Boston 89, Charlotte 84

The Celtics followed a familiar pattern Saturday night, squeaking by a lesser opponent after blowing out Philadelphia the night before.

[recap] [box score]

Quick thoughts, since I'm in the middle of my contracts outline.

-League Pass Broadband cut out the first nine or so minutes of this one, so I didn't see Paul Pierce's quick six points in the first quarter. I did, however, see him score only five in the second and third quarters combined, only to notch eight in the final period. Even on a night where the offense wasn't coming easily to him, the fourth quarter is still his domain.

-Tony Allen played really well tonight. He was unselfish and made good decisions all night long. I was particularly pleased with his play at the start off the fourth. After Charlotte cut it to 68-67, Tony protected the lead by driving for a layup, and then, after a Raymond Felton turnover, kicked it to Eddie House for the three-pointer that made it a six-point game. It's always important to protect the lead like that. The starters would eventually lose that lead, but Tony really stepped up at the right time.

-I kind of like these Bobcats. The level of intensity and athleticism that Gerald Wallace plays with makes him a joy to watch; he's the kind of guy, like Detroit's Allen Iverson and Miami's Dwyane Wade, whose mix of talent and almost reckless effort makes basketball fun. This loss puts them at 5-11, but they've had a number of close losses this year. While they aren't constructed well enough to be a team about which you'd say that they are "almost there" and there problems go beyond needing to "learn how to win," they play hard and have some talented guys. If Felton had scored the ball better -- he had just four points on 2-of-15 from the field -- they might well have picked up win number six.

Three home games for the Celtics next week, starting with Orlando on Monday. The game is at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on NBATV, which means I won't be able to watch. That's probably good, since I have a lot of studying to do, but I'll peruse the box score and weigh in with a thought or two. Then comes the rematch with Indiana on Wednesday night, and then the fascinating Portland Trailblazers come to town on Friday. That one's on ESPN, so make sure you clear some time to watch.