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The Boston Celtics will take Saturday off from practice, but if you need your Rajon Rondo fix, you can check out Red Bull's King of the Rock. From Red Bull:

Amidst the crumbling walls and the eerily lit cell house of one of the most notorious locations on earth, CBS will air Red Bull King of the Rock on Saturday, May 19 at 2 pm ET. Hosted by All-Star Guard Rajon Rondo, 64 players from around the world make their way onto the same yard that housed inmates more than 50 years ago.

PHILADELPHIA -- A look at ESPN Boston headlines after the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series Friday night at Wells Fargo Center, including a look at how Boston has chosen the most difficult path available:

PHILADELPHIA -- As goes Kevin Garnett, so goes this Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers.

Garnett produced monster efforts in Boston's triumphs in Games 1 and 3, but Philadelphia evened the series at 2 games apiece with Friday's Game 4 rally in which the 76ers did exactly what they did best in Game 2: Keep Garnett quiet.

Garnett labored through 3 of 12 shooting in Game 4 while putting up 9 points and 11 rebounds over 40 minutes. More condemning, he turned the ball over a game-high 7 times (Philadelphia as a team had 11 giveaways for the game) and simply wasn't the dominating presence he's been at times in Boston's recent wins.

According to ESPN Stats and Info, Garnett was a mere 2 of 10 (20 percent) on shots from 10+ feet, this after shooting 58.8 percent and making at least five shots per game from that distance in each of the first three games. Asked about Garnett's inability to get going on offense after Friday's 92-83 decision at Wells Fargo Center, Rivers simply shrugged and pleaded for time to study the film.

"Don’t know; I’m going to have to go look at that, and figure that one out myself," said Rivers. "I never thought we established him. I thought he was passive tonight, a lot. And we have to get him back in the middle of the paint and being more aggressive. So that’s on us, we have to figure that out."

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Celtics coach Doc Rivers said his team lost its composure in the second half of Game 4 on Friday night against the 76ers.

"And once we did, we never really returned to playing basketball the way we played in the first half," he said.

Rivers took responsibility for not being able to get his team back on track.

"You know, whenever that happens I always think that's me," Rivers said. "I always think there's something the coach can do to slow them down, to get them back in their sets, to get them back in their rhythm, and I couldn't do it."

PHILADELPHIA -- Rapid reaction after the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Boston Celtics 92-83 in Game 4 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series Friday night at Wells Fargo Center. (The series is tied at two games apiece):

HOW THE GAME WAS WON
Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner each scored 16 points to pace five 76ers in double figures. Philadelphia shot a mere 32.8 percent (19 of 58) through three frames, but made 12 of 24 shots in the final frame (including some huge second-chance efforts) to cap an incredible and rather improbable rally. Paul Pierce scored a team-high 24 points on 8 of 13 shooting, while Rajon Rondo added 15 points and 15 assists. Kevin Garnett slumped badly, however, making just 3 of 12 shots for nine points and 11 rebounds over 40 minutes.

TURNING POINT
The Celtics coughed up an 18-point third-quarter lead, allowing the 76ers to take the lead in the final frame. A seesaw battle erupted and the game was tied at 83 with 1:38 to play after a Rondo finger roll. That's when Iguodala took over. First, he drilled a step-back jumper with 1:22 to go to push Philadelphia back out front. After Thaddeus Young blocked a Rondo layup attempt, Iguodala splashed a back-breaking late-shot-clock 3-pointer from the right corner for an 88-83 advantage with 36.9 seconds to go. That was it for Boston, as Ray Allen missed a triple on the ensuing possession and the 76ers emerged victorious.

BOLD PLAY OF THE GAME
Let the Philadelphia bench have this spot. Young (12 points, nine rebounds) and Lavoy Allen (eight points, 10 rebounds) were absolute beasts down the stretch, abusing Boston inside and generating key buckets that set up Iguodala's heroics.

C'S DOMINATED OUT OF THE GATES
The Celtics' bench initially was Flexin' early and often as Boston made its first four shots of the game -- including back-to-back 3-pointers by Pierce and Avery Bradley -- en route to scoring the first 14 points of the game. Jrue Holiday finally broke up the shutout with a jumper with 8:24 to go in the frame, but the damage had been done. The 76ers finished the first quarter staring at a 12-point deficit after shooting 18.8 percent (3 of 16). Brandon Bass scored 10 points on 4 of 6 shooting to pace the Celtics' fast start.

