Memo to Mo Williams: When you got extremely lucky, use a little bit of Flubber and dunk on Paul Pierce you have got to know — there WILL be retribution.

For a second I thought it was Lebron trying to block this dunk. When I realized that Lebron would have probably blocked it THROUGH the backboard, I finally came to the understanding that it was only Mo Williams who Ray Allen dunked on. Nonetheless, a nice dunk.

LeBron James’ recorded a triple-double–27 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists– but it was his 8-21 FG’s and 9 turnovers that sent the Boston Celtics on to the Eastern Conference Finals, with a 94-85 victory.

Once again, Kevin Garnett- 22 points, 12 rebounds– and Rajon Rondo– 21 points, 12 assists, 5 steals– led the Celtics attack. Defensively, Cleveland just couldn’t match up with Garnett or the Rondo-Garnett pick-and-roll offense. When Shaq guarded Garnett, KG popped out for the mid-range jumpshot, while Rondo attacked the hoop; when Jamison guarded Garnett, he posted up  Jamison and shot over him all night.

Paul Pierce (4-13 FG’s) and Ray Allen (2-8 FG’s) struggled with their shot, but Paul Pierce hit a big fourth quarter threes and the great play off the bench of Tony Allen and Rasheed Wallace made up for their poor shooting. Tony Allen scored 10 first half points while Pierce and Rondo sat with 3 fouls apiece, punctuated by a tomahawk, cock-back dunk over Antawn Jamison. Rasheed Wallace picked up three first half fouls, but scored 13 second half points, including two important three-pointers that kept the Celtics lead at a comfortable margin.

Mo Williams kept Cleveland alive with a spectacular first half, in which he scored 20 points, but he came back to earth, scoring only two points in the second half. Unlike Game 5, LeBron’s effort tonight was unquestioned, but Boston suffocated him defensively and his teammates–or his outside jump shot– could not provide enough assistance.

LeBron now becomes a free-agent, and Boston fans were all too happy to remind him. With LeBron on the free-throw line, and the game winding down, and perhaps LeBron’s tenure as a Cavalier winding down as well, chants of, “New York Knicks! New York Knicks!” filled the Garden. The creative chant, referring to LeBron’s most likely destination as a free-agent, was led by ESPN.com writer Bil Simmons, who created a special twitter account just for the occasion.

Boston moves on to the Eastern Conference Finals to face the Orlando Magic, who defeated the KG-less Celtics in 7 games in last year’s playoffs. This year’s rematch begins Sunday afternoon on ABC at 3:30 ET.

Mo is one of the keys to Game Three... just like he is to every game this series.

Game Three is hugely important. How important, exactly?  The winner of Game Three in a tied series wins the series 76% of the time.  That important.

The Celtics can either seize control and continue the momentum they earned in Game Two, or lose it and see Lebron and the Cavs regain homecourt advantage and show that perhaps Game Two was a fluke.  The Celtics can keep their nice run of good play going, or they can cough up their lead and give the Cavs all the confidence in the world.  It all comes down to Game Three.

I don’t have much time, so I can’t give a full preview.

Here are a few keys, though:

• Keep Ray Allen going – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  When Ray gets hot tie games turn into solid leads and solid leads turn into blowouts. Not a bad weapon to have in your corner.
• Lebron might go off – Lebron James is the world’s greatest basketball player.  He also just listened to three days of everyone on earth talk about his elbow as if he’s damaged goods.  After being completely limited in Game Two, I expect a big, big game out of James in Game Three.  The Celtics, as they usually do, better throw a lot of attention his way.
• Limit Mo Williams – As Mo Williams goes, so goes the Cavs?  It certainly seems that way so far.  When he went off briefly in Game One, the Cavs surged into the lead and went on to win.  Other than his brief spell of greatness in the opener, Williams might as well have spent Games One and Two in a hotel room… and the Cavs have been dominated.  Defending Mo isn’t all that tough — just don’t let him shoot — but when he gets hot he tends to get roasting.
• Hope Mike Brown doesn’t make the right adjustments – If Brown went to a lineup with Lebron at the four spot, how do you think the Celtics would respond?  Yeah, that’s what I thought.  They’d be crippled.  KG wouldn’t be able to defend anyone on the court.  Plus, that small lineup wouldn’t hurt Cleveland all that much defensively.  If I’m Brown, I’m going small early and often and forcing Boston to match up.

