For anyone who watched last night's Lakers/Celtics game, it must have come as a shock that despite horrible performances by Pierce and KG, and the fact that the Lakers were getting a lot of calls, the Celtics actually had a real shot to win this game. In fact, the only reason LA won was because Boston managed to play (and be coached) slightly worse.

Game 3 was a golden opportunity for the Celtics to an insurmountable lead in the series, but it didn't happen. And the reason was pretty simple. Doc Rivers cost his team the game.

What's funny about this is Doc admittedly outcoached Phil for the most part in Games 1 and 2. But as we all know, old habits die hard, and Doc's penchant for horrible coaching was unleashed in Game 3.

His first huge mistake was not trapping Kobe at the end of the game. Jeff Van Gundy, who was actually a good coach, couldn't understand what Doc was doing leaving Ray Allen alone on Kobe for two of the most crucial final shots of the game - both of which Kobe drained. Mark Jackson didn't understand it either. Plus the three previous possessions Vujacic, Gasol and Derek Fisher had all missed jumpers. You know, this reminds me of something. Like the game in the Atlanta series when Joe Johnson was hotter than a grill in hell and Doc refused to trap or double him. Didn't work out well against Johnson, didn't work out well against Kobe. Shocking.

Mistake two was was simply inexcusable, regardless of how anyone wants to spin it. Doc Rivers gave Leon Powe 6 minutes. Yes, the same Leon Powe who put up a stunning 21 points in 15 minutes against the frail Lakers front court in Game 2 got next to no playing time in Game 3. Worse, I actually called this in an email to a friend the day before Game 3. He asked me how many minutes I thought Powe would get in Game 3 after his stellar performance in Game 2. I said five minutes, because Doc's jerked Powe around all season. I was off by one minute. I mean did Doc somehow miss this video from Game 2?

Lastly, as Fanhouse points out, the Celtics were down by 6 points with 21 seconds left and for some reason didn't foul LA - who remember, was shooting 61% from the stripe on the evening. Plus Kobe, normally a deadly foul shooter, was having a horrible night from the stripe. Fanhouse believes Doc simply forgot to tell his players to foul after the last timeout. I'd have to agree. I mean, it's still a two possession game at that point and worth one more shot to see if LA will miss some free throws.

I still think Boston can win the series, after all, they're still in the drivers seat. But it goes without saying that you can't give away games - especially road games you can win - in the NBA Finals. And you can't do it against a coach like Phil Jackson.

By the way, if LA goes on to win this series, you can look back at this game as the one that cost Boston the championship.