Celtics-Cavs Game Three: So Much For That Bandwagon

After five minutes of this game tonight, it was 10-8 Cavs, with the home team rebounding from an early 6-0 hole. Then LeBron James scored eight straight points, and, well, the game was never close again. The lead was 19 at the end of the first quarter, 22 at the half, and 26 at the end of the third. Your final was 124-95, and when it was over, Boston Fan wasn't even around to boo. It's the worst home loss in Celtic playoff history. Nice.

What changed? Well, everything. LeBron's 35-8-7 through three (38-8-7 at the close) will get the headlines, and his constant jumping jack blocked shots tell you all you need to know about how into this game he was. Antwan Jamison's 17-11-2 was nearly as valuable, because it meant that those James passes were getting converted. Shaquille O'Neal gave them an old school useful 12-9-2 when the game was in question, and made Kendrick Perkins a non-factor. Mo Williams didn't go a ton, but neither did Rajon Rondo, whose 16-2-7 is about as close to contained as he gets in the playoffs. And Paul Pierce and Ray Allen combined to go 6 for 24, and when that happens, the Celtics look as bad as a playoff team can look. It's not a stretch to say that nearly half of this game was garbage time.

So what to make of this series now? Cleveland clearly has the momentum, and when they play their best game, they aren't losing. But all that we've learned so far in this series is that these teams know how to conserve their energy when trailing. Game Four can't be as easy as this was, and if the Cavs sleep on it, or James has an elbow twinge, it could be a best of three again.

Because that's the thing about the Celtics. Until you actually stick the stake in their hearts, you can't be sure they aren't going away. And that's also the thing about the Cavs, in that they are a team that's never won a championship, but still feels like they can take games off. Game Four is Sunday.