YOU KNEW THEY'D MAKE A RUN
The Celtics scored the first nine points in Monday's Game 2 loss at TD Garden and you sort of figured the 76ers would make a charge at some point. It didn't take long. Once Boston's reserves rolled in, Philadelphia trimmed its deficit as low as six (24-18) just three minutes into the second quarter. Despite Boston's efforts (nine turnovers, 21 free-throw attempts allowed before the intermission), Philadelphia refused to immediately capitalize (four points off turnovers, eight missed free throws before halftime). A driving layup by Rondo before the break had Boston up 46-31 at the midway point.

AND THEY CHARGED (FOR REAL) IN THE THIRD QUARTER
The Celtics missed their first nine shots of the second half, enduring a near seven-minute drought to let the 76ers right back into the game (yet again). Boston's lead went as low as 58-54 with 2:47 to go in the quarter, but Garnett forced a turnover, then led a little 2-on-1 break that he finished with a reverse layup. Next trip down, Pierce drilled a left wing 3-pointer to push Boston's advantage to 63-54, though Boston led by only four going to the final frame. The 76ers tied it just 90 seconds into the final frame.

KG, BRAND GET TECHNICALS
Garnett, laboring through a struggle-filled night, got tagged with a technical (by referee Bill Kennedy) with 9:46 to play in the third quarter. It was an odd sequence with the Celtics in transition and Garnett barking about something at midcourt. Garnett promptly atoned by getting in Elton Brand's head, leading to a technical on him. Later in the third quarter, Ryan Hollins and Spencer Hawes got matching double technicals.

WHAT IT MEANS
So the Celtics have chosen the hard road yet again. Boston had this game -- and the series -- in the bag in the second half. Sticking with the season theme, Boston bumbled the game away and let Philadelphia steal the win that sends this back to TD Garden with all the pressure on the Celtics to hold serve. The 76ers have all the momentum again and Boston has to find a way to put this one behind them. They'll get two days to think about it before the teams joust again on Monday. Philly's victory ensures we'll be back at Wells Fargo for Game 6 on Wednesday.

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doug Collins said he will not make a starting lineup swap heading into Game 4 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Boston Celtics.

Even with Elton Brand battling a stiff neck, Collins said he would stick with a "proud" guy in Brand, rather than make a switch to someone like Lavoy Allen, who is having a solid series.

"I think (the neck is) bothering (Brand) more than what he wants to say, I'll say that," said Collins. "He's one of the most proud guys I've been around. I'm going to put him out there again and see what he can do."

The Celtics made a somewhat controversial late-season starting lineup swap moving Ray Allen to the bench and keeping Avery Bradley with the starting unit after thriving in Allen's absence. Last night, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra tweaked Miami's starting lineup looking to compensate for the loss of Chris Bosh.

How does Doc Rivers feel about lineup swaps?

"You have to do what you have to do," said Rivers. "It’s one game at a time, trying to win that game. We all do it. I don’t do it very often. I don’t change a lot, in that way. I may want to and just sub early, sometimes we do that. I’m a big believer in continuity. Having said that, listen, you’ll do anything to win a game. I think all of us coaches have tried it."

The Celtics are dinged up, including starters Paul Pierce (left MCL sprain) and Avery Bradley (sore left rotator cuff), but they'll have their typical lineup on the floor. And Collins expects them to be looking for a bit of a knockout punch with a chance to take a 3-1 series edge with Game 5 set for Boston on Monday night.

Collins said the Celtics are likely thinking about not having to come back here and getting some rest. After Boston's offensive fireworks in Game 3, Collins noted, "We have to do a better job defensively."

A few last-minute stats that emphasize the power position that the Boston Celtics are in up 2-1 entering Friday's Game 4 against the Philadelphia 76ers (stats courtesy of ESPN Stats and Info):

* Including the first round of this postseason, team who’ve led 2-1 in a best-of-seven has gone on to win the series 82.4 percent (271-58) of the time in NBA history. Teams leading 2-1 went 5-0 in the first round this postseason.

* When Philadelphia has trailed a best-of-seven series 2-1, it has gone on to lose the series 90 percent (2-18) of the time in its franchise history. The last time the 76ers won a postseason series after trailing 2-1 was in the 2001 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Bucks (they won that series 4-3).

* Here's another 2-1 nugget from Elias Sports Bureau: Boston has won 39 of the 42 best-of-seven series in which they have held a 2-1 lead in their franchise history. That 92.9 percent success rate is the highest for any NBA franchise that has been in this situation at least eight times. The only teams to come back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Celtics in a best-of-seven series were the Pistons in the 1991 conference semifinals, the Cavaliers in the 1992 conference semifinals, and the Nets in the 2002 conference finals.

