Posey keeps ticket requests all in the family

The Celtics have yet to have any success on the road in the playoffs, but at least one Celtic will feel right at home in Cleveland, James Posey.

Posey was born and raised in Cleveland and attended R.B. Chamberlain High in the Cleveland suburb of Twinsburg.

The forward might not be that popular in his hometown since he helped put the clamps on Cavaliers star LeBron James in Games 1 and 2 in Boston, holding him to 8-of-42 shooting with a combined 17 turnovers. Posey also figures to spend some time guarding James tonight in Game 3 at Quicken Loans Arena.

Posey expects to get a home-cooked meal from his mother and see his family, but the homecoming won't serve as a distraction.

"I'm excited with my family there and the purpose of it, the playoffs. It's exciting, but at the same time it's business as usual," said Posey.

As for ticket requests, all those go through his mother, Rosetta Moore. Posey made a veteran move long ago in his second NBA season when he delegated ticket responsibility to her.

"That's been [figured out] since my second year in the league," said Posey. "They want me to buy a whole bunch of tickets for people who all of the sudden want to come to the games. But I nipped that in the bud. If you can't ask my mom for tickets, then you ain't coming to the game. That's how we nipped it in the bud back there. You call my mom and ask for a ticket . . .

"If you haven't been coming out to support me, don't try to do it all of the sudden now."

Point well taken

Despite the first-quarter struggles of Rajon Rondo Thursday night in Game 2, the Celtics have clearly gotten the better of the point guard play in the series. Rondo and Sam Cassell have combined to outscore Cleveland's Delonte West and Daniel Gibson, 44-16. Rondo and Cassell combined for 28 points and six assists in Game 1 and 16 points and nine assists in Game 2. West and Gibson have eight assists combined in the series, although it should be noted that Cleveland's offense runs through James.

Rondo, who played fewer minutes than Cassell in Game 2, said before tipoff he doesn't worry about how the numbers or playing time breaks down.

"I just try to play and get the win. I don't need any glory or anything like that," Rondo said. "As long as we get the win, I'm fine with whatever happens, whether I'm doing it or Sam is doing it. We're happy for each other. I just watch the game. I don't care about the statistics part of the game."

Wallace doubtful

Cavaliers forward Ben Wallace, who checked out of Game 2 with 8:20 remaining in the first quarter when he became dizzy, is listed as doubtful for Game 3. Wallace was examined yesterday at the Cleveland Clinic and did not practice. According to team spokesman Tad Carper, "The preliminary thought was that it was some kind of inner-ear infection that was combined with some allergies," which prompted Wallace to sit out the remainder of Game 2. "It started as an allergy attack," Wallace said after the game. "It was like a tough headache. My head was spinning and I couldn't turn my head up or down. You can't play basketball with your head spinning like that." . . . Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said if Wallace is unable to play, Anderson Varejao would likely draw the start. Varejao, a 6-foot-10-inch, 240-pounder, pulled down 10 rebounds in 33 minutes in Game 2 . . . Forget James. How do you stop Zydrunas Ilgauskas? The 7-3 center has averaged 16.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks in six games against the Celtics this season. In this series, Ilgauskas ranks as Cleveland's leading scorer with a 20.5-point average on 56 percent shooting (17 for 30), and as many rebounds (17) as James has turnovers (17).

At the movies

The Celtics had a brief film session yesterday in Waltham. They left for Cleveland at 3:25 p.m., and arrived around 5:30 . . . The Celtics are scheduled to practice tomorrow at Quicken Loans Arena, but that's subject to change depending on how tonight's game goes . . . West said he wasn't surprised that Ray Allen found the range in the third quarter of Game 2. "You can't keep a good player down," said West.

Michael Vega (from Cleveland) and Marc J. Spears of the Globe staff contributed to this report