Back to backs are going to be an issue all season, huh?

A win slipped thru the Boston Celtics' hands last night as they suffered a couple defensive breakdowns in crunch time and as a result, lost 89-87 to the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Arena.

Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks (4-2) with a game-high 25 points and Jason Terry added 17 points off the bench. Not surprisingly, they both made the biggest shots in the win. Terry hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 87 and then Nowitzki hit a mid-range jumper over Glen Davis (8 points).

Boston (6-2) had two chances to tie or win it but an uncontested 3-pointer by Rajon Rondo (11 points, 15 assists, 6 rebounds, 5 steals) and a fadeaway three by Kevin Garnett (18 points, 15 rebounds) are not exactly the first, second or third options in a late-game situation.

Despite having their five-game win streak snapped, this one had some meaning for the Celts since KG had probably his most impressive game yet (3 alley-oops from Rondo). Let's close the book on last season, time has caught up to him somewhat but he's not washed up yet and that's a big development for this team.

Paul Pierce also had a very nice game with 24 points and seven rebounds. Ray Allen had 11 points. Jermaine O'Neal left the contest in the second quarter and didn't return with knee soreness. Can we merge him and Shaq together? There's just no way either of them is healthy for more than half a season apart.

Tyson Chandler had 12 points and 13 rebounds for Dallas, Caron Butler and JJ Barea (Northeastern in the house!) added 11 points apiece and the ageless Jason Kidd had a classic JKidd line: 0 points, 10 assists.

In the second night of a back to back, against two playoff teams, the Celts started off slowly as usual. The Mavs led 23-19 after the first quarter and 50-40 at the half (the first time this season that Boston has trailed by double digits).

Dallas is a team that lives on jumpers (which is why they choke every year in the playoffs) so when those didn't fall in the third quarter, the Cs climbed back in (29-20).

Boston was up by five late in the fourth quarter (19-18 Dallas) but couldn't get enough stops and/or timely buckets to get a nice road victory.

Dallas shot 50.0% to Boston's 41.8%. The Mavs also took 13 more free throws (20-7) and made 10 more (17-7). Boston had four more rebounds (42-38), four more assists (24-20) and five more steals (11-6). Dallas had six more blocks (8-2), showing how little lift there was in Boston's legs (third game in four nights).

The Cs get a couple days off then travel to Miami on Thursday to face LeBron, Wade, Bosh and the Heat for the second time this season. I guess the NBA is taking a page out of MLB's playbook to have overkill early in the regular season of the money matchups (ala Red Sox-Yankees). Thank you Donald Sterns.

Celtics pick up must win over the NRA's favorite team

As they found themselves down 54-48 to the Wizards last night at halftime, the Celtics looked to end a three-game losing streak and more importantly, to prove that they're still relevant in the Eastern Conference (since they're behind Cleveland, Orlando and Atlanta) and the NBA.

Yes it is still before the All-Star break but the 2009-2010 season is more than halfway over and Boston is currently facing constant questions about the Big Three and the rest of the team, specifically is their window for a championship closed?

Ultimately the fact that the C's (30-16) won 99-88 at the Verizon Center will soon be forgotten by most except for the diehard fans unless its the start of a good stretch.

Six Celtics scored in double-figures, led by Kevin Garnett (19 points, 6 rebounds), Ray Allen (17 points) and Rajon Rondo (17 points, 12 assists). Paul Pierce had 12 points and eight rebounds but sat for the fourth quarter after hurting his foot at the end of the first half.

Rasheed Wallace scored 14 off the bench and Tony Allen added 10 points and six rebounds.

Between gunfights in the locker room, injuries and employing Flip Saunders (one of the biggest clowns in the NBA) as head coach, to say that the Wizards (16-31) are a mess is quite an understatement.

Amidst the rubble there is still talent, Caron Butler scored a team-high 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds with three steals. Now if we could just find a way to get him for Ray Allen. NBA oddity Earl Boykins scored 14 points off the bench while Mike Miller (13 points, 7 rebounds), Brendan Haywood (12 points) and Nick Young (10 points) also reached double-digits.

Boston started to tear away its recent malaise with a 26-24 third quarter but the championship team showed up for the fourth quarter as they smothered the Wizards, 25-10.

Washington star Antawn Jamison, who has been their best player all season, was held to 2-for-17 shooting.

Boston shot 54.8% while Washington shot 38.9%. The Celts shared the ball (24-15 assist advantage).

The Green come home for another very winnable game tomorrow night against the reeling Miami Heat. Dwyane Wade can always go off for 40+ points but the rest of his team is real boob soft.

Their former UConn star is better than ours

Sound the alarms, the Boston Celtics are falling apart. OK I kid, but the C's have quite obviously hit a speed bump as they've now lost two in a row and three of their last four after a 88-83 choke job to the Washington Wizards at the Garden last night. 

The C's (30-6) were up by as much as 14 points in the fourth quarter before their offense completely disappeared and the plucky Wizards (20-16) put together a 25-6 run to close out the game and come away with the improbable win. 

Washington's Caron Butler has become a star before our eyes. He took over down the stretch last night, making a 3-point play and a driving layup to clinch it. He finished with a team-high 21 points, six rebounds and two steals. Antawn Jamison had another double-double with 20 points and 10 boards. DeShawn Stevenson added 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals while Brendan Haywood notched 14 points and seven rebounds. 

For Boston, Kevin Garnett led the way with 23 points, nine boards and six assists. KG had a key offensive rebound and putback late that put the C's up by one but he also later missed a turnaround jumper that sealed their doom. Paul Pierce had 18 points and five rebounds while the shaky Ray Allen had 16 points, six boards and three assists. I say shaky because he was just 2 of 7 on 3-pointers, including one that would have tied it on their last possession. 

Kendrick Perkins had nine points. Rajon Rondo started the game but played just 21 minutes (4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists) before sitting out the fourth quarter. His back and hamstring continue to slow him down and the Celts are a noticeably worse team without him. Who thought that'd be true going into this season? 

It was a dull first half as the teams had 18 points apiece in the first quarter and Boston held a slim 37-35 lead at the break. Boston was up four going into the fourth quarter but just like on Saturday at Washington, the fourth was when the Wizards put it all together and conversely the C's couldn't do anything right. 

Boston outshot Washington, 41.9% to 38.6% but compounded that by making only 5 of 20 3-pointers. Once again, the Wizards were amazing on the free throw line (27 of 30) while Boston struggled (16 of 22).

The Celtics will have their hands full tomorrow when the Portland Trailblazers come to town. Winners in 18 of their last 20 games, the Blazers are the NBA's hottest team behind Brandon Roy and a solid supporting cast. It should be a great game as Boston tries to work out the kinks in their game.