*****

Required Reading:

• NBA.com’s Steve Aschburner speaks on Kevin Garnett. Garnett doesn’t like partying on the road… and loves his mother dearly. (“‘I just slipped the kid some money,’ the coach told me [of Garnett]. ‘He sent his per-diem [meal money] back to his mother. I don’t think he’s going to make it.’ Later that night, most of the players went to a sports bar/gentlemen’s club to watch the last Riddick Bowe-Evander Holyfield fight. Garnett wasn’t among them. He wasn’t old enough to get in, yeah, but it also was a pattern to be repeated for the next 15 years: The road as business trip.”)
• Peter May talks to Bob Cousy about Rajon Rondo. Cousy LOVES Rondo. (“‘I’ve been watching the Celtics for the last 50 years,” said Cousy, who retired in 1963 but made a brief, forgettable comeback as a player-coach with Omaha-Kansas City in 1969. ‘And Rondo is the first point guard since moi that I’ve been really excited about. Bird excited you, but he wasn’t a point guard. JoJo [White] wasn’t a point guard. He’s the first since moi to get my attention.’ [...] ‘What more can this kid do? He sees the floor extremely well,” Cousy said. ‘He’s even starting to put what my old coach, Doggie Julian, would call a little French pastry on a play, going behind the back. The kid is only 24. People talk about the Big Three. But this is the Big One. The sky is the limit as far as I can see.’”)

The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.

Can the Celtics continue to hold off Lebron? Can I continue to come up with corny captions? Who knows, on both accounts.

John Schuhmann, NBA.com – “Last season, the Cavs swept their first eight playoff games, winning them by an average of 16.8 points per game. They manhandled a Pistons team that didn’t care to be there and then slapped the Hawks, who were banged up and just happy to be in the second round for the first time in 10 years. That’s not the case this postseason. The Bulls backed into the playoffs, but had postseason experience, an All-Star point guard and a lot more heart than the Pistons did last season. And as the Cavs are finding out, the Celtics are on another level than the Hawks when it comes to experience, defensive intensity and desire. ‘They believe,’ Cavs forward Antawn Jamison said of Boston after its Game 2 win. Yes, despite what has been written about them over the last few months, the Celtics believe they’re a championship team. So far in this series, they’ve looked a lot more like it than the Cavs have.”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘Just do your jobs,’ Rivers said. ‘That’s all we talked about (Monday) was just doing our jobs. I told them. I said, ‘Don’t try to do more. If you do your job, you’re good.” The Celtics were, in fact, very good in Game 2 of this Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Cleveland Cavaliers. By keeping their foot (wrapped in support hose and corrective footwear) on the pedal in the third quarter, the C’s avoided a rerun of the Game 1 swoon and ran off with a 104-86 victory Monday. As they return to practice today, the Celts are feeling buoyed by the 1-1 series count while the Cavaliers are staggered by the same scene. It’s 1968, and the Celts are Harvard after the 29-29 ‘win’ against Yale. And had they not lost their aggression and focus (see above) in the opener, they quite easily could be coming home with a 2-0 advantage and a chance to close this series out. ‘Yeah, but we take it one game at a time,’ Kevin Garnett said. ‘If, could’ve, would’ve, should’ve – it’s what it is. We’re 1-1. Now we’re going back home . . . to the jungle.’”

