Group effort, solo choice

Garnett's prep works for team

BIRMINGHAM, Mich. - In the final hours before tipoff, Celtics players know to leave one teammate alone. Kevin Garnett doesn't need to say anything - his teammates understand when it comes to his pregame ritual he keeps to himself.

"We all have our own routines," guard Ray Allen said. "He's in his own world and you just leave Kevin alone and let him do what he has to do to get prepared. [Our routines] are all across the map from jovial before the game to staunch and very focused and unfettered."

It seems to work for Garnett, who has been among Boston's most consistent players in the playoffs. In the Eastern Conference finals, Garnett is averaging 24 points and 11.7 rebounds in three games. In Game 3, he helped the Celtics capture their first playoff road win by scoring a team-high 22 points and 13 rebounds. He also dished out six assists.

Yesterday Garnett credited his contributions to "just [being] fairly aggressive, nothing more, nothing less than that, just trying to be aggressive. Every time I've got a one-on-one, try to take it. Other than that, trying to make plays for my teammates."

Guard Sam Cassell said being close to a championship can serve as a player's motivation at this point.

"It's strange, but it gets him going," Cassell added about Garnett's pregame routine. "If you don't wear the same color uniform that he has on, he don't like you, he doesn't want to talk to you. It works for him. So if it works for him, it works for me."

After Saturday night's 94-80 win, coach Doc Rivers said Garnett's intensity has been needed.

"I thought down the stretch, I thought his intensity was almost getting in the way of him because he wanted this so bad," Rivers said. "But in the locker room before games and the shootarounds before games, he's our rock, he really is. He keeps everybody focused. It's deadly serious, and that's nice to have a guy like that."

Walk before run

The Celtics are trying their best to make the right calls on whether to practice between games.

"It's a balancing act," said Rivers, whose team has played every other day since April 26. "You have a saying that if it's legs or brains, I'll take the legs. Legs are very important. You have to have that, otherwise, if you can think but you can't move, it doesn't matter anyway."

Rivers opted for a film session and walkthrough at the team hotel yesterday. Allen said he was not surprised to have a light day before Game 4.

"This has pretty much been our routine all year," he said. "We have gotten a lot of rest. We're not in that situation where you're looking up and saying, 'We're here every single day.'

"We definitely have a lot of time to spend around family and friends amidst playing in the NBA season, where we want to win a championship."

The walkthrough touched upon the usual defensive and offensive adjustments, but there was a focus on transition defense, Rivers said. The Celtics gave up 16 fast-break points in Game 3, 13 in the second half. The Celtics gave up 6 fast-break points in Game 1, and 4 in Game 2.

Cassell adapting

Cassell got his first action after not playing in four games and came out slightly rusty in Game 3. He had a shot blocked and had a turnover on the next possession after entering with 3:29 left in the first quarter. But Cassell quickly settled down to help the Celtics launch a 13-2 run, capped by his 3-pointer at the end of the period to give Boston a 25-17 lead.

"The first two minutes he was rattled," said Rivers after the game. "Not just he was rattled, he just hadn't played. That's why I left him out on the floor. I was going to let him play through it, and he did. It was nice to get him back in the series, just for the fact that he can handle the ball, he can handle the pressure that they're putting on us, and that's nice for our second unit."

Cassell played 8:17 in the victory and said he's still struggling with the lack of playing time. He said he is not complaining, he just needs time to accept the role.

"This is my first year ever that I've sat out in the playoff games, didn't get no playing time for four games," he said. "That was the first time ever in my career. It bothers not just me, but everyone around, like, 'Why are you not playing?' I'm not disguising it, but it's just tough.

"I ain't going to lie, it was tougher because I knew I could play. I competed against these guys with my teammates, with other teams before in the playoffs, and had a lot of success. But me getting here late in the year, who knows?"

Billups to play on

Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups, who had just 6 points in 27 minutes in Game 3, acknowledged he is frustrated by the limitations his strained right hamstring has put on his play.

"It [stinks], man. It's the worst, especially at this juncture of the season to be like this, to have this going on. It's frustrating," said Billups.

However, Billups said he planned to continue playing, and dismissed the idea that his being on the court at less than 100 percent is hurting his team.

"I think at this juncture of the season you can't sit out," Billups said. "I'm the leader of this team, one of the main leaders of this team. No matter what is going on I feel like I'm better out there on the court.

"We got a young guy, [Rodney] Stuckey, who is playing great right now, who I'm very proud of, who is having a great series and a great playoffs, period. So we got to find ways to keep him aggressive and keep him playing well, and at the same time I know that I have to play good for this team to win."

Stuckey has been a revelation for the Pistons in the playoffs and arguably their most effective player against the Celtics. He almost single-handedly put Detroit back in Game 3, leading a charge by scoring 10 of his 17 points in the second half. In the first three games of the series, Stuckey has come off the bench to average 13 points on 48 percent shooting in 22.8 minutes. "I think we got to play him, somewhere," said Detroit coach Flip Saunders. "I guess my surprise point has been how he's had so much composure."

Marc J. Spears and Christopher L. Gasper of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Monique Walker can be reached at mwalker@globe.com.