Boston’s Eddie House (50) and Kendrick Perkins hope to box in Cleveland’s Zydrunas Ilgauskas and the rest of the Cavaliers in Game Seven this afternoon at TD Banknorth Garden.

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AP / Tony Dejak

WALTHAM, Mass. — Boston coach Doc Rivers heard the cries from the fans during games.

Television analysts and radio talk-show hosts pleaded to Rivers to play lightning-quick sharpshooter Eddie House in favor of 38-year-old Sam Cassell, who has struggled on the defensive end guarding Cleveland guards Daniel Gibson and Delonte West.

Rivers was consistently asked by reporters why House wasn’t getting any playing time, but he put that question to rest in Game Six when he gave House the opportunity to show everyone what he could do.

House didn’t disappoint.

House provided a spark off the bench, shooting 3-for-5 from the floor for eight points.

“I’ve been putting up a lot of shots in the off time, running on the treadmill and just tried to be ready when my number was called,” House said yesterday after the Celtics had a film session and a short walk-through for practice. “I just tried to pick up where I left off before I got hurt.”

House’s Game Six solid performance came as no surprise to him.

“I shoot shots to make shots,” House said. “I never shoot it to miss it.”

House, who averaged 7.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 3-pointers per game during the regular season in 19 minutes of action, had only played a total 41 minutes in the Celtics 12 playoff games prior to the 18 minutes he played in Game Six.

“When I get in there, I try to make the most of it,” House said. “In those minutes you have to try to knock them down. You’re not going to knock them down all the time but you have to take them with confidence.”

House only had three points in 41 minutes in the playoffs, and had played just 11 minutes this series prior to Game Six.

“I just try to stay mentally involved in the game, that way, if you get called, you just have to get your body moving because you are already into the game,” House said.

Rivers said that Cassell doesn’t mind sitting out like he did in Game Six if the Celtics win.

“He wants to win, and if that means him playing [today], or if that means him sitting, he wants to do whatever it takes to help the team win,” Rivers said.

Allen’s shooting woes mount

Boston All-Star Ray Allen is still searching for a breakout game against Cleveland in the postseason.

Allen torched Cleveland’s defense for 22, 24, 20, and 29 points during the regular season, but he is averaging just 10.2 points per game in the series and is shooting a woeful 34.5 percent from the floor and a horrific 18.2 percent from behind-the-arc.

“They’ve made a conscious effort to try to take Ray out of the series as far as catch-and-shoots and they’re tough on him on pick-and-rolls,” Rivers said. “To Ray’s credit, he’s making the right plays. He just makes the next pass and when he does that, we are still going to score.”

Allen is Boston’s second-leading scorer in the series at the free-throw line. He has knocked down 19 of the 20 free throws that he has taken.

“We don’t make a conscious effort to get him shots, we make a conscious effort to get him running off of screens and then he has to make the play,” Rivers said. “They are not going to give him shots. We can get him shots with ball movement sometimes, but as far as set plays and moving off of screens, they’re trapping him every time he catches it. That’s fine with us because it opens other guys up.”

Fun and games

Unlike in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal game against Atlanta where many of the Celtics were so nervous they couldn’t sleep the night before, Boston appeared relaxed yesterday at practice.

Paul Pierce, Cassell, Tony Allen, and Brian Scalabrine played a tournament of one-on-one games, while Leon Powe and Kendrick Perkins cheered them on.

Rivers joked that it might not have been a bad idea if nobody slept last night. Boston beat Atlanta by 34 points in the quarterfinals.

“If they play like they played in the last one, I hope they do the exact same thing,” Rivers said.

roblee@projo.com