Do they still call traveling in the NBA?

On the surface, with Trailblazers star Brandon Roy out following double knee surgery (yikes) and a 10:30 p.m. start on a Thursday night, there weren't many reasons to watch the Boston Celtics begin their four-game West Coast trip last night in Portland.

However judging by Twitter, I know I wasn't the only one interested since former Celtic and ESPN announcer Bill Walton took over for Tommy Heinsohn the next few games. I was never a huge Walton fan when he was on all the time for ESPN but like a crazy relative or ex-girlfriend, he is great in small doses.

It definitely added some spice to an otherwise pedestrian 88-78 Celtics (35-10) win at the Rose Garden.

Ray Allen led Boston with 18 points, Paul Pierce had 17 points (before leaving late with a knee bruise), Rajon Rondo scored 11 points with six rebounds and five assists while Kevin Garnett was the story with 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

Kendrick Perkins also looked really good in only his second game back with 10 points and nine rebounds in 21 minutes.

Without Roy, Portland (25-22) is simply overmatched in the Western Conference. LaMarcus Aldridge (17 points, 16 rebounds) is a nice player but a fringe All-Star in his best possible season. Ageless and underrated Andre Miller had 14 points and seven assists and Wesley Matthews scored 12 points with seven rebounds.

Off the bench for the Blazers, Rudy Fernandez (who could have been a Celtic this summer) put up 11 points with five assists and three steals.

It's too bad this game was a dull one since it was also on TNT and the Rose Garden is quietly one of the best arenas in the NBA. The hipsters of Oregon deserved better damn it!

The Celts won every quarter which always helps. They were up 21-18 after one quarter and 41-37 at halftime. Boston outscored Portland 23-21 in the third quarter and 24-20 in the fourth.

For the game, the Cs shot 46.9& to the Blazers' 36.7%. Boston made one more 3-pointer (5-4) and a whopping 15 more free throws (23-8). Portland pulled down seven more rebounds (49-42), I'll never understand why the Celtics are such a bad rebounding team these days. Maybe that'll improve as Perk gets more minutes.

The Celts had five more assists (21-16) but the Trailblazers made six more steals (13-7) thanks to Boston's six more turnovers (21-15). The Cs had two more blocks (4-2) but Portland outscored them 48-34 in the paint which is hard to explain.

Boston travels to Phoenix tonight to take on the Suns, a team they typically have no problems with. Other than fatigue from last night (always a factor with these old guys), I expect nothing different tonight since these Suns aren't nearly as good as they've been in the last five or six seasons. Shaq is expected to play tonight while Pierce is apparently a game-time decision.

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.

Tales from the Crypt, starring the Boston Celtics

Remember when we had buried the Boston Celtics before the All-Star break? They weren't going anywhere and they had to trade Ray Allen. It's funny how much of a difference three games make since the Celts have won three straight coming out of the break, including an impressive 96-76 victory last night in Portland.

It was one of Boston's (35-18) best defensive performances of the season. Kendrick Perkins (7 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks in 25 minutes) and Kevin Garnett (16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks in 22 minutes) seem re energized the last two games, particularly on the defensive end where they're much more active and mobile.

The other theme of the last two nights has been the comeback of Ray Allen. He had a game-high 21 points and five assists last night and shot 9 of 14 from the floor.

Rajon Rondo added 10 points, 11 assists and three steals while Glen Davis scored 10 off the bench.

For a team desperately clinging onto the last playoff spot in the Western Conference, the Blazers (32-25) were just lifeless.

Injured star Brandon Roy surprisingly played but he was held to nine points. Andre Miller led Portland with 16 points and LaMarcus Aldridge notched 15 points.

Boston led 32-25 after the first quarter and 56-38 at the half. Portland (23-17) made a slight run in the third quarter but even with the bench in for most of the fourth, the C's (23-15) not only held on but increased the lead.

The Celtics shot 53.4% for the game and Portland shot a pathetic 33.8%. Portland had 18 more made free throws (30-12) but Boston had an incredible 20 assist advantage (27-7). The C's also took advantage inside with 44 points in the paint.

The West Coast trip concludes tomorrow afternoon in Denver, against the high-scoring, thugtastic Nuggets. 4-0 would be pretty sweet for the Celtics but this is going to be a really tough one to get.

Wanted: a big guy that can score off the bench

Heading into this four-game West Coast swing, I think most people expected the Celts to go 3-1, maybe even 4-0.

Can't say anyone was guessing 1-3 but that's the way it turned out as the Celts had another fourth quarter meltdown (though it certainly wasn't as drastic as the Warriors game) in a 91-86 loss to the underrated Portland Trailblazers at the Rose Garden last night.

Playing without star Brandon Roy, the Blazers (20-12) used a fired up home crowd to pull off the upset.

Steve Blake led Portland with 21 points while LaMarcus Aldridge notched 20 points and seven rebounds. Travis Outlaw (one of the best sixth men in the NBA) had 17 off the bench while Greg Oden had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

For the Celts (28-5), Paul Pierce scored a game-high 28 points, including 14-of-15 from the free throw line. Kevin Garnett added 17 points and eight rebounds and Rajon Rondo filled the stat sheet with 13 points, eight boards, seven assists and three steals.

Ray Allen managed to get 12 points but he shot a Larry Hughes-esque 2-of-11 from the floor.

The story of the game was the Portland bench which outscored Boston 29-9.

Jeff Van Gundy pointed it out during the Lakers game on Christmas and it gets more clear every night what the C's biggest hole is at this moment. They need another big guy, preferably one that can score off the bench. P.J. Brown was perfect in that role late last season and especially in the playoffs.

He seems content in retirement and the Rockets just brought back Mutombo, a name that had been floating around for a while (not that he can score at all anymore). Antonio McDyess would have been exactly what they needed but he returned to the Pistons after being traded to the Nuggets.

Boston came out strong and led 23-13 after the first quarter. The Blazers started to wake up in the second and only trailed 45-40 at the half.

Portland took the third (29-24) and fourth (22-17) both by five points as Boston came unraveled in crunch time.

The one good thing about the outcome is that it the Blazers didn't win by one or two points. Late in the first half, Portland had six men on the court (something I've never seen) and scored a hoop. Naturally, Boston stopped playing and the shot shouldn't have counted but for whatever reason, the refs allowed it to stand. Uh, Really? Somewhere Tim Doneghy nods his head in approval from his jail cell.

Eddie House had a chance to tie it with a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left but he shot an airball over Oden.

Portland shot 45.2% to Boston's 40.3%. The C's were 3-of-14 on threes but 29-of-31 at the line. The Blazers killed the Celtics on the glass (44-29) which is something that never happens to this team.

After what was no doubt a long, quiet flight home, the C's get back to action on Friday night with a gimmee when the worst team in the Eastern Conference, the Washington Wizards limp to the Garden.

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.