BOSTON -- The Celtics pride themselves on being the more physical team in every game they play. It's something coach Ime Udoka has made a point of emphasis since taking over as the team's coach last summer, and has played a huge part in Boston's massive midseason turnaround.
But through three games of these Eastern Conference semifinals, the Celtics have allowed the Miami Heat to dictate the terms of engagement when it comes to aggression and physicality in this series. And, when the Heat have had success getting into the Celtics, the results have been ugly: a 39-14 drubbing in the third quarter of Game 1, and a 39-18 shellacking in the first quarter of Game 3
Those 24 minutes have fueled Miami's rise to a 2-1 lead in this best-of-7 series heading into Game 4 here at TD Garden Monday night.