Triangle Triumph

[LakeShow]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailyd...ge=dime-080321

Boston Plays Texas Triangle As Few Have Before
By Marc J. Spears
Special to ESPN.com
(Archive)
DALLAS -- The Boston Celtics are bigger than even Texas right now.


There isn't a tougher stretch in an NBA schedule than the renowned Texas Triangle. The treacherous three-game road trip includes stops to face three of the Western Conference's top team: the reigning NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks.

But as tough as that might be, the Celtics completed a rare sweep of the Texas Triangle on Thursday night by defeating the Mavericks 94-90 at a sold-out American Airlines Center. It was the first time an NBA team had completed the Texas Triangle undefeated since the Sacramento Kings in 2001. It was also the first time Boston accomplished the feat since the 1986-87 season, and its fourth time in 13 tries.

"It's great. I looked at the schedule before this week and said, 'This is going to be the ultimate test for this ballclub,'" said Celtics forward Paul Pierce, who scored a team-high 22 points. "The last time we came out West [in February] we struggled. Coming into these three games, this was the ultimate test for us. It gives us momentum going into the playoffs. What better way to do it than this?"

Even with the NBA's best record, the odds were strongly against the Celtics getting through this three-game trip unscathed. There aren't many places tougher to play than the AT&T Center in San Antonio, especially when you're down 22 points. Even so, the Celtics began the Texas trip by overcoming a 22-point deficit before winning against the reigning NBA champion Spurs 93-91 on Monday.

The Celtics didn't have a chance to catch their breath as they were playing the next night in Houston. But Boston erased the Rockets' phenomenal 22-game winning streak by pounding them 94-74 at Toyota Center. And Thursday night, the Celtics outscored Dallas 28-20 in the fourth quarter and received a key late 3-pointer by Ray Allen after he missed the previous two games with a bum ankle to finalize the Texas Triangle sweep.

"The only statement is we're done with Texas," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "We don't want to see Texas any more. It's a [heck] of a state, no taxes and I don't want to see any those three teams any more [in the regular-season]. They're just too tough. I'd rather move on."

Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, who had 20 points and 13 rebounds, said: "No one in this locker room has done this. What's good about it is we did it together. We did it the way we said we were going to do things at the beginning of the season, 'One game at a time.' And it feels good."

Other than winning an NBA championship, there is nothing really the Boston Celtics have to do to prove that they are for real any more.

The Celtics (55-13) became the first NBA team to qualify for the playoffs, reach the 50-win mark and win a division. Boston won the season series against the Detroit Pistons, now owns a 23-4 record against the mighty Western Conference and is on pace to get home-court advantage throughout the playoffs with the top record.

But even with the Texas Triangle now in tow, too, the day-to-day focused Celtics now have their attention toward New Orleans where they'd like to finish their five-game road trip undefeated with a win against one of the West's top teams in the Hornets. Hey, how can you blame them for being so in tuned? The Celtics desperately need these challenges to keep themselves entertained and fine-tuned before the playoffs begin.

"None of them were easy," Celtics guard Sam Cassell said. "We had to play our [butts] off to get where we are. But it ain't over yet. We know New Orleans is going to be ready for us."

Marc J. Spears is a regular contributor to ESPN.com and covers the Boston Celtics for The Boston Globe

[Killakobe81]

Celts are the favorites right now no doubt ... but Detroit and the CAVS and the WC champs will ALL be tough outs for them.

[LakeShow]

Celts are the favorites right now no doubt ... but Detroit and the CAVS and the WC champs will ALL be tough outs for them.

I agree. I'm curious how they perform in the playoffs though.