* And just a general note on the series from Elias: This is the 19th time that the Celtics and 76ers have met in a playoff series (Boston won 11 of the previous 18 matchups). That is by far the most playoff series played between any two teams in NBA history (second most: 13 Boston vs. New York).

The Boston Celtics can put a stranglehold on an Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena (8 p.m., ESPN). On the heels of a dominant Game 3 triumph here Wednesday, the Celtics own a 2-1 lead and are looking for more before the series shifts back to Boston. To preview tonight's Game 4 matchup, we play a game of 2-on-2 with CelticsHub's Brian Robb.

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1. Predict the unpredictable: Can the C's carry their momentum from Game 3 over to Game 4 and take a commanding 3-1 lead?

Robb: I like their chances of maintaining the momentum. This team hasn't made it easy on themselves all season, but after Game 3 you have to think the C's smell blood. They know a 3-1 series lead all but puts away Philadelphia for good. Plus, with Miami having their hands full with Indiana on the other side of the bracket, a quick wrap to the series could bring several days off, which is plenty of motivation for the ailing members of the roster. Besides the added rest incentive, I just think the C's worst basketball of the series is behind them. They won't replicate their nearly perfect Game 3 effort, but Kevin Garnett can't be stopped, Mickael Pietrus has rediscovered his shot, and the C's have made defensive adjustments that will be tough for the Sixers to counter heading into Game 4.

Forsberg: We hear so much about the importance of peaking at the right time in sports. Well, I don't know if it's possible for the Celtics to peak considering the lingering injuries they're battling, but I wonder if -- apologies for an awkward sounding phrase -- they can consistent at the right time. All season we've been seemingly waiting for this team to build off quality performances. And yet they always seem to let off the accelerator a little bit, making things just a bit more difficult on themselves. Friday's Game 4 is a chance to all but lock up this series, build off the boundless confidence that seems to exist after Game 3. Heck, with another effort like Wednesday night, the Celtics could consider printing up some Pacer-like T-shirts with Green Swagger on it for later in the playoffs. You get the feeling this team is locked in and focused, but they gotta show it. It'll also be interesting to see how Philadelphia responds to this adversity; they've rebounded from each previous playoff loss with a win, but can they keep up the trend in Game 4?

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ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg checked in from Philadelphia on Friday afternoon to talk Celtics and tonight's Game 4 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series against the 76ers.

Hop HERE to read the transcript.

Chris Forsberg phones in to ESPN Boston Radio with Adam Jones from Philadelphia to chat about tonight's Game 4 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Celtics and 76ers (and maybe even look a little further down the road).

Hop HERE to listen to the podcast.

PHILADELPHIA -- After Celtics reserve guard Ray Allen got up only one shot in Wednesday's Game 3 win over the 76ers, there remains a lot of chatter about whether he needs more touches moving forward.

Allen continues to suggest he's perfectly fine with a low shot output if Boston continues to win lopsided playoff games. And Celtics coach Doc Rivers pointed out Friday morning that Allen impacts the game whether he's rifling off 14 shots (like he did while scoring 17 points in Game 2) or a single shot in Game 3.

"I don’t have to change anything tonight that happened from the last game," said Allen. "The way they guarded me, the way they guarded us as a team -- the final score was the result that we were all hoping for. I can do everything this whole day the same way, go into the game and handle it the same way. The object is to win."

Wednesday's Game 3 was the first time in 117 playoff games that Allen had less than four shots in a postseason contest. What's more, it was only the second time in his career that he generated just one shot in a game. The other? Back on Jan. 11, 2006, when Allen, then with the Seattle SuperSonics, and Keyon Dooling, then with the Orlando Magic, got tossed for a second-quarter dust-up.

Informed of the coincidence, both Allen and Dooling could smile about that night. Dooling joked, "Well then we gotta make sure no one gets in a scuffle with him; maybe he’ll get more shots."

Even if he doesn't, Rivers is perfectly fine with Allen drawing constant attention on the floor.

"Allen on the floor means somebody’s open," said Rivers. "I always kid with Reggie Miller and say, 'Hey, we could use you on the last play of the game, today.’ Because it guarantees someone is going to stand next to him, and that’s what Ray does. Ray sets picks for us right now and no one can get off his body, or he stands in the corner, and someone’s going to stand next to him, which allows us to drive to his side. And that’s what we did a lot (in Game 3) -- drove to Ray’s side."