Rich Levine, CSNNE – “I remember sitting in the Celtics pressroom, watching a dejected Rivers, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce futilely try to make sense of pathetic losses to the Nets, Grizzlies, Wizards and Bucks, and thinking that they didn’t have a donuts chance in Big Baby’s kitchen of making it out of the first round. And now I just know that things have changed. And maybe that’s my answer to how we all got here. That sometimes in sports, things just change. And when it comes down to when they will or how they will, we just don’t know. And, really, that is, and always will be, the single greatest part of being a sports fan. You just never know.”

Ron Borges, Boston Herald – “‘There were times I actually wanted him to attack a little more,’ Rivers said. ‘There were times, especially when we lost our way a little bit in the fourth quarter (allowing Cleveland a 15-0 run that proved meaningless only because the C’s held a 25-point lead at the time it began). But he just had a great floor game. I call him (Jason) Varitek. I thought he called great balls and strikes, if you want to put it that way.’ Rondo was in command of the floor all night, but it was when he struck with the ball in his hand that he was most effective, driving the middle with a darting quickness that broke down the Cavs defense. It is what he did in the first half of Game 1 but didn’t do in the second. That’s when a great opportunity to knock the Cavs back on their heels was lost, but Monday night he showed for all of the 45 minutes he was on the floor what has to be done to beat the Eastern Conference’s top seed. The Little One has to become the Little Big Man. If he can, LeBron James will have another MVP trophy to add to his mantle, but nothing more than that. ‘We get the ball to him as much as possible when we get stops because he can create havoc,’ Paul Pierce said of Rondo. ‘He is one of the fastest point guards in the league when he gets into the lane and finds guys. He can also finish, and that’s what we need.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “If Game 2 proved anything, it’s that Cleveland won’t be able to win with one player alone, and it will take more than three — or even five — for the Celtics to win. ‘That’s pretty much the game plan for how we’re going to have to beat this team,’’ Kevin Garnett said. “We’re going to have to do it together and collectively.’ ‘That’s how our team is right now,’ said Celtics president Danny Ainge. ‘Not any one person has to carry the load, and we don’t rely on one person to have a great performance. Every night it can be a different person, and that’s the strength of our team.’ It’s no secret that as the starters go, the Celtics go, but there’s a limit on how much of the load they can be expected to carry.”

Dan Duggan, Boston Herald – “Growing up in Berkley, Gaffney watched countless Celtics games from the Garden balcony. But since signing with the C’s on the final day of the regular season, Gaffney’s vantage point has been the team’s bench. ‘I couldn’t count how many times I’ve been to the Garden when it was the (original) Garden,’ Gaffney said. ‘Even while I’m not dressing right now, to be able to sit on the same bench that Paul Pierce [stats] sits on and Larry Bird sat on and Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish – it’s like a dream come true.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “Though the C’s bench tied its Cavs counterpart with 27 Game 2 points after barely causing a ripple in Game 1, there’s no doubt which side made the biggest dent. Rivers’ disappointment earlier in the week obviously had an effect. ‘The bench, collectively as a group, said we had to do something,’ Davis said. ‘We feel like we’re one of the best bench teams in the league, and we’re capable of games like this. Game 1 was Game 1. We just have to deliver and that’s what we did (Monday).’ Wallace, perhaps stung by the criticism of his play over the second half of the season, allowed his silence to do the talking Monday. That wasn’t a problem – not when teammates like Davis were willing to grab the microphone. ‘Rasheed Wallace,’ said Davis, as if by simply intoning the name he was saying all that was necessary. ‘That was the difference in the game. Rasheed Wallace did huge things for us (Monday), and each night it’s going to be somebody different. If we can keep up this level of play, step up and deliver, we’ll be fine. Rasheed is just that type of player. I always expect Sheed to play. Sheed never sits down, he always practices. He plays the game like it’s supposed to be played, and (Monday) was his night.’”

