By Tom Withers
Associated Press
CLEVELAND ó Kevin Garnett stutter-stepped as he reached a potential right turn down a seemingly endless hallway early Sunday morning.
After losing Game 3, he and Boston teammate Paul Pierce were on their way to a tough-to-locate interview room.
iWhereís it at?î Garnett growled.
Thatís the Celtics, searching for directions on the NBAís playoff highway. The kings of the road are lost.
Boston, which went a league-best 31-10 away from home during the regular season, has dropped all four of its road games so far in this postseason.
A perfect 6-0 inside noisy TD Banknorth Garden so far in these playoffs, the Celtics dropped to 0-4 on the road Saturday night with a 108-84 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who trimmed Bostonís lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
Game 4 is tonight, and unless the green-and-white can cure their home sickness, their commanding lead will be gone.
Of course, holding the home-court advantage trump card throughout the playoffs gives the Celtics a safety net. They can continue to lose on the road as long as they win all their home games. But one little misstep on their parquet floor could lead to an early slide into summer.
iYou canít just ease into these games and expect them to lay down, especially on their home court,î Pierce said. iWe all need this win on the road, man. Itís like a gorilla on our back trying to get a road win.î
A slower-than-slow start doomed the Celtics in Game 3.
They fell behind by 19 points after the first quarter, were down by an eye-popping 43-17 in the second and never mounted a serious threat after halftime.
iWe canít spot a team 15-20 points and try to dig ourselves out of it,î Garnett said. iWe 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.î