Celtics open 3-0 lead in series with easy Game 3 victory

If that word's meaning resembles that of "complete and total annihilation", you're on the right track.
There are just too many things that the Boston Celtics did better than the Orlando Magic to single out technical reasons for their 94-71 Game 3 victory. They shot better, helped on defense better, found the open man better and just about anything else you can think of. But above all, the reason the Celtics are now four quarters away from returning to the NBA Finals is simple: they fought harder.Sure, it's a sports clich to say that one team just wanted it more -- and really, both teams "wanted" to win -- but the Celtics showed it, and everyone saw it.You don't hold an opponent to 74.6 points per 100 possessions through three quarters without battling, nor do you get the opponent's coach talking about keeping his team from escaping if you aren't breathing fire. But the most talked-about sequence of the game, one single first-half possession, encapsulated everything.With 8:37 to play in the second quarter, with the Celtics already out to a 17-point lead, J.J. Redick threw an errant pass to Mickael Pietrus that was deflected far into the backcourt. Chasing was Jason Williams, who loped after the ball, either unaware of or undeterred by Rajon Rondo's pursuit. Williams bent down to pick up the ball, Rondo dove. The ball went to the effort, and Rondo made the legal play of standing with the ball before dribbling in for a layup.
It was a play that NBA players just don't typically make, and it sunk the Magic, who were never closer than 15 the rest of the way.
It was also the sort of play Rondo has been making throughout the playoffs.
It happened against the Miami Heat, when the Celtics did everything in their power to take Dwyane Wade out of the game. They forced the Cleveland Cavaliers into a mode of constant adjustment to what they were doing, rather than forcing Boston to make its own changes.And against Orlando, the Celtics took away its favorite thing: the three. With Kendrick Perkins playing all-league defense on Howard, the Celtics almost never have to double the post, allowing minimal space for Orlando's many shooters to catch and shoot. So, on every pass, the Celtics can swarm -- allowing just 8-of-30 from deep -- and rather than swarm back, the Magic dissipated into a group of individuals, and ran.