Kirk Minihane, WEEI – “Easy call for the Celtics. Anytime they have a lead in double-digits I just assume that it will be gone before TNT can get to its next “Are We There Yet” promo. They just get way too Pierce-happy in those spots, moving away from what got them the big lead. Put it another way: When a 25-point lead is trimmed to 18, usually it isn’t a big deal. But with this team you just knew it was going to get close on Monday night. And if Antwan Jamison hits a wide-open three that would have cut the lead to seven points with six minutes left, I wonder if this column is even being written.”

Mary Schmitt Boyer, Cleveland Plain Dealer – “The Cavs likely would have taken Tuesday off had they won Game 2 on Monday. Instead, Brown brought them in to watch film and talk about what went wrong. ‘When I don’t feel like I did a good job with something, I’m the type of guy who wants to attack it and see what I can do to help these guys out to better the situation,’ Brown said. The coach said he had been more angry after games than he was on Monday. ‘I just think we can play better,’ he said. ‘I know we can play better. You don’t want to be satisfied. Not only can the guys play better on the floor, but I can help them better. I have to do a better job of that. We have to do a better job of that on the floor in Game 3.’”

Brian Windhorst, Cleveland Plain Dealer – “The Celtics have identified the Kevin Garnett vs. Antawn Jamison matchup is one they want to exploit. During the regular season, Garnett took 20 shots in a game just two times. Working on Jamison in the post relentlessly, Garnett has taken 20 shots in each playoff game so far. On Monday, the Cavs, an in attempt to keep passes from going to Garnett, had Jamison stand in front of him to deny entry passes for a stretch in the second half. Rondo simply lobbed the ball over the smaller Jamison to Garnett for three consecutive baskets in the third quarter as the Cavs made no adjustments. Garnett had 18 points and 10 rebounds in each game after having just one double double in the past 11 games. It is clear the strategy the Cavs have been using with Jamison is not working well.”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “When asked by Cleveland reporters about Mike Brown’s rise from buzz-worthy assistant in San Antonio to coach of a Cavaliers squad that finished with the best record in the NBA this season, Rivers took the opportunity to shine the spotlight on Thibodeau. ‘I had heard of [Brown] because he was in San Antonio, and knowing [Spurs coach Gregg Popovich] and that group, then he went to Indiana [as an associate head coach], so I knew about him,’ said Rivers. ‘You hear all a lot about assistants. I have one, Tom Thibodeau, that, in my opinion, should be a head coach now and should have been one. Hopefully he gets a shot as well.’”

Brian Schmitz, Orlando Sentinel – “Who knew that the Orlando Magic would end up taking another day off? They certainly couldn’t have expected it to be this easy or their play to be this crisp once they blew off the cobwebs. But with their game in mothballs for seven days, the Magic showed none of the rust they expected, whipping the Atlanta Hawks 114-71 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the second round. ‘I was a little surprised with that,’ coach Stan Van Gundy said. ‘It was good to see.’ And bad for the Hawks, who appeared to have trotted out their junior varsity. How bad was it? The Magic’s biggest lead was 46. They led by 41 points at the end of the third quarter — and the Hawks had scored just 44. And it might not get much better for Atlanta now that they’ve seemingly sprung Dwight Howard from playoff purgatory.”

Mark Bradley, Atlanta Journal Constitution – “The Hawks really believed they had a chance to steal Game 1, but the only crime committed here was fraud. The East’s No. 3 seed performed as if it were back in its glory days of Billy Knight burning lottery picks on guys named Williams. The Hawks were tied after 14 minutes. Ten minutes later they trailed by 20 points. And it would — oh yes, it would — get doubly worse. It’s no easy feat to trail a Round 2 playoff game by 41 points having played only 36 minutes, but the proud conquerors of Milwaukee managed it. They were down 85-44 after three quarters. And I say it again: This is why so few folks outside Atlanta, and many folks in Atlanta, don’t take seriously a team that won 53 games this season and has survived a Game 7 in each of the two springs. The Hawks tried really hard those first 14 minutes. Then the home team got going, and the visitors decided trying to play sound basketball really wasn’t worth the effort. So they ceased and desisted. Joe Johnson kept losing the ball. (He had four turnovers against five points the first half.) Jamal Crawford looked scared. (His first half: Two points, two points.) And Mike Woodson’s grand scheme to control Dwight Howard worked for a little while, but the sheer weirdness of it — deploying the forgotten Jason Collins before the NBA’s sixth man of the year and the ancient Joe Smith in the first quarter — undid the team it was supposed to bolster. The Hawks were so consumed by trying to bump and bedevil Howard they stopped running any semblance of an offense. (Collins made a basket and seemed shocked.) They scored 23 points in the first quarter; they managed 21 in the next two. They tried to go Iso-Joe and that didn’t work, so everyone decided to hoist jumpers. And the lead grew — it would peak at 112-66 — and the humiliation deepened, and the East’s No. 3 seed became something a No. 3 seed should never be: pitiable.”

