After winning Game 1 by the skin of their teeth and succumbing to a miserable third quarter for a loss in Game 2, the Boston Celtics finally decided to show up in Game 3, pounding the Philadelphia 76ers 107-91 to take a 2-1 series lead in their conference semifinal matchup.

Where have we seen something like this before?

Well, in the first round, the Celtics dismantled the Atlanta Hawks 101-79 in Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead. They had a chance to finish the Hawks off in Atlanta in Game 5, and they looked to be on their way to doing that by building an early 10-point lead. However, Atlanta rallied to force a Game 6, where Boston needed a heroic effort by Kevin Garnett to avoid a Game 7 on the road.

The Celtics absolutely cannot let that happen this time. They have the 76ers down, and now they need to finish them. They cannot mess around like they did with the Hawks. Of all the teams in the playoffs, Boston is the one that can least afford to play any extra minutes. Paul Pierce's knee, despite a very solid Game 3 performance, is shaky, Ray Allen is playing with bone spurs in his foot, and Avery Bradley's shoulder is popping out what seems like every five seconds.

The Celtics need rest, and coming out with the same sense of urgency they displayed in Game 3 for the rest of the series would help them get that.

Let's face it: Boston is better than Philadelphia. The Sixers are a scrappy group and play solid team basketball, but they just do not have the talent of the Celtics. To be honest, they should consider themselves lucky to only be down 2-1 right now, because it is eminently clear that Boston did not give its best effort in Games 1—which the Celtics were able to win in the fourth quarter—and 2.

That is not to take any credit away from the 76ers, but come on. The entire country saw on Wednesday night that if the Celtics really want to, they can demolish Philadelphia. The Sixers simply cannot match up with Garnett, and Rajon Rondo can toy with them.

Boston, more than any other team in the league, has a "switch." When it wants to flip it, it can be thoroughly dominant (see Game 4 against Atlanta and Game 3 against Philly). However, it can also turn the switch on to cruise control, and that is where it gets itself into trouble.

The Celtics cannot afford to coast this time around. They need to come out with a purpose in Game 4 and bury the 76ers. They need to come firing out of the gates in the first quarter and destroy any confidence Philadelphia has left.

You can sense that the Celtics are in the process of breaking the young Sixers' will. Did they do it completely yet? I'm not too sure, as this is still very much a series, but one dominant quarter can break it for good in Game 4. If Boston is able to build a double-digit lead early by deftly picking apart Philly's defense as it did in Game 3, it can start making plans for the Eastern Conference Finals.

Still, the Celtics actually have to go out and do this, and we have seen this type of thing trouble them before. They win when they have to, but when they don't necessarily need to pull out a victory, they tend to go through the motions.

Given the fact that Garnett, Pierce, and Allen know that this will likely be their last year together, their last chance to win that elusive second title as a group, I don't think we'll see them go through the motions in Game 4.

Pierce had a very different look in his eyes in Game 3. I haven't seen that look in Pierce in a long, long time. Probably not since the 2010 Finals.

I expect to see that look again in Game 4, just as I expect another Celtics win.