Fourth quarters are never dull with this team

You have to give the Celtics credit, when you come to the TD Garden, they want you to get your money's worth.

That's nearly impossible with the overpriced tickets and lame atmosphere (most of the time) but the Celts do their best to never let opposing teams out of the game.

Take last night for example. Boston was up 16 points on the Portland Trailblazers in the fourth quarter and moments later, the Blazers were only down one point.

Thankfully we still have one of the best pure shooters in NBA history - Ray Allen - and he came through with a clutch 3-pointer that gave Boston (14-4) a 99-95 win over Portland (8-10).

Allen's greatness was illustrated by the fact that he was having a terrible night, he was 3 of 12 for nine points.

Paul Pierce carried the team with a game-high 28 points and seven rebounds. Kevin Garnett added 17 points and eight rebounds despite getting stitches in his chin during the third quarter. For the second night in a row, Glen Davis was great off the bench with 16 points and seven rebounds.

Shaquille O'Neal had 14 points and Rajon Rondo added 10 points and 10 assists.

The Blazers are floundering right now having lost five in a row while the Celtics won their fifth straight.

Wesley Matthews shot lights out early on his way to a team-high 23 points for Portland. Andre Miller added 20 points and six assists while LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy both scored 18.

Boston shot 57.1% to Portland's 45.9%. The Celtics kept the Blazers in the game with six more turnovers (17-11).

The Celtics welcome the Chicago Bulls (and Carlos Boozer, who debuted last night) back to the TD Garden tomorrow night. In the first matchup this season, Boston won a tight one in overtime.

The Truth Bounces Back

Well at least we know the Celtics won't go winless on this West Coast trip. The Celts broke their three-game losing streak by beating Portland, 112-102 yesterday.

After both having their worst games of the year against Phoenix on Friday, Ray Allen (19 points, 4 assists) and especially Paul Pierce (30 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists) had outstanding shooting performances. Allen was 7 of 8 from the floor and a surprising 1 of 3 from the line while Pierce was 12 of 14 from the field and 2 of 2 on free throws.

Things didn't look good in the first quarter though as Portland (29-27) came out on fire and led 32-16 after one. The Blazers dominated on the boards and couldn't miss while the Celtics (42-12) repeatedly had shots rim out.

Boston made its move in the second quarter, outscoring Portland, 31-22. Rajon Rondo (15 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals) kept getting to the basket, James Posey (15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals) reappeared after being M.I.A the first three games, Eddie House (11 points) hit some shots and KG (10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists) continued to work his way back.

Travis Outlaw (24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) was unstoppable in the first half, going for 19 while Jarrett Jack (17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals), LaMarcus Aldridge (14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists), Steve Blake (12 points, 8 assists) and Martell Webster (12 points) all hit double figures.

The Trailblazers are the youngest team in the league (without Greg Oden) and after an incredible first half of the season, they're coming back to earth as injuries and youth start to show. Plus, they're in the Western Conference.

The unquestioned leader of Portland is second-year guard Brandon Roy (9 points, 3 steals), who was an All-Star. He left in the third quarter with an ankle injury and never returned. And with that, went the Blazers chance of winning the game. Boston put them away with a dominant third quarter (32-17). The onslaught continued into the fourth as the Celts, who trailed by as much as 17, pushed the lead to as high as 19 (a swing of 36 points). Boston couldn't miss from 3-point land (14 of 21).

The Blazers made a slight run in the fourth but they were down too much. A win was just what Boston needed to get some of its confidence back. Other than the first quarter, it was by far their best game of the four on the trip. The defense was getting stops and turnovers while the offense was scoring consistently. It looked like one of their games from early in the season when they just overpowered opponents.

As a team, Boston shot 57.9 % to Portland's 45.3%. The Blazers were 12 of 21 for three and 22 of 26 from the line. Boston was 10 of 15 from the line which didn't matter since they were lights out for three.

The West Coast trip wraps up tonight in LA, thankfully against the Clippers (one of the NBA's worst) and not the Lakers (who are now probably the top team in the NBA). A win against the Clippers would get Boston in the right direction before coming home to the Garden to face the Cavs on Wednesday.

Sugar Ray Lives

As much of a dream as the Celtics season has been so far, that has not been the case for Ray Allen, the forgotten member of the new Big Three. Allen has battled through a pinched nerve in his neck and struggled to average 17 points per game (his career-low thus far) while also shooting a career-low from the floor.

One of the top shooters in the league for the last decade, Allen has been a shell of his former self for much of the season. Only time will tell if last night was a blip on the map for Ray or something to build off of. He scored a season-high 35 points as the Celtics defeated the Trailblazers, 100-90 at the Garden.

Allen had 26 points in the second half for the C's (31-6) as he helped Boston snap its two-game losing streak and also beat the hottest team in the NBA. Portland (23-15) came in having won 18 of its last 20 games.

When Boston needed it most, where its struggled the most lately-the fourth quarter-Allen was unstoppable. He hit two huge 3-pointers, a beautiful turnaround jumper and four free throws to put it on ice.

Kevin Garnett had 26 points, seven rebounds and three assists while Paul Pierce contributed 12 points, eight boards and five assists. Eddie House starting at point guard submitted 10 points, five boards and four assists as Rajon Rondo sat out the game. Kendrick Perkins had seven boards and three blocks.

Tied at 19 after the first quarter, Portland took a 45-43 lead into the half after Steve Blake hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. The youngest team in the NBA (without top pick Greg Oden), Portland has a nice collection of talent headlined by Brandon Roy (team-high 22 points and 6 assists). Jarrett Jack (17 points, 5 assists), Travis Outlaw (17 points, 7 rebounds) and LaMarcus Aldridge (16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks) were the other standouts.

Boston played well in the second half, outscoring Portland 31-24 in the third and 26-21 in the final frame. Allen's threes in the fourth were both nuts. One was deflected by a Blazer, right to Allen who drilled it before the shot-clock ended. The next one was with under a minute left. You'd expect Boston to milk the clock since they were up four but Allen pulled up and drained a three, putting an exclamation point on his best game of the season. His previous high was 33 in the second game of the year (a win at Toronto).

Portland outshot Boston, 46.4%-43.6% but the Blazers turned it over 21 times which led to 23 Celtics points. The free throw line continued to be a black hole for the Celtics (25-38) but they compensated by getting there a ton. Portland was 17 of 24 from the charity stripe.

The Sixers come to Boston tomorrow night in what should be another win for the home team. When Danny Ainge traded for Ray Allen over the summer, last night was what he expected, not the single digit, invisible games that Allen has had lately. Hopefully last night is the start of something great for the classy veteran from UConn.