Mike Bresnahan, LA Times – “Any way to change this to a best-of-five series? The Lakers continued to get the best of the Utah Jazz, turning a Western Conference rivalry into a playground version of sixth-graders against fourth-graders, the latest after-school scuffle transitioning into a 111-103 victory Tuesday at Staples Center. It wasn’t easy — nothing seems to be for the Lakers in these playoffs — but they took a 2-0 lead over the Jazz in the conference semifinals. The numbers are getting overwhelming, the Lakers now two victories from eliminating the Jazz for a third consecutive season while moving to 20-6 against Utah over the last few years, including playoffs. Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom brushed off recent injuries on the way to double-doubles, and Kobe Bryant almost had one too, but before the Lakers pat themselves on the back, they have plenty to study before Game 3 on Saturday in Utah. They gave away most of a 15-point lead, committed 20 turnovers, made four of 17 three-point attempts (23.5%) and failed to coast despite double-doubles by three players. Only when Odom found Ron Artest with a long lead pass for a dunk could Lakers fans begin celebrating in earnest, their team ahead by eight with 28.3 seconds to play. ‘Somehow, we managed to win that game,’ Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said, sighing a couple of times at his postgame news conference.”

Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.

After a comeback victory in Game One, Mike Brown was like a nervous schoolgirl giggling at her newfound crush.  Either that, or he was high.

After a crushing Game Two defeat, Brown was singing an entirely different tune. (Yahoo)

“We have to decide if we are going to take the fight to them and take these games. Nothing is going to be given to us at all. Ain’t a [expletive] thing going to be given to us at all in this series. We have to come out and fight better than we did tonight. … If we expect to win this series, we have got to bring more of a sense of urgency.”

He was about out of breath. About.

“We are going to see what we are made of come Game 3.”

Lebron: "Dont worry, coach. Im the MVP." Brown: "Im worried, damn it."

Mo Williams, who had just gone 1-for-9 from the floor and watched opposing point guard Rajon Rondo dish 19 assists, emerged from the shower to find a gaggle of reporters waiting for him. He looked dumbfounded.

“Damn,” Williams said, with a smile. “What you all want?”

If Mo were me, I’m coming out of that shower with a scowl on my face. I’m mean-mugging the reporters and telling them I’m ready for Game Three. Either that, or I’m staying in the shower ’til all the reporters are gone, drinking that beer some guy threw on the floor to drown my sorrows. The LAST thing I’d be doing would be smiling. After going 1-9 in a game that breathed hope into the Boston Celtics? No chance I’m smiling. Not an effing chance.

But Williams’ most famous teammate took the loss the same nonchalant way.

Afterward, LeBron was asked if he was embarrassed or humiliated.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” he replied. “Those are pretty harsh words.”

He needs to find harsher ones. James said Brown wasn’t screaming at the team in the locker room and appeared surprised at his coach’s anger. Maybe Brown doesn’t feel comfortable lighting up his guys directly. That would be a problem. Maybe the players just missed his anger. That would be, too.

In the end, it shouldn’t matter. LeBron should’ve been the one demanding better directly.

