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Tickets at Ticket Master
The Boston Celtics have not had much success on their seven-game road trip.
They'll try to break a four-game losing streak when they meet the Portland Trail
Blazers at the Rose Garden.
Since opening the swing with a 110-80 rout of Philadelphia on Feb. 7, the Celtics have struggled. Ricky Davis scored 23 points in his first start with the Celtics on Thursday, but Boston fell to the Los Angeles Clippers 102-100.
Jiri Welsch added 20 points for the Celtics, who committed 24 turnovers. All-Star guard Paul Pierce had 18, but shot was just 5-of-19 from the field.
After trailing by as many as 13 in the fourth quarter, the Celtics rallied to tie the game in the closing seconds. The Clippers' Eddie House then hit a game-winning jumper with 1.8 seconds remaining to send Boston to its 10th loss in 11 games.
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``I am extremely proud of how we fought back in the fourth quarter,'' Celtics
interim coach John Carroll said. ``When a team has been in losing situations,
it does not show this kind of resiliency.
``I am happy with how we battled out there, but at times the NBA can be a bit cruel. If you don't make plays, you lose, and tonight they just made more plays than us.''
Despite their recent struggles, the Celtics remain just one game behind Miami for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
They now hope newly acquired guards Chucky Atkins and Lindsey Hunter can help them make a push for a spot in the postseason. Atkins and Hunter, who were acquired from Detroit in a three-team trade Wednesday, will make their Boston debuts against Portland.
The Blazers have won two straight following a three-game losing streak. Zach Randolph scored 19 points and made a layup with 1.8 seconds Friday to lift Portland to a 94-93 win over Golden State.
The Blazers, who have traded Bonzi Wells, Rasheed Wallace, Wesley Person, Jeff McInnis and Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje during the past 2 1/2 months, are trying to qualify for the playoffs for the 22nd consecutive season.
However, Portland is currently 10th in the West -- five games behind Denver
for the final playoff spot.