Everyone has a theory about Paul Pierce. He’s tired. He’s getting older. He’s hurt. If you played Revolution No. 9 backward, Ray Allen would tell you the truth about The Truth. Whatever the reason, the general consensus was that something was wrong with the Captain after two games in which he struggled to get his shot off, and missed 60 percent of the time when he did. 

Ah, but Pierce is never more dangerous than we he is challenged, and while he said all the right things in the aftermaths of Games 1 and 2, one could sense that the breakout was coming. It started slowly — a couple of jumpers here, another one there, and suddenly he couldn’t miss. Pierce had that look about him. 

When he’s got it going, really got it going, he moves in a kind of laconic way. Never too fast and not really slow, either. It’s like he’s in one those NBA slow-motion promos, only it’s happening in real time. 

At the end of the first quarter he had 13 points and two fouls and it was clear that the only thing that could slow his roll were the whistles. It certainly wasn’t gimpy John Salmons. 

Pierce kept at it after that initial hot stretch. He even pulled out his pet move—the up fake, draw the contact, make the 3-pointer that he made famous against the Pistons in the playoffs last season. Like that game in Detroit, Pierce didn’t get the call. But he made the shot. 

He scored 24 points on just 15 shots and it doesn’t take Kevin Pelton to tell you that his line was pretty much the definition of highly efficient. Pierce’s standard reply during the season when asked about anything he has done personally—good or bad—is that he’s just playing in the flow and taking advantage of his opportunities when they present themselves. 

The old Paul, the one that had to force shots with the shot clock winding down, hasn’t been seen around these parts too often lately. The new Paul, the one who does what he needs to do to help the ballclub, is very much alive and so are the Celtics. 

1. DE-FENSE! DE-FENSE!

Hey, remember when the Celtics used to choke the life out of teams in the halfcourt? It’s been a while since one could truly call the C’s a defensive-oriented team. Ever since Kevin Garnett has gone out of the lineup, Doc Rivers has had to reinvent his team on the fly and the result has been an offensive team that is good enough to win most nights, but only if the shots are falling. 

The old Celtics made a nifty return last night, holding the Bulls to 37 percent shooting and forcing 22 turnovers. The Celtics had 16 steals (16!) and 10 blocks with Big Baby Davis leading the way with six thefts all by himself. They did it by overplaying the passing lanes and contesting every pass and every shot.  

To a man, they said that the defense would return, but that’s just talk. The way Derrick Rose had systematically broken down the first, and second, lines of defense in the first two games spoke louder than any pronouncements. 

But it was on display in Game 3 and if the Celtics are going to make a run in this round and beyond it needs to become a constant again. 

2. WINNING ON THE ROAD: A PRIMER

Ever since the Celtics basically abdicated the top spot in the Eastern Conference in March they have stuck to their mantra that they know how to win on the road. For proof, they point to last year’s elimination game in Detroit and the epic comeback against the Lakers in Game 4 of the Finals. 

But if they were being honest with themselves they would acknowledge that even in those momentous victories they didn’t actually play all that well. They certainly didn’t follow the time-honored road team script of valuing possessions, taking good shots and winning the battle on the boards. 

Game 3 was a classic illustration of that approach. The Celtics turned the ball over just 13 times (which for them is positively Tom Brady-like) and a good many of those came once the game had been long since decided. 

The Celtics had an 11-point lead after one quarter and you kept expecting the Bulls to do something. Anything. 

Where was this young and exciting team that had played the Celtics to the limit in the first two games? And where was that mythological homecourt advantage that they had developed over the last few months? It was nowhere to be found. 

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Score another decisive win for Rajon Rondo in the battle of the young points. Rondo once again got the better of Derrick Rose with 20 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and five steals in only 34 minutes, while Rose was held to nine points on 4-of-14 shooting. 

According to the unadjusted plus-minus stats, the Celtics were plus-26 when Rondo was on the floor, while the Bulls were minus-32 with Rose. Clearly some context is needed in those numbers, and the other eight players on the floor played a part, but as Rondo and Rose go, so goes their respective teams. 

At this point we will start to hear about experience. How Rondo earned his stripes in last year’s playoffs and Rose is getting his baptism in the harsh waters of the NBA postseason. Maybe. 

Talent is still talent, and young Mr. Rose definitely has it, but Rondo has it too and right now he has simply played better. The ongoing concern is the health of his ankle and he was carried off the floor at the end of the game. Rondo said afterward that he is fine. He’s going to have to be. 

4. A BENCH SIGHTING

The shot clock was winding down and Stephon Marbury had the ball. There was no time to think. No time to worry about the set or where the ball was supposed to go. Instead, Marbury lined up jumper and knocked it down. 

For the first time in the playoffs Marbury was playing fast and loose, which is exactly what Doc Rivers needs out of his second unit, and more particularly, his backup point guard. 

Beyond Marbury, Rivers got decent production out of his reserves, but not exceptional. Mikki Moore continued to struggle with fouls and rotations and Big Baby had to play 39 minutes for the depleted frontcourt. 

But there was another positive and that was the limited play of Brian Scalabrine who is threatening to break all kinds of cult hero status marks for his return and heavily-wrapped head. Scal was able to play six minutes and in his short run he did the kinds of things that had made him so valuable earlier in the season. He spaced the floor, got where he was supposed to get on defense and made an open shot. 

The bench has been the Celtics Achilles heel all season, even before the injuries set in, but for one night they gave the Celtics a lift. 

5. SO, WHAT NOW? 

This series has officially become a no-fly zone for prognosticators. The Bulls were supposed to be overwhelmed by the specter of the playoffs in Game 1. They were not. The Celtics were supposed to blow past them in Game 2. They did not. 

The smart money had Chicago full of momentum and feeding off a frenzied home crowd in Game 3. Instead, the Chicago crowd was beating a hasty retreat for the exits and booing its team off the court.   

It would be foolish, then, to read too much into the Celtics win Thursday night, except to say that they have already accomplished what they set out to do by regaining homecourt advantage. 

There is also this. Counting Thursday night’s victory, the Celtics are 17-1 when they have more than one day off between games. That will be the case again Sunday for Game 4. Will any of that matter? No one really knows.