“No one said it was going to be easy,” LeBron said. “The postseason isn’t easy. … That’s why I’m up here talking the way I’m talking. I know how the playoffs are.”

But apparently Lebron hasn’t learned his lesson. When he refused to shake hands after losing to the Magic last season, I thought he’d come back hellbent on destroying the competition. I thought he’d be breathing mother-f*cking fire this year. But he’s not.

So yeah, Lebron, you know how the playoffs are. But you’ve never won anything. You don’t know what a championship feels like. And, if you keep responding to losses like they were exhibition games, this season may not be your year.

The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.

Pierce: "Hey Ray, that dude just threw a beer at me." Ray: "Nah, that beer was aimed for Mo Williams."

Steve Aschburner, NBA.com – “Compare that to Boston coach Glenn (Doc) Rivers, who said that his players “adjusted” by simply doing what they should have done from the series’ start. ‘We didn’t make any. Honestly,’ Rivers said. ‘We felt that we just didn’t do our jobs in the first game. We didn’t do our defense. We weren’t in the spots we should have been in, and all we talked about was, ‘Let’s see if we can do that first. Then if they score, we can make an adjustment.’ The only adjustment we really made was doing it the way we should do it.’ B-b-b-b-b-but the results were so different: Fifteen points shaved off Cleveland’s total. Re-newly crowned MVP LeBron James was held to 24, almost six points below his season scoring average and more than eight off his mark (32.3 ppg) through the Cavs’ first six postseason games. Four points from Mo Williams rather than 20. Defensive shooting percentage that bumped to 40 percent only when it was too late for Cleveland, compared to 48.7 percent in Game 1. This time, Boston looked like Boston rather than the defensive impostors who showed up Saturday. ‘Our whole team defense is the same all the time,’ Rivers said. ‘We always talk about shrinking the floor and letting everybody see five guys in the paint. In Game 1, there were so many gaps when we watched the film. Everybody was hugging up on their guys. I thought [this time] we did a great job in the paint and then on drive-and-kicks, in recovering back out.’”

Sam D’Amico, NBA.com – “This one wasn’t much different than the first one, with the Celtics clearly outplaying the Cavaliers in the first two quarters. The Celtics beat the Cavs to loose balls and rebounds, and kept them from getting many good looks at the basket. Just like Game 1, the Celtics had to deal with a massive Cavs rally in the second half. This time, though, they didn’t act surprised. This time, the Celtics kept scratching, clawing and battling, and this time, they finished the job. And while Rondo (13 points, career-high 19 assists) was again remarkable, chalk this one up to a team effort in the truest sense. ‘We have a good team, but we’re not gonna beat anybody individually as we are,’ said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. ‘But if we do it together, we have a shot.’ While not even league MVP LeBron James could get anything going for the Cavs, the Celtics were as balanced as they’ve been all season.”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “The Celtics spent the past three days in Northeast Ohio obliterating the mystique of the Cavaliers. Cleveland spent all season treating itself like an NBA champion, adoring itself with pregame charades and finally crowning LeBron James with his second Most Valuable Player award Sunday in Akron as if it was a precursor to more glittering hardware. Now the Cavaliers head to Boston for Friday night’s Game 3 with major concerns following the Celtics’ 104-86 whitewashing last night, which included a 31-12 third-quarter surge. The Celtics then withstood a 5-minute-40-second scoring drought in the fourth quarter and ended Game 2 not sagging on the ropes, but punching back with a late flurry and extinguishing any Cleveland momentum heading into a three-day break. The Celtics entered this series as decided underdogs. Many NBA pundits said the Cavaliers would win in four or five. Cleveland is one of the tougher road venues in the NBA and the crowd made a difference in the third quarter of Game 1, when Mo Williams scored 10 consecutive points and the Cavaliers played themselves back into the game. Last night, the Celtics again started strong and reduced the crowd effect. And a team that has been mostly dreadful this season in the third quarter reacted with a 21-4 run to quiet not only the crowd but the supremely confident Cavaliers, who had not lost a home game with LeBron James in the lineup since Feb. 18.”

