Recent road woes aren’t making Celtics nervous

Home-court advantage has proved to be a valuable commodity for the Celtics so far this postseason.

They are 9-0 at TD Garden during these playoffs and have blistered opponents early in games, shooting 47 percent from the field and 39 percent from the 3-point line. That has often helped the Celtics build cushions that enable them to withstand opponents’ second-half runs.

But after boasting the NBA’s third-best road record during the regular season, the Celtics have looked like a totally different team since the postseason began. They are just 1-4 away from their building and have seen their shooting numbers dip to 41 percent overall and 31 percent from beyond the arc.

That can’t persist if the Celtics are going to have success as the Eastern Conference finals shift to Cleveland on Saturday.

Marcus Smart, who was all over the court in the Celtics’ Game 2 win, didn’t take any offense to Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue’s comment that the Celtics have “shown they haven’t played that well on the road.”

“We haven’t played well — we know that,” Smart said. “We understand that other teams see that and try to exploit it, but that’s the beauty about this game: It just takes one game.

“Things change. Our confidence is high, (so) who knows?”

Coach Brad Stevens thought his entire team seemed a little “shellshocked” in Milwaukee during the first round, when after taking a 2-0 series lead it was promptly blown out 116-92 in Game 3. The Celtics lost all three road games in that series.

“We took a punch in the mouth right when guys came out,” Smart said. “They surprised us a little bit. We can’t afford to be surprised this time around.

“We’re just trying to make it as hard as we can on (the Cavaliers) to win a game and execute whatever plan Brad has for us.”

That will be easier said than done against a Cavaliers team that got 42 points and a triple-double from LeBron James in Tuesday’s loss. Stevens isn’t sure the Cavaliers have yet played to their full potential.

“We’ve all seen them play at an elite level for a long time,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of guys (who) have been there, done that, and we’re expecting that every game we’re going to have to play better to have a chance to win.”

One reason the Celtics have had success so far is their willingness to challenge James defensively.

“We got a bunch of young guys trying to make names for themselves in this league,” Jaylen Brown said. “Why not come out and play hard?

“Everybody says we’re playing with house money anyway, so why not come out with the energy level that we need and try to do something special?”