The Celtics want Kevin Garnett to be more aggressive, as he attempted only 12 shots in Friday's loss to the Sixers.

During the playoffs, Boston is 4-0 in games in which Garnett attempts 16 or more shots.

"I think we counted nine times where he was trying to be a passer instead of a scorer. So we gotta get him back, mentally, to attacking," said Rivers. "They didn’t trap as much as you thought. We just gotta continue to force feed him and keep him aggressive. But we also have to get into our stuff quicker, like we did in the first half. Kevin didn’t touch the ball a lot, but we had an 18-point lead, so something was going well."

Garnett dismissed the notion that he’s struggling to score against Lavoy Allen.

"All the big guys are playing physical and bumping," said Garnett. "You go through side-picks, it’s physical; I can’t tell one guy from the next. Spencer Hawes is being just as physical as the young kid (Allen). It’s all the same."

Lavoy Allen has refused to engage in a war of words with Kevin Garnett.

“Even though people are yapping at him and saying all kinds of crazy stuff, he’s not listening to it. He’s just playing,” Sixers forward Thaddeus Young said. “That’s the good thing about Lavoy. He’s one of those guys who’s just going to go out there and play regardless and not listen to all the junk people are talking to him.”

Allen has held Garnett to 43 percent shooting through the first four games of the Eastern Conference semifinal.

“Just not letting him get too close to the basket to post up,” Allen said of the key to guarding Garnett. “Hitting him early and pushing him off the block. When I’m out there that’s my main goal, just to contain him.”

Rajon Rondo took responsibility for allowing the Sixers to speed up the pace during their 15-2 third quarter run.

“They sped us up a little bit,” said Rondo. “They took some quick shots, we had some turnovers in that stretch, and they made shots.

“In that stretch I had to do a better job of slowing us down and getting us into the next set. I had to demand that guys get into the right spots offensively. It’s a calculation for me of when we’re doing a good job in random and when we’re not in that stretch. And in that 15-2 run we didn’t do a good job.

“But in the first half we did make those shots. In the second half when we weren’t making those shots we had to slow it down. But it all comes down to defense. We may have lost our composure, but we’re a veteran team and we’re better than that. We should have responded better.”

Brian Scalabrine is covering Boston's playoff run for Comcast in New England now that the Bulls have been eliminated.

But Scalabrine would prefer a second career as a coach instead of in the media.

“What I’ve realized as I’ve got older is that coaches have a lot of control over what goes on, but it’s hard,” he said. “In the NBA, sometimes you get dealt a bad hand or you’ve got a team that turns on you.

“That didn’t seem like a life that I wanted to live or a road that I wanted to go down. But with talking to our coaches (with the Bulls) and even with Doc (Rivers), it’s more about the relationships you build. Doc’s relationship with Kevin (Garnett) and (Rajon) Rondo and even me, who never really played much — those are bonds. I still have a bond with Doc. I think that’s the thing that’s kind of pulling me back toward (NBA coaching). It’s that camaraderie that you get with a team in basketball.”

Scalabrine has also considered coaching college basketball.

“You know, I really like college. I really do. But it didn’t seem that nowadays players are leaving the NBA and getting hired by colleges. Then again, Fred Hoiberg is doing really well at Iowa State, and colleges are starting now to try to run more NBA-type sets.

“So it used to be that the college game was far different from the NBA style, but now it’s starting to get more mixed together.”

The Sixers limited Kevin Garnett to just nine points on 3-for-12 shooting from the floor.

Lavoy Allen defended Garnett for much of the game.

“Lavoy, once again, defensively just did a tremendous job,’’ Doug Collins said.

Philadelphia has been successful in taking away Garnett's deep post-ups.

The Sixers have struggled to contain Kevin Garnett, who is shooting 63.3 percent through the first three games series of the Eastern Conference semifinal.

“He’s playing amazing,” Brand said. “We just have to have the right guys guarding him at the right times and we’ll be fine.
“It’s his length that’s really tough. Then you put guys with length on him and he has the physicality aspect of it. He has a great mix of both being physical and being long and athletic. We just have to find the right match to guard him.”

Doug Collins believes rookie backup Lavoy Allen has the strength and athleticism to make things difficult for Garnett.

“(Against) both E.B. and Spencer, (Garnett) has a speed advantage — so therefore he’s going to get down the floor, and that’s a problem,” Collins said. “With Lavoy on the bench, Kevin Garnett is shooting almost 71 percent. With Lavoy on the floor, he’s shooting 46.”

Following Boston's Game 3 win over the Sixers, Paul Pierce acknowledged that this will likely be the final run for the team during the Big 3 era.

Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen spoke about that subject on Thursday.

“We don’t know what the future is going to hold for all of us, with KG in the last year of his contract, Ray in the last year of his contract," said Pierce. "Trade speculations have been going on, there’s talk about rebuilding, so there is a sense of urgency with us.”

Allen was on the trade block ahead of the deadline and is now coming off the bench.

“I have no idea," said Allen. "I don’t play it up, I can tell you that. This is this year. I don’t know what’s going to go on two months from now and I don’t even want to think about it."

“The focus right now is the playoffs," said Garnett. "I haven’t given it that much thought, to be honest. We’re definitely aware of it – all of the things Paul eluded to and the possibilities. We’ve given it some type of thought, but right now it’s the playoffs – nothing more or less than that.”

Paul Pierce is attempting to play through the pain of a sprained MCL in his left knee.

Pierce shot just 2-of-7 from the floor during Boston’s 82-81 loss to the Sixers on Monday.

"I know he's hurt," said Sixers reserve center Tony Battie. “But Paul's definitely not going to ever admit that to anyone.
"You can see it. His shot is a little flat. His knee is bothering him, and he's had some foot problems, and his lift isn't 100 percent.

"But he's still the heart and soul of that team. We know Paul. We know he can get it going. I don't put it past him to come out with a Willis Reed-type Herculean effort in the next game."

Sixers forward Elton Brand, who’s battled through knee, shoulder, and neck injuries, is aware of how exhausting it is to fight through the pain.

"You lose your aggression," Brand said. "When it hurts, that's what happens. Half the time it's subconscious. You have trouble with your movement and your thrust and it's just harder to attack when all that is going on.

"But I know what kind of player [Pierce] is. He's going to keep coming. He's not going to quit."

The Sixers are content to allow Kevin Garnett open shot attempts from the perimeter.

“He’s making those jump shots,” Sixers’ coach Doug Collins said. “He has one foot on the three-point line and he’s making jump shots. My hat is off to him.”

In Game 1, Garnett shot 12-for-20, while Paul Pierce and Ray Allen were a combined 7-for-21.

“Kevin has been aggressive and they think they have a matchup there where we don’t have a really big guy and so he has great extension on his shot and he’s playing great,” Collins said. “If we run out on him then maybe Paul Pierce maybe isn’t 3 for 11.”

Ray Allen continues to play through his ankle injury and didn't score a field goal in the fourth quarter.

But his presence on the floor is effective even if it is as a decoy. Because the Sixers must respect his three-point shot, they are limited in their double-teaming opportunities and are spaced more throughout the halfcourt.

“I mean, I thought 10 different times he was hurt again,’’ Doc Rivers. “He hit the floor four or five times. Ray is just tough. I mean, I don’t think we realize how - his foot’s bothering him and he’s playing terrific. The stretch when he came in again with the second unit, that was a big stretch for us. It gave us some hope.’’