Chris Broussard, ESPN – “It started out as the celebration of a young phenom, with David Stern handing LeBron James the Maurice Podoloff Trophy and thousands of adoring fans raising “MVP X2″ placards. But after all the hoopla and fanfare, it quickly became a reminder that old champions don’t die easily, that contrary to popular belief the glory days may not be over for Boston’s group of proud and feisty veterans. Oh, and they have a young phenom too. Don’t count Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce out just yet. They’ve got warriors’ hearts and, just as importantly, Rajon Rondo, a slick point guard who’s at his best when the stakes are sky-high. Though some, including me, penned their epitaph in March, the Celtics appear more poised to seize the moment than do the ballyhooed Cleveland Cavaliers, whom the Celtics demolished 104-86 Monday night to even the series at 1-1 and steal away the home-court advantage.”

Rich Levine, CSNNE – “‘He just had a great floor game,’ Rivers said. ‘That’s the second one in the playoffs where I’d call him [Jason] Varitek. I just thought that he called great balls and strikes, if you want to put it that way. He felt the game, through the coach, and when you get that, with a point guard.’ To which Rondo responded: ‘That helps my confidence a lot. Doc and I have been in the same system for four years now. I’m starting to know exactly what he wants me to call at certain times in the game. And we just have a great relationship right now to where we know exactly what we want to call.’ There are many places around the NBA where this public display of respect and understanding wouldn’t be cause for this story. But in Boston, it’s important. It’s a testament to how far these two have come in their relationship off the court, and confirmation of the strides Rondo’s made as a leader and player on it. Sure, there are still fleeting moments when the focus might be lacking; where you still wish he’d be more assertive or aggressive around the hoop. But those are now far out-weighed by the times where you sit back and think to yourself, ‘Wow, this guy’s an absolute star.’ And on Monday night, that’s exactly what he was.”

