CLEVELAND -- The Celtics took the floor Saturday like a team that had spent the previous three days scouring the internet for every last glowing testimonial to its greatness.
The Celtics left the floor on Saturday with a black eye, bandaged chin, and four missing teeth, victims of a beatdown they probably had coming.
"We needed to get our butts whupped," said guard Terry Rozier. "Come back to reality and take care of business on Monday."
Reality is, what's left of these Celtics may be formidable, but it's not nearly enough to just show up on the home floor of the best player of this generation and expect to samba to victory.
The Celtics are about taking nothing for granted, playing cohesively, and always, always, always throwing the first punch. In Saturday's 116-86 Game 3 obliteration at the hand of the host Cavaliers, they did none of the above.
The seven players left in the rotation didn't advance this far by coasting and assuming the other guys would fold. They took what was theirs by flooring it and never being outworked.
But on Saturday, they reminded us how tenuous their hold on any series can be minus superstar point guard Kyrie Irving. The Cavs went backdoor like Princeton on speed and they drilled half of their 34 3-pointers. The Celtics, meanwhile, settled for pull-up jumpers and isolation plays that were completely at odds with their side-to-side ball movement offense.
"Like our coach says all the time, the toughest team sets the rules, and they came out aggressive from the jump and they never looked back," Rozier said. "They never looked back. So when you've got a team that's playing aggressive like that at home, it's tough."
Game 4 looms on Monday and it represents the most consequential game these Celtics have ever faced, and that includes veteran Al Horford, who somehow didn't even take a shot in the first quarter on Saturday as the C's fell behind by 15.
A win puts the Celtics in the driver's seat, up 3-1 and heading home for a chance to clinch, as they did against Philadelphia in the conference semis. Lose, and they've given LeBron James and Co. a reason to believe that not only is the series not over, but it's now Cleveland's to win.
"Every game you've got to bring it, especially in the playoffs," said guard Marcus Smart. "Nobody's going to give you anything, especially on their home court. We've just got to go out and take it."
The Celtics are just 1-5 on the road this postseason after owning the best road record in the East during the season. They toughed out a win in Philadelphia after surviving a Marco Belinelli buzzer-beater to force OT -- the falling confetti game -- and they're approaching Game 4 like it's a must-win, no excuses.
"In my 11 years as a head coach, I probably haven't talked about road and home five times with our team," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "It's about how you play between the lines. Because I think if you start talking about that, then you find excuses in both places. We can't play like we played tonight no matter where we played."
After three days of discussion like, "Could the Celtics actually give the Warriors a series?" and, "Is Brad Stevens the best coach in the NBA?" a little perspective was in order. The Celtics remain undermanned. The Cavaliers remain the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions. LeBron James remains a physical force unrivaled in NBA history.
This was never going to be easy. And now the Celtics know it. We'll find out what they're made of in Game 4.
"I felt like we needed this," said Rozier, "to get us back, to get us ready for Monday."