play of their team."

Stern quickly noted, however, that teams may be going too far in pumping up their fans.

"I'm going to get in trouble for this, but I think they're ridiculous. I think that the noise, the fire, the smoke is a kind of assault that we should seriously consider reviewing... It may be that these are the maniacal ramblings of a fan from a different era, and I recognize that. I'm sitting there waiting for the next cannon to go off, and then the fire heats up the arena, so the temperature in the arena raises by 50 degrees...."

On that note, here's a picture from tonight's player introductions at the Quicken Loans arena.

- Scott Tribble

Early Pregame Report

It's just under three hours before tip-off and it's pretty quiet down on the court. LeBron James is getting loose on the court with a few jumpers, while Rajon Rondo is working on his baseline J's as well on the other end.

The team will depart Cleveland immediately following postgame media, hopefully with a win in hand and eyes upon closing it out Wednesday night at the Garden.

KG Earns NBA All-Defensive Team Nod

He was already named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, so it was pretty much a formality, but today Kevin Garnett was named to the league's All-Defensive First Team, joined by Kobe Bryant, Marcus Camby, Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen.

Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce also received votes from the panel of all 30 NBA head coaches. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.

Sunday, May 11 - Practice

"Like a Gorilla on Our Back"

Paul Pierce talks to the Boston media after Sunday's practice at the Quicken Loans Arena.
Peter Stringer/Celtics.com

CLEVELAND, OH - I think they're sick of hearing about it.

The Celtics met at the Quicken Loans Arena at for about one hour of film and practice today. The team watched tape of just the first quarter, and the message was clear. The team must come out of the gate with more intensity than they did on Saturday night if they're going to get their elusive first road win of the postseason.

So why watch just the first quarter, in which the Celtics were outscored 32-13?

"That was all we needed to see," Coach Doc Rivers said.

After watching the tape, Paul Pierce said that he didn't recognize the team as the same team the Celtics have been all year, and he told reporters that they wouldn't see that type of effort again in Game 4.

"We can't just ease into these games and expect these guys to lay down, especially on their home court," Pierce said. "We all need this win on the road, man. It's like a gorilla on our back trying to get a road win."

Celtics.com Correspondent Scott Tribble has more from today's practice at the Q.

Saturday, May 10 - Celtics at Cavaliers, Game 3

Postgame Links

Rondo Cops To Lacking Aggression | Blown Out at Q, Celtics Never Mounted Big Rally

Game 5 Tickets on Sale Monday

Live from Just Above the Loge

108-84 Cavs, 2:16/4th: Ouch. That hurts. Streamers just hit the floor. Wally's doing a postgame interview. "We saw some things on film. The crowd is great and it's good to be back in CLeveland. We just made shots tonight. The game is a lot easier when the ball is going in the basket," said Szczerbiak. "We can't relax. We know they're going to make adjustments and try to steal one on Monday.

Speaking of Monday, Game 5 will go on sale on Monday morning...

90-74 Cavs, 5:43/4th: Pierce and Allen have struggled again, they've combined for just 6/16 from the field and 22 points. But Delonte West has had an outstanding game, it looks like Del's old teammates forgot he's left handed because he seems to be burning them by starting on the right side and then going left at the basket.

KG has 13 and nine.

84-65 Cavs, 9:54/4th: A long Joe Smith jumper has the Cavs up 19 and the Celtics are running out of time and bullets. The Celtics' largest loss of the season was the March 14 110-92 defeat at the hands of the Utah Jazz, which was really the only blowout loss of the regular season.

79-63 Cavs, End of 3rd: A 16-point lead is a tall order on the road. Do the C's have it in them? We're about to find out.

In the meantime, this is how they treat Celtics fans in Cleveland. Poor Manny!

To evoke boos when our guys are at the line, the Cavs put pictures of Art Modell, Tom Brady or a Michigan logo on the jumbotron. Ohio State is pretty much religion in these parts...That said, the booing isn't that dramatic. I think midwesterners are just too nice by nature to really boo that hard.

78-60 Cavs, 1:13/3rd: James knocks down a three and the lead is back up to 18.

71-59 Cavs, 3:17/3rd: Pierce free throws cut it 12, the closest it's been since early in the first quarter.

64-48 Cavs, 6:48/3rd: A Paul Pierce threeball triggers a timeout. Meanwhile, Szczerbiak and West have combined for 27 points.

52-35 Cavs, HALFTIME: 65% shooting for the Cavs can't continue for the night, can it? The C's are shooting 40.5% from the field, and that shouldn't continue either. All things being even, the C's are in good shape seeing that the lead is only 17. Those stats could easily add up to a 30-point margin.

Paging Rajon Rondo: He's 0/3 with two fouls. He was getting wherever he wanted to go at the beginning of Game 2 but he's been non-existent thus far tonight.

