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.