The night the Boston Celtics gave up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference

You want to tell yourself that this season is different for the Boston Celtics but after watching them lose for a third time in their last four games (all to inferior opponents) and you have to finally admit that it's 2009-10 all over again.

The New Jersey Nets (22-43) won their fifth game in a row, 88-79 at the Prudential Center. Boston (47-18) was held under 90 points for the third straight game and it really hurt them since their defense was up to the task.

It was another horrorshow in the second night of a back-to-back for the Celts, they seem destined to lose all of them at this point.

Brook Lopez led the Nets with 20 points while that skank Kim Kardashian's main squeeze Kris Humphries proved his worth with 16 points and 15 rebounds. How does one bounce from Reggie Bush to Humphries? Granted, I don't have the world's most famous butt. It's just funny that I had never noticed Humphries until I found him on my fantasy NBA waiver wire a few months back. I'm sure Kim discovered him in the same manner.

New Jersey's new point guard Deron Williams notched 16 points, nine assists, six rebounds and three steals, Anthony Morrow had 15 points and Travis Outlaw put up 12 points off the bench.

Boston received 19 points from Ray Allen and 18 points and eight rebounds from Kevin Garnett but Glen Davis (16 points, 14 rebounds off the bench) was the only other player to really show up. Rajon Rondo blindly ran into Humphries on a hard screen (easy Kim) and that didn't seem to help him in his recent slump as he was held to two points (1-for-10 shooting) and nine assists.

The weird thing is that the Celtics looked in control when the game started. They were up 23-14 after one quarter but the Nets cut it to 38-36 at halftime. New Jersey got it done in the third quarter (31-23) and Boston couldn't hit any shots in the fourth quarter (21-18 for the Nets).

Boston shot 41.2% to New Jersey's 39.7%. However, the Nets led by Williams (4) and Morrow (3) hit nine more 3-pointers (11-2) and eight more free throws (15-7). The Celtics actually grabbed five more rebounds (50-45) and dished out three more assists (22-19). New Jersey had three more blocks (6-3).

Big Baby looked great in his second game back from knee tendinitis. Hopefully Delonte West can have an impact too as he's set to return tomorrow night when the Celts host the Pacers.

Boston needs to not only win but get their offense back on track. They're tied now atop the Eastern Conference with the Bulls and the Heat are only two games back. There's only 17 more games left in the regular season so they all have meaning for homecourt. Thinking the Celts can get to the Finals again without homecourt throughout the playoffs is naive and not very realistic.

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.