48-33 Cavs, 2:38/2nd: The C's are slowly chipping away at the lead, and have settled down after surviving (barely) Cleveland's initial first quarter attack. Wally is killing the C's with open looks, and while LeBron continues to struggle (just 2/6 from the field, and one of those was a slam) he does have five dimes.

Varejao has a right knee contusion and is questionable to return. Meanwhile, Scalabrine just took one for the team. The Cavs put Big Baby and Leon on the Kiss Cam and he walked in front of the camera and blocked it with his backside. Ubuntu, baby!

45-29 Cavs, 5:25/2nd: Anderson Varejao just hobbled off to the locker room. Meanwhile, the C's have it down to a 16 point lead; the Cavs had it up to 24 points right after Posey's foul on LeBron.

39-17 Cavs, 9:11/2nd: James Posey just made friends with about 20,000 people by reaching out and grabbing LeBron around the shoulders and neck as he went to the hole. Anderson Varejao pretended to get in POsey's face, but didn't really want any confrontation. Double technicals. LeBron will live despite laying on the floor for a bit. Either way, it was a playoffs foul (assessed a Flagrant One) and more than anything, a frustration foul.

The crowd at the Q really didn't get on Posey that badly. Had it happened in Boston, the reaction would have been a lot more vitriolic.

32-13 Cavs, End of 1st: The C's are settling for jumpers and it shows. They're just 4/11 from outside, and have just four points in the paint.

KG has six points and five rebounds, but when you score just 13 points in the quarter and shoot 31% from the field, there's no much to be said.

18-8 Cavs, 3:42/1st: Doc just got T'd up after complaining about an offensive foul against Garnett for shucking Delonte.

14-4 Cavs, 5:51/1st: The Cavs jumped out to a 10 point lead by getting all five starters in the book in the first six minutes. Old friends Delonte and Wally drilled threes and the Q is rocking. They do a great job of getting the crowd fired up here, with loud pyro and an obnoxious PA guy.

LeBron seems to be deferring to his teammates in the early going...

Pregame Media Availability

The cramped visitors locker room was pretty quiet before the game, with a few guys watching Detroit-Orlando, while others watched tape of Game 2 while enjoying PB&J sandwiches. Paul Pierce was asking the ballboys to track down some bananas; that's his pregame meal.

Asked if he expects the struggling LeBron James to throw the kitchen sink at the Celtics, Doc Rivers said he expects that from him every night, and reiterated that James affects the game in more areas than just scoring.

You can hear the full pregame interview in the Audio Archive.

Rising Up at the Q

When it said Rise Up on the outside of the Quicken Loans Arena, I figured they were imploring their fans to get up out of their seats to cheer. But I should have realized that they also meant the media seating would "rise up" to the first balcony. But we've got no complaints, being embedded in the crowd should provide a nice perspective on how the Cleveland faithful perceive the game, and hear plenty of barbs from the rowdies as well.

Locker rooms open in five minutes. We'll have more after pregame media access.

Friday, May 9 - Flight To Cleveland

Touchdown in Cleveland

CLEVELAND, OH - The Celtics have arrived in Cleveland, passing by the Quicken Loans Arena on the way to the team hotel. The team will have shootaround tomorrow morning back at the arena, and Game 3 tips off at 8 p.m. We'll have an update tomorrow afternoon after the shootaround, and then again just before tip-off.

James Posey, who played his college ball at Xavier, was proudly wearing his Indians hat on the plane. The Tribe is hosting the Toronto Blue Jays tonight at Jacobs Field.

Morning Update

The Celtics will not host media availability today; they'll meet briefly in Waltham and then fly at 3 p.m. to Cleveland for Game 3 on Saturday night at Quicken Loans Arena.

Thursday, May 8 - Cavaliers at Celtics, Game 2

Postgame Links

Postgame Wrap Up

Paul Pierce led with 19 points and Ray Allen scored all of his 16 in the second half as the Celtics rolled to a 89-73 win over the Cavaliers in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series on Thursday at the Garden.

Allen, after a disappointing Game 1, came alive in the third quarter with 11 points to help the C's stretch their lead to 60-51. Boston's defense held Cleveland to 35 percent shooting in the game.

The C's trailed early Thursday before a strong second quarter swung the momentum. Kevin Garnett, who finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds, helped Boston take an eight-point halftime lead as the C's outscored the Cavs 27-12 in the second.

Leon Powe added 11 points and seven rebounds in the win.

Boston leads 2-0 as the best-of-seven series shifts to Cleveland for Saturday night's Game 3 on ABC. Tip-Off is 8 p.m. ET.

