Finding their groove

Celtics used loss as motivation

The Celtics are a game behind last year's pace, but they started finding a groove during their first road trip.

Last season, the Celtics did not lose until their ninth game. This season, the Celtics lost to Indiana (95-79) last Saturday, the first time they played on the road. But that defeat served as a motivator for the next two games, and the Celtics bring a 4-1 record to tonight's contest against visiting Milwaukee.

The Celtics outplayed the Houston Rockets for long stretches Tuesday in a 103-99 victory, with blinding ball movement and obstacle course screen-setting freeing Ray Allen in the half-court game. In the Celtics' 96-83 win Wednesday over Oklahoma City, inside aggressiveness and quickness set the tone.

"We limited our mistakes and we are taking better care of the ball," Allen said after the Oklahoma City game. "I feel we are getting better. It's a new year and everyone is getting used to one another. This was only the fifth game. You figure for every team, the first 20 games are like getting your driver's license. You learn to drive after you get it."

Celtics coach Doc Rivers also experimented with combinations in an attempt to preserve the starters. The Celtics visit Detroit Sunday, the first of five games next week.

The moves paid off in the second quarter against Oklahoma City. Glen Davis and Leon Powe joined a three-guard lineup of Tony Allen, Eddie House, and starter Paul Pierce to provide a lead the Celtics would not relinquish. The Celtics started the quarter with a 15-2 run, all five players contributing to the scoring in the first 4:13.

"Everyone has a role they are called upon to do," Tony Allen said. "If you are out there doing your job, whether you do it right or wrong, as long as you are doing it 100 percent, it will carry out."

Pierce played 40 minutes, Ray Allen 38. The other starters got breathers.

The keys to the Celtics' half-court success were low-post setups and patience; they converted four perimeter shots with four or fewer seconds on the shot clock in the second half. Ray Allen hit one shot with a particularly poised move, dribbling in and out of the lane, then glancing at the shot clock above the opposite basket before pivoting and shooting.

Guard Bill Walker was activated for the last two games, center Patrick O'Bryant deactivated. O'Bryant suited up for the first three games, and in the preseason was projected as a factor against Houston's Yao Ming, but was not on the active list against the Rockets.

"I'm sure there is a message, but not by me," Rivers said. "He's got to work. He'll get there this year, I believe, I hope. But he's going to have to play at our intensity level. It's a process for him. It's mental focus and toughness every second, every possession. He's a talented, skilled kid, and I know he can get more out of himself."