But Houston doesn't and in the West they are staring at a five game gap between them and the eighth seeded Portland with just 13 games left on the docket. Boston had the Texas Two-step to begin their quick trip, and sent both the Mavs and the Rockets to defeats. Utah rode a wild run sandwiched around halftime to turn a double-digit second quarter deficit into an easy win over Boston on getaway night.

The results though point to a little something extra in Boston's tank. Paul Pierce logged serious minutes against both Dallas and Utah, showing the effects of his nagging knee injury may finally be fading. February was a lost month for Pierce, appearing in just seven contests and averaging under 12 points a game. At the heart of the bad play were lingering pains in his knee, which was drained shortly after the All-Star game in February. Bouncing back, Pierce has averaged 22 points over his last five games and copped a Conference Player of the Week award for his troubles. All of Boston's postseason hopes started with getting their captain going again.

The struggles continue for Kevin Garnett who enjoyed a less than satisfying road swing, playing his worst three game stretch since the All-Star Break. Averaging 11 points and under seven boards on the trip, the low point of which was the ten point effort in Utah where he managed just three boards and a block to go with five for nine shooting from the floor.

Tonight, Denver comes to Boston. The Nuggets sit atop the Northwest division and own a 47-24 record. They struggle on the road, though with just a 17-18 mark away from the mile high city and worse news, head coach George Karl is likely lost for the remainder of the regular season. The pro game is less about the coach than the college game, but Denver needs every edge they can get to stay ahead of the hard-charging Jazz, The Durantula-led Thunder and the Trailblazers in their ultra-competitive division.

A Celtics win will punch their ticket for the playoffs. With the weakness of the Atlantic Division, that destination was never truly in doubt. But getting there means they are a hot streak away from another title, in what might be the final run of this particular club. Garnett, Pierce and Allen average almost 13 years of NBA experience, and when they put Michael Finley and Rasheed Wallace out on the floor with them, that's a lineup with a combined 66 NBA seasons of experience. A lot of bumps and bruises and aches and pains in all those years. And yet once more they go unto the breech for the playoffs, needing a pinch of luck to go with all that experience.

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