Allen takes the constant attention -- and the low shot output -- as a sign of respect.

"I think about what I’ve been able to do in this league, over the course of my career, being able to be regarded as one of the greatest shooters of all time. Now it’s at the point where it hurts me," he said. "Nobody wants me to take a shot. I appreciate that respect from opposing players and opposing coaches, or fans, when I get open, they always wonder how I get open. To be able to use that in the game, in a playoff situation, is a huge weapon.

"I’m always ready to take the shot and make the shot. But I know being out there on the floor, it does change the complexity of how the other team plays defense. It helps with cutting, with pick-and-roll coverages -- it helps a lot. You have to do what you have to do to help this team win. It can be frustrating because you want to get in and get the ball. The ultimate objective here is for us to win games, and that, to me, I have to help the team win."

PHILADELPHIA -- After a light offday Thursday, the Celtics reconvened on the court at Wells Fargo Center for a morning shootaround in advance of Friday's Game 4 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Philadelphia 76ers. A handful of notes from morning access:

* For the first time in a while, health didn't dominate the conversation. It's pretty much assumed at this point that all the dinged up bodies -- including Paul Pierce (left MCL sprain), Ray Allen (right ankle bone spurs), and Avery Bradley (sore left rotator cuff) -- will be playing through their aches and pains. All 15 guys were on the floor as the team prepared to launch into shootaround.

* Pierce did sport a bulky stabilizing brace over his left knee. Boston's captain, who has clearly grown tired of the questions about his health and has lately resorted to saying he's fine, clarified that he is unlikely to wear the brace during Game 4. Pierce politely suggested it was strictly precautionary by noting, "Well, when I first hurt (the knee) it was in a shootaround, why have another accident at shootaround?" Pierce suffered the MCL sprain when he tripped over a teammate's foot before Game 4 of a first-round series against the Hawks.

* While health wasn't exactly in focus, Rivers did spend a lot of time talking about the team's decision this postseason to stay off the court on offdays, especially given the quick turnarounds with games staggered just about every other day. "Well, we’re just old," he quipped. "We’ve done that (each game), for the most part. With the way the series is constructed so far, we’ve yet to go on the floor between games. It’s just not enough time for recovery with our legs. If we were younger, we’d be able to do that, but with this team, we’ve learned through the season, they need days off."

Rivers was quick to point out that a day off doesn't necessarily mean the entire team is lounging by the pool with their Kindles.

"When we don’t practice, guys still work on their games," said Rivers. "We didn’t do anything yesterday, but Kevin was over there shooting. Guys, especially veterans, more than young guys, understand what they need to do to keep them in rhythm. I think for young guys, days off are bad, because I don’t think they get that. They think a day off is a day off, they don’t understand what gets you to the next day or the next game. And I think a lot of our veteran guys, if they need a day off, they take it off. Ray rarely takes a day off; he’s running somewhere -- down the street, riding a bike; Paul’s on the treadmill yesterday at the hotel. They just get their bodies. But they have the experience in that, so that’s an advantage for them."

* Rivers also noted that Garnett still got some shots up during the offday hoping to maintain his rhythm after a dominant Game 3 performance. When a Philadelphia reporter joked that 76ers fans will be thrilled to hear Garnett was working on his shot, Rivers laughed and noted, "Kevin’s a creature of habit. The one thing we do know, he reminds me a lot of Patrick Ewing, who I played with. Days off, even though he needed them, were bad, because it would take him out of rhythm. So they both would always go to the gym."

* While Rivers initially griped about the spacing of the first four games of this series, Pierce said it's actually worked out quite well, especially by avoiding the back-to-back games this round. "I think it’s great for us," he said. "We haven’t played particularly well in back-to-back situations; the two back-to-back games we came here (in Philadelphia during the regular season), we got blown out. I think it works to our benefit. Not having back-to-backs and not having long layoffs -- I don’t know how it goes down when we have three or four days off, but I kinda like the every-other day (schedule), it keeps us in a good rhythm."

A two-day break looms before Monday's Game 5 in Boston.

A look at ESPN Boston offday headlines, including the unpredictable nature of these 2012 Celtics before Game 4 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Philadelphia 76ers:

PHILADELPHIA -- Ever the pleaser, Kevin Garnett looked at Ray Allen in the Celtics' locker room after Wednesday's Game 3 win over the 76ers and told him how the team needed to get more shots. Allen just smiled and, knowing Garnett was exhausted after a 27-point, 13-rebound effort that saw him put up a whopping 17 shots, told him not to worry about Allen's output.

