Boston, June 5: Paul Pierce had a memorable third quarter and a storybook game, but the Boston Celtics won Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals because of how the rest of the team responded during the stretch he was off the floor. Stories will be written about his Willis Reed-like moment, but remember this: When Pierce left the court the Celtics were down four, when he returned Boston was up one (which extended to two after Ray Allen hit the back end of his free throws).

As Pierce was carried off the court, hearts of Celtics fans across the country might have fallen, but the team was having none of it.

"When Paul went down, we just said, this is that moment of adversity where we have to suck it up and we have to figure it out," said Allen, who was key to that stretch. " We just wanted to make sure that we continued to attack. It wasn't going to change in our mind because Paul wasn't there. James (Posey) came in and we just still wanted to make sure that we attacked and we got good shots."

With Pierce in the locker room, the Celtics calmly settled down and started a run. After Rajon Rondo hit one of two free throws, Allen took over. The veteran guard rebounded a Kobe Bryant miss and on the other end of the floor drilled a trey that knotted the game at 62. A couple possessions later, Allen was fouled and went to the line, putting the Celtics ahead before Pierce even stepped back on the floor.

"When Paul went down that’s obviously a big loss for us, but we used that as motivation, we said hey, we still gotta get this done," said P.J. Brown, who had one of his many key rebounds in that stretch. "There’s no relaxing and feeling sorry for ourselves because the Lakers are still trying to win this game. We all had to pick it up, we all had to do more."

So with all the hoopla that will follow Pierce's performance, it was actually the time he was off the court due to his knee injury that was more crucial to the Game 1 victory than the boxscore will reveal.

"I thought that was the biggest part of the game," said head coach Doc Rivers. "We could have easily felt sorry for ourselves. We actually made a little run there. Obviously him coming back lifted us up. But I thought the stretch where he was out, we didn't show any panic, was really good for our team. I was really proud of our guys that one little stretch."

Board to Death
The Celtics got after it on the boards in Game 1 to the tune of a 46-33 advantage. Kevin Garnett led the team with 13 and Brown had six, all of which seemed to come at opportune times as Brown was out-hustling and playing more physical than anyone on the court.

"I just tried to crash, that's one of the biggest strengths of our team, rebounding," Brown said. "That's what this team is built on and we've been successful with that throughout the playoffs. We know with (the Lakers), they like to run out and get down the court, we need to hit the glass and try to control it as much as possible. I thought everyone did a good job of that tonight."

Mr. Intangibles
Garnett put up a strong line of 24 points and 13 rebounds, but his hustle play and presence meant more to Boston than those numbers indicate. To illustrate the point, at one stretch early in the fourth quarter, KG made an impressive save of an errant pass that looked ticketed for a backcourt violation. Garnett leaped at half court, got to the ball and somehow found Brown to preserve the possession. One pass later Sam Cassell hit a jumper to extend Boston's advantage to 83-78.

The next time back down the court, Garnett took a pass in the post, when the double team came, he showed off his court vision, kicking the ball out to a wide-open James Posey who stepped up and drained the trey. Garnett might be an in-your-face star, but it was the little things he did that helped the Celts take Game 1.

Bringing Down the House
Pierce's emotional comeback may have gotten the biggest ovation, but on the court Garnett provided a lift for the Garden with two book-end dunks that had even the top row shaking. With 7:05 left in the first quarter, KG drove, took a hop-step toward the hoop and brought down a thunderous one-handed hammer jam. The Garden crowd exploded into cheers that kept the faithful on their feet showing their appreciation for the Lakers' entire next possession.

Garnett capped off the night with and equally nasty dunk, this one off a missed Posey three with 1:32 remaining in the game. Posey's shot hit the back of the rim and floated in the air perfectly for Garnett to throw down a putback that resonated all the way to the rafters (Watch ). The jam capped a nice night for the Celtics, extending the lead to eight and effectively putting Game 1 to bed.

Quick Hits: Fans in attendance wore t-shirts that read "Gotta Beat L.A."......After the teams were introduced, the Garden filled with the familiar chant of "Beat L.A.".....The Lakers might have felt a little cursed as their bus driver from the airport to their hotel on Wednesday wore a Celtics hat until ordered to take it off.....A huge Larry O'Brien trophy currently stands inflated right outside the gates of the Garden.....One of the earliest cheers of the night was when the video screen showed the highlight of Kevin McHale laying out Kurt Rambis before the game.