Celtics back home, hoping it's the answer

5/13/2008 5:44 PM

By JIMMY GOLEN
AP Sports Writer

WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) - The usual beds. The usual lockers. The usual baskets.

The usual questions.

The Celtics are back in Boston for Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal against the Cleveland Cavaliers, back where they're unbeaten so far in the playoffs after a regular season in which they posted an NBA-best 35-6 home record.

But it's their 0-5 road record that has them worrying.

``There is some frustration,'' center P.J. Brown said Tuesday after the team's walkthrough and film session. ``But up to this point, it hasn't gotten under our skin.''

Despite going 31-10 away from Boston in the regular season - also an NBA best - the Celtics have yet to win on the road in the playoffs. The slump allowed the lowly Atlanta Hawks to force them to a seventh game in the first round, and it could be their doom against the more formidable Cavaliers and star LeBron James.

``The key is winning the series. Whether it's at home or on the road, you just try to win it,'' Pierce said. ``It's a three-game series, with two of them at home.''

Asked if there was a danger that his players were using their home-court advantage as a crutch, Celtics coach Doc Rivers said, ``The danger is that you're playing on the road right now against really good teams.

``We earned that right to have home-court advantage,'' he said. ``I don't think it has anything to do with why we haven't won a road game. We haven't played well on the road, and we have to do better.''

Thanks to their 66-16 regular-season record, the Celtics could theoretically win their 17th NBA title without ever winning a road game.

No team's ever done that, though, and the Celtics don't really want to be the first.

``I'm not even thinking about a Game 7. That's definitely the idea: Get a win (Wednesday) night and try to close it out in Game 6,'' Pierce said. ``We definitely have to play well (in Game 5), because we haven't been playing well on the road.

``You kind of want to treat it like a Game 7, because you can't count on winning Game 6.''

The Cavaliers are in a similar spot in the series - 2-0 at home and 0-2 on the road - but they can't fall back on having the deciding game at home. On the other hand, Cleveland won an away game in the first round, closing out the Wizards 105-88 in Washington in Game 6.

``It just shows how strong you are as a team to be able to go into a hostile environment and stick together and come out with a win,'' Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson said, adding that coming to Boston a second time will help.

``Once you've experienced an environment, going back to it is kind of like, 'We've been here before.' And we felt like we were right there to win a game. So we know what we're capable of doing on their floor and we're going into it with a lot of confidence.''

The Cavaliers are hanging onto their memories of a Game 1 loss in Boston that wasn't decided until James missed a layup with 8.5 seconds left. The Celtics won Game 2 more handily, but they have yet to come close in Cleveland.

``You can win all your home games and get a championship that way. I don't think that has ever been done,'' Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. ``You've got to get some road wins to be a champion, at least that's the history of the game.

``I tell our guys, if you expect to win in the playoffs, you've got to know how to defend and you've got to know how to win on the road.''