"I know (Garnett) at times, he gets tired and it looks like we’re really going to him a lot. I want to help him as much as I can," said Allen. "But he told me last night in the locker room, ‘We gotta do whatever we can to get you open.’ And I looked at him and I said, ‘Kevin, you're the guy that’s getting the shots, you're the guy that’s scoring. We just won by 20. I don’t need (shots), for the sake of my ego or anything like that. We just have to keep doing what we’re doing. If they’re going to continue to guard us this way, you gotta keep doing what you’re doing, because we’re going to keep giving you the ball.'"

Wednesday's victory was the only time in Allen's career that he's taken less than four shots in a playoff game (that came back on May 6, 2008 when he was 0 for 4 in a win over Cleveland). In 115 other career playoff games, Allen had never attempted less than six shots per contest.

But if Boston's offense is going to put up 107 points, Allen isn't going to bark about touches. No, he's content to grab four rebounds over 25:26 and spend the night as a bit of a decoy if it results in lopsided wins.

"It’s the playoffs, so you gotta play to your second and third option, try to get easy baskets," said Allen. "They're trying to take me and Paul (Pierce) out of the game. Paul, yesterday, he attacked early in transition; Rondo attacked in transition, so those plays were tough to stop. All of our set stuff, they’re trying to take away. So when I come off screens, they’re contributing two guys to me. So to be out there, I have to have some type of impact other than scoring, so I gotta make sure I’m giving help, defensively, on the big guys down low, and definitely rebounding, which has been our Achilles' (heel) all year. In order to win in these playoffs, we have to rebound, and that gives us transition buckets. For us guards, we have to give a more conscious effort on rebounding."

Allen is in the final year of his contract and a diminished role could entice him to look elsewhere after the season. Asked about this being the potential last rodeo for the Big Three, he echoed the company line and said that's been the buzz for numerous years and said he couldn't focus on it now.

"You just have to not worry about tomorrow and focus on the present, because there’s a lot happening in the present," said Allen.

What's maybe more noteworthy is that Allen made it through an entire press interview without the subject of his balky right ankle being brought up, an encouraging sign in his progress through bone spurs that forced him to sit out the first two games of the postseason.

PHILADELPHIA -- The Boston Celtics took Thursday off from on-court activities, but gathered inside their hotel ballroom for an afternoon film session during which coach Doc Rivers planned to remind his team that one quality win does not ensure a series victory.

Boston throttled the Philadelphia 76ers in Wednesday's Game 3, seizing a 2-1 lead in an Eastern Conference semifinal series, but Rivers is imploring his team to bring similar focus and energy to Game 4 on Friday night at Wells Fargo Center.

"We’re taking one game at a time; we won the first one (in Philadelphia), now we have another one," said Rivers. "But the key for us is to keep our focus and play with the same energy, not play like we won and now we can relax. You have to win the series, that’s the point here. You have to take one game at a time. You can’t look at whether you lost or won; the last game is over, now we have a new game."

When the topic of whether this could potentially be the last rodeo for Boston's Big Three came up (yet again), Rivers brushed it aside and put the focus back on Game 4.

"I have no idea, I really don’t," he said. "I don’t play (the last rodeo) up, I can tell you that. This is this year. Hell, I don’t know what’s going to go on two months from now and I don’t want think about it. We have to take care of tomorrow. We have to watch film today, and get ready for tomorrow, and then after that, it’s the next game. And that’s how it’s gotta be for us. We’ve been forced into that with all the injuries and stuff we’ve gone through. We’ve become a single-game team, and that’s what we have to stay."

The way point guard Rajon Rondo sees it, there's always room for improvement, even after Boston's dominant effort in Game 3 stole back home-court advantage and the momentum in the series.

"We didn’t play a perfect game," said Rondo. "We made a lot more shots than we did in Game 2, but there’s some things we can do defensively to make adjustments, to try to continue to shut those guys down. They scored 33 points in the first quarter, that’s a quarter we can look at. They made some tough shots, they got into the paint, which we don’t want to allow. We still have some room to improve as well."

Celtics captain Paul Pierce is expecting Philly's best punch on Friday.

"We know they’re going to play a better game," he said. "They’re at home again, backs against the wall if we win this next game [because] I like our chances with two games at home, so you gotta expect a better game from them, get behind their crowd and play better ball. We have to be able to come out and take their first punch, withstand it and just try to grind it out like we did [in Game 3]."