- NBA.com Newsdesk

Live from Courtside

89-73 Celtics, FINAL: A solid win and the Cavs have to be frustrated. James has not looked like the superstar we know him to be, so you can expect him to come out with a vengeance on Saturday night.

86-65 Celtics, 3:29/4th: KG, Paul and Posey just checked out. This one is over...Garnett finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds, Pierce had 19 and Allen had 16, all in the second half. Leon Powe also had a quiet 11 and 7.

10 more wins to go...And Gino should be on his way...

80-56 Celtics, 8:57/4th: A 22-point lead should be relatively safe, since the Cavs aren't showing much tonight beyond LeBron and Z. Meanwhile, it's good to see Ray Allen back in the box score. He's got 16 and counting after going scoreless for the first six quarters of the series.

68-49 Celtics, 1:47/3rd: The Celtics continue to put the clamps on LeBron, who's just 4/17 from the field and 6/35 for the series. A smattering of "Over-rated" chants broke out in the loge behind me after James just bricked a free throw. But his biggest problem seems to be that he's trying to hard to get fouls as he goes to the hoop rather than just attacking the basket, going through defenders and letting the fouls come when they may.

50-36 Celtics, 10:51/3rd: The Celtics just threw together a 6-0 run before Jason Bateman even made it back to his seat for the start of the third quarter. Ray Allen got two of the buckets, while KG knocked down a 20-footer form the top of the key. The Celtics lead in points in the paint, 20-6.

44-36 Celtics, Halftime: The Cavs are 2/17 for the quarter, scored just 10 points and got outscored 27-10 in the frame. James has 11 points on 3/13 shooting but has four rebounds and four assists, and still is keeping his team in the game.

37-30 Celtics, 2:46/2nd: KG just slammed home a breakaway dunk and got fouled by Delonte for good measure, popping the crowd hard. Garnett was barking at nobody in particular after the throwdown. It's safe to say he's officially fired up.

The physicality is picking up out there quite a bit. Varejao and Garnett almost got into it, and the level of body contact is up dramatically from Game 1. LeBron is 2 for his first 12 attempts.

26-27 Cavaliers, 6:24/2nd: Ray Allen and the bench are making a run. Leon Powe and P.J. Brown scored consecutive baskets to pull the Celtics to within two.

18-24 Cavaliers, 11:31/2nd: Paul Pierce got slapped across the forearm and hand going to the basket, got no call, and it looked like his fingernail got bent back in the process.

17-24 Cavaliers, End of 1st: Hello, Hello...we're at a place called Vertigo....Ben Wallace apparently left with what the Cavs are calling "Dizziness". His return is doubtful.

9-17 Cavaliers, 3:52/1st: Looks like the Cavs figured out a way to free up Z. He scored the Cavs' first eight points and Perkins was late to rotate on basically all of them. Ben Wallace took a seat after taking a shot to the nose.

Sitting in the courtside seats about 10 feet from me? Michael Bluth, aka Jason Bateman, star of Arrested Development. No sign of Mallory Keaton.

Tipoff: Paul Pierce was very upbeat before tonight's game, and talked about how honored he was to be named Third Team All-NBA. He found out just as the media entered the locker room. KG does not talk to the press before the game, but we expect to have reaction from him in postgame. We'll have Paul's pregame video in the postgame video update.

Wednesday, May 7 - Practice

WALTHAM - It was a little less hectic here in Waltham after the Celtics' Game 1 win over the Cavaliers. We also swung by the Cavs' media availability at the Garden, and you can check out videos from them as well in CelticVision HD today.

Check CelticVision HD for video from both practices, featuring interviews with Doc,Paul and Ray, as well as LeBron James and Wally Szczerbiak.

Hawks' Williams Suspended for Clothesline

The league announced today that Hawks forward Marvin Williams will be suspended for one game for his clothesline flagrant 2 foul against Rajon Rondo of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

Tuesday, May 6 - Cavaliers at Celtics, Game 1

Postgame Recap

Boston began its round two series with Cleveland by following its round one blueprint; winning big games at home.

Kevin Garnett spun around the defending Joe Smith and drilled the go-ahead shot with 21.4 seconds left to lift the Celtics to a Game 1 victory over the Cavaliers, 76-72, at home Tuesday.

James Posey hit two free throws with 8.5 ticks remaining to seal the deal.

K.G. fired off 16 of his game-high 28 points in the first half as Boston built an early 12-point advantage. But the Celtics allowed the Cavs to go on a 14-0 run in the third to erase the lead.

Sam Cassell pulled Boston out of its rut, scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter to set up Garnett's big bucket.

The Celtics' defense was tenacious throughout, holding the Cavs to 31 percent shooting from the floor.

Boston looks to extend its series advantage in Game 2 at home Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

- NBA.com Newsdesk

Live from Courtside