In the first game of the 2010 playoffs the Celtics found themselves trailing Miami by 14 points in the third quarter. They appeared lifeless and the energy in the Garden matched their play. Then suddenly it all came together. The Celtics made stops, got out in transition and began to play the way everyone remembered.

It was strangely reminiscent of what happened in Game 1 against the Knicks on Sunday. After a lackluster first half that had everyone wondering if the end was upon us, the Celtics found their defensive groove and rode it to a dramatic 87-85 win. The obvious question is whether the Celtics can duplicate that run in this year’s playoffs, but for now they’ll settle for some carryover and a little consistency into Tuesday’s Game 2.

“I hope so,” Paul Pierce said. “That’s going to be the key for us. How well we defend, how well we rebound and how we well we keep the turnovers down. The second half was more Celtics basketball. The way we defended is how I’d like to see us defend for four quarters. We’re working toward that.”

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said his team didn’t make any adjustments at halftime after his team was shredded for 28 points in the second quarter while the Knicks shot 11-for-17, but he understands why people would want to make that conclusion. “If you look at the two halves you’d say man, they changed a lot,” Rivers said.

What they did was execute. In the third quarter the Knicks made only five of 25 shots and it continued into the fourth. It was the same principles – try to deny Amar’e Stoudemire on the elbow, put pressure on the ball – just performed better with very different results.

“Our defensive gameplan has to be run early,” Rivers said. “We really got away with what we worked on. We were kind of making up stuff.”
Whether their second half flipped the proverbial switch or not is still to be determined. “It should,” Rivers said. “But it’s not like we haven’t done that and then … a lot of it is mindset.”

“We can’t get down and say we’re going to turn it up and try to get back in the game,” Pierce said. “We’ve got to be consistent for four quarters with the way we defend and the way we push tempo. It has to start from the beginning.”

They know deep down that they got away with one Sunday night. If the Celtics are going to win Game 2, and advance deep into the playoffs, they can’t afford to play long stretches like they did in the opener.

That’s their primary focus and here are three other key areas to watch for Tuesday night:

ATTACK THE RIM

The Knicks were one of the worst teams in the league at protecting the rim this year. On average they allowed teams to shoot almost 65 percent from close range and in an interesting twist, less than half of those made shots came by way of an assist. In other words, teams were able to beat them off the dribble and without a shotblocking presence inside, there was little in the way of a last line of defense.

The Celtics made a concerted effort to get to the rim in the second half. Ray Allen put the ball on the floor and drove. Rajon Rondo went to the basket hard on several occasions and while he didn’t always finish or draw fouls, his six shot attempts at the rim tied Kevin Garnett for most on the team.

“Coach wanted us to keep being aggressive,” Pierce said. “We settled for a lot of jumpers in the first half. We just wanted to the aggressor. We felt like they were more of the aggressor in the first half.”

The Celtics were more aggressive. They just didn’t always finish. They made only 12-of-24 shots at the rim in Game 1, but the important thing is that they kept attacking. That aggressiveness went a long way toward grabbing 15 offensive rebounds, a huge number for the Celtics.

They all have to have that mindset, but the key is once again Rondo who took a beating in Game 1 and was noticeably limping out of the locker room after it was over. Asked how he was feeling, Rondo replied, “I’m fine.”

“I’m sure he’s banged up. I’m sure everyone’s banged up,” Rivers said. “That was a physical game. It was fun. That’s the way it should be.”

And that’s the way the Celtics have to play. They made 10-of-22 jump shots from 16-23 feet and while they are one of the better jumpshooting teams in the league, they can’t rely on long 2’s as their primary source of offense.

BEWARE TONEY DOUGLAS

Chauncey Billups didn’t practice on Monday and Knicks’ coach Mike D’Antoni told reporters that his point guard was “highly questionable” for Game 2 because of a left knee strain.

“For us we have to be even more focused,” Pierce said. “We haven’t really done a good job when star players sit throughout the course of the season. We’ve had that opportunity many a times and we lost those games. I don’t know if we took it for granted or took it too lightly, but we lost quite a few games when another team’s star was missing. Toney Douglas is more than capable.”

Douglas started nine games for the Knicks this season and averaged 14 points and 6 assists while shooting 52 percent from the floor and 47 percent from 3-point range. He took over for Billups six times late in the season and the Knicks won four of those games.

“Douglas is dangerous,” Rivers said. “He does different things. Obviously his speed is a factor. We’ll be ready both ways.”

SECONDARY LINEUPS

There are regular season rotations and then there are playoff rotations. During the 82-game grind, Rivers often plays his four top bench players in tandem with one of the starters. That changes in the playoffs to where the coach calls it his “first and a half unit.”

All in all the impact of the four Celtics reserves – Delonte West, Jeff Green, Glen Davis and Nenad Krstic – was about neutral in Game 1. Green made a big shot in the fourth quarter that put the Celtics ahead momentarily and for all of his offensive struggles, Davis – who shot 1-for-8 -- was a +13 when he was on the court.

But the bench players also didn’t really stand out. Rivers said he wanted West to be more aggressive and Krstic played only five minutes, none in the second half. He took one shot, which was a wide open 10-footer, but he also had a clear path to the basket and elected to take the jumper instead.

Krstic banged his left knee in practice on Saturday. He had already missed a game because of a bruised right knee in late March. “It’s nothing really to worry about,” Krstic said, while noting the previous injury was more significant. “It didn’t affect me at all.”

Rivers is still searching for the right combinations. Positions matter little against the Knicks, but Green played in different lineups with Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Garnett. “We went with that quirky little lineup with Jeff and Paul,” Rivers said. “We won’t do that a lot. We got away with it.”

Rondo, Pierce, Allen and Garnett all had their minutes extended in Game 1. It will be a long grind if they have to play 40 minutes each night. Before this series is over, one of those four players will have to make a significant impact and take some of the pressure of those four, just don’t expect them to do it as a unit.