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.”

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.

Erik Spoelstra mixed up his starting lineup in Game 3 with Chris Bosh unavailable.

Dexter Pittman started at center, while Shane Battier received the call at small forward and that setup LeBron James for a matchup at power forward against David West.

Pittman played just 3.5 minutes before Spoelstra sent in Joel Anthony.

Udonis Haslem and Ronny Turiaf started Game 2.

LeBron James is playing more minutes at power forward due to the injury to Chris Bosh.

James admitted before Game 2 that significant minutes at the position takes its toll on him physically.

“It’s a lot more taxing being in there with bigger guys,” James said. Defensively “is the biggest difference. When you’re on the perimeter, there’s more space. The interior is more cramped and physical. … But I’m ready for the challenge.”

James also said that he has played more positions this season than any of his seven with the Cavaliers.

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.’’

The Celtics and 76ers were two of the NBA's better and more rugged defensive teams this season.

Boston led the league in defensive field percentage, while Philadelphia ranked third.

Doc Rivers expects the series to be low-scoring.

Jimmer Fredette struggled as a ball-handler in the pick-and-roll during his rookie season with the Kings.

Fredette plans to remedy that weakness during the offseason.

“After my first year in the NBA, I have seen how important the pick-and-roll is,” Fredette said. “We play it a lot. It is important to read the situations, see how they are guarding you, be able to attack the big guy — and the best guards in the NBA are really good at keeping their dribble alive and reading the pick-and-roll. I will be working a lot on that.”

Fredette gave the nod to Russell Westbrook as his toughest cover.

“There are many great players in the NBA, but the one that sticks out right now is Russell Westbrook,” Fredette said. “He is so athletic, freakishly athletic, and being so quick. He recovers so fast and has so many natural gifts, and he is really hard to play defense against.”

Amar'e Stoudemire stressed the need for the Knicks to create stability. 

New York has overhauled the roster multiple times since his arrival and also made a coaching change since Stoudemire signed in 2010.

“We haven’t had no consistency the past two years,” said Stoudemire. “I’ve been on maybe three to four different teams since I’ve been here.”

Stoudemire also believes he and Anthony can become a successful pairing.

“There’s no doubt. I think it will work. Just have to see what Coach Woodson’s going to do to make it work.”

The Thunder ran the same pick-and-roll play 16 times during the fourth quarter of their come-from-behind series-closing win over Dallas in Game 4.

James Harden was used on the pick-and-roll to score 15 of his 29 points in the fourth. The play is called "Angie".

"If you look at the team we just lost to, it was [Russell] Westbrook in Game 1 and Game 2, it was Durant [in Game 3], and today they just throw it to Harden and he goes off," Dirk Nowitzki said.

"If you want to be an elite team in this league right now, you have to have at least two or three guys that can just go off at any time. I just thought they had more weapons than us. That was pretty clear."

Pau Gasol had more assists in the first two games of the series than opposing starting point guard Ty Lawson as the Lakers raced to a 2-0 lead.

But Gasol became more of a passer in their Game 3 loss at Denver.

Gasol had 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting with seven rebounds and three assists. Gasol began the game attempting several mid-range jumpers.

"Pau … we saw him on the perimeter way too much," Kobe Bryant said. "We can't do that, we have to stick to our ground and pound game."