There were no overtimes needed tonight. The Celtics came out in the 2nd half and put on an offensive and defensive clinic that turned a 15-point halftime lead into a 27 point 3rd quarter lead. The result? A 118-90 blowout win that pushes the Celtics to 3-0 going in to their meeting with New Orleans on Sunday. Paul Pierce had a quiet first half, scoring just two points, but exploded for 20 in the 3rd quarter, and wound up with 22 points on the game. While Pierce was sizzling in that 3rd quarter, it was Rondo who was the player of the game. He only scored 2 points (on only 2 shots), but dished out 16 assists, grabbed 8 rebounds, and controlled the flow of the game from the outset. Through the first three games, the Celts have looked pretty damn unstoppable, and are making good on their goal to be the best defensive team in NBA history. Post game pressers:   What we learned:- The Celtics need to re-sign Rondo, and now. I don't care that he can't shoot. He is the perfect quarterback of this team, and is probably, believe it or not, the co-MVP of the team. - I'm not a fan of the 3-point shot, but damn, if the Celts keep shooting it like this, fire away.- Ray Allen played only 23 minutes tonight (see - don't worry about lofty minutes) .- P2 led the starters with 31 minutes- When the House catches fire, the House burn white hot (22 points on 9-13 shooting off the bench)- I thought Lester Hudson liked to shoot. Come on, Lester, put up a shot or two. - Joakim Noah has cracked my top-5 of most annoying NBA players (joining LeBron James, Mike Bibby, Andersen Varejao, and Pau Gasol)- If the Celtics' defense keeps playing like this,it WILL go down as the best defensive team in NBA history Now, the Box Score: PlayerMinsFGM/A3FM/AFTM/AOREBDREBT-REBASTPFSTLTOBSBAPTS34Pierce, Paul31:208-125-71-1178403301225Garnett, Kevin24:407-130-02-32242311011643Perkins, Kendrick19:024-50-01-2044040230920Allen, Ray23:177-92-34-4011230200209Rondo, Rajon29:551-20-00-0358163120027Daniels, Marquis25:232-50-13-4022401101730Wallace, Rasheed25:422-91-62-2123231200713Williams, Shelden24:202-40-06-628102401201050House, Eddie22:089-134-70-01121201002226Hudson, Lester10:151-20-01-200000000034Giddens, J.R.03:580-00-00-0000000100044Scalabrine, BrianDNPTOTALS:-43-7412-2420-24103242332271653118PERCENTAGES58.1%50.0%83.3%TEAM REBOUNDS: 5TOTAL TURNOVERS: 16-