Ron Borges, Boston Herald – “Call it the Sheedshank Redemption if you want. Call it a miracle if you must. Call it whatever you’d like, but in the end the smart thing is to call it what it was last night at Quicken Loans Arena. It was a warning. The Cavs may have the league’s MVP. They may have the best record in basketball. They may have youth and the NBA hierarchy on their side, the latter rooting for a LeBron vs. Kobe NBA Finals. But they don’t have the Celtics convinced of anything except that they are not going quietly to an early summer vacation.”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “According to the wizards at ESPN Stats and Information, Rondo single-handedly accounted for 59 of Boston’s 104 points, his 19 assists leading to 46 points. LeBron James, who accepted his second consecutive MVP award Tuesday night, and Mo Williams, who took over Game 1 with a furious third-quarter outburst, combined to account for 53 points for the Cavaliers. James heaped praise on Rondo, even after Cleveland’s Game 1 victory Saturday, but only foreshadowed Monday’s outburst when he noted, ‘He poses a threat to our interior because he’s so fast and gets into our interior. He breaks our interior down where he’s able to get a layup or kick out for a 3-pointer. We have to do a better job of trying to keep him out of the paint.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “‘We knew they were going to make a run because they’re at home and they’re a good team,’’ said Garnett. “But I thought we withstood that and made a run of our own and shut the game down after that.’ When the focus withered and the Celtics looked as if they’d give back a lead they spent three quarters building, a light bulb went on. ‘When we went up, we kind of relaxed like we were surprised that we were up,’ said Glen Davis, who scored 6 points in 13 minutes. ‘We’ve got to know that we’re a great team. We’ve got to know that we’re a team that can play with this team, the Cavaliers. We can’t give them any hope. We can’t give them any sunlight. We’ve got to let them know we’re going to beat them.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘Not only outside but the drives, as well,’ said Rivers. ‘I thought establishing Kevin (Garnett) . . . you know, Kevin was going way too fast in the first half. But he still was a concern on the post, and I kept telling our coaches, ‘I don’t care that he’s not converting right now. They’re trapping. They’re worried about him down there, and if we keep hammering down there, eventually the outside would open.’ And that’s what happened for us.’ Garnett’s first seven field goals were paint products. (His last was an open 19-footer with 1:14 remaining and the Cavaliers crawling toward their dressing room.) Hey, the fact KG took 21 shots was huge. By continuing to go into the post to wrestle with Antawn Jamison, it gave the Celtics a consistent presence that changed the game for others. Garnett was much more pleased with his 6-for-12, 14-point second half, and was lamenting his missed opportunities. ‘I’ve got to be a lot more patient on the post,’Garnett said. ‘I know they’re starting to double now, and I’m a decent passer so I’ve just got to wait. But at the same time, when they’re not (double-teaming), I’ve just got to be aggressive and stay aggressive. I thought Sheed (Rasheed Wallace) and everybody who was in the post was aggressive tonight. We got Paul being aggressive, Ray, everybody who played tonight was pretty much aggressive. And that’s how you’ve got to do this team. They’re a very good defensive team, and you’ve got to continue to attack.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “When Boston’s Rasheed Wallace bricked a 3-pointer at the conclusion of the third quarter in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday, he stomped back to the bench in mock frustration, a big smile across his face. It was a familiar moment for Wallace, who has misfired on a passel of trifectas since coming to Boston this season — 208 of the 290 he hoisted during the regular season, and all three he had previously attempted in the postseason coming into Monday night. Those misses — and other transgressions — have left Celtics fans stomping mad in genuine frustration with a player who was brought in to lift the Green over the second-round hump they got stuck on last year in the playoffs. Rasheed Wallace, who answered coach Doc Rivers’ challenge with 17 points and solid defense, finally had reason to smile Monday. On Monday night, both Wallace and the fans who want to love him could both smile. In what amounted to a must-win for Boston, that 3-pointer was the only shot Wallace missed.”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “Wallace knocked down his first five shots last night, and when the ball went long off the back iron after he pulled his sixth, he kicked at the hardwood, hopping mad as he went back the other way. He was expecting perfection, even if the outside world had written him off as a bust. Wallace finished with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting, going 3 of 4 from the 3-point line, a shot that abandoned him most of a the regular season. He said nothing after the game, letting the numbers — and his teammates — talk for him. ‘That was the difference in the game,’ Davis said. ‘Rasheed Wallace came and he did some huge things for us tonight and each night it’s going to be somebody different.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “Rajon Rondo, the Celtics’ first-half hero of Game 1, followed up a career-playoff-high-tying 12-assist performance with a new personal best. He outdished the entire Cleveland lineup, 19 assists to their 17. ‘His role is just to play with speed and that’s why we get the ball to him as much as possible, because he causes havoc,’ said Celtics forward Paul Pierce. ‘He’s one of the quicker point guards in the league, if not the fastest, and we want to play him to his strengths. That’s what we do when we get the ball to him early in transition.’ An openly upset Cleveland coach Mike Brown scolded his Cavs for a lack of urgency. ‘They kicked our behind from the beginning,’ he said. James, the calmer of the two, shrugged off the result, including a third quarter the Cavs forward called, ‘One of the worst we have had this year on offense and defense.’”

Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe – “The Cavaliers won more games than any team in basketball this season. They are supposed to bring Cleveland its first championship of any kind since 1964 (Browns). They are 74-8 at the Quicken Loans Arena the last two regular seasons. And the Celtics beat them, 104-86, last night. Impressive. ‘They kicked our behinds from the beginning,’ said perturbed Cleveland coach Mike Brown. ‘We did not fight back until late. We’ve got to decide if we’re going to take the fight to them. There ain’t a thing that is going to be given to us in this series. Coming from behind in the first game, coming from behind in the second game, that’s not good enough. We’ve got to bring a greater sense of urgency than we did tonight.’”

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