DENVER -- Delivering last rites to the Boston Celtics has been a popular activity lately.

The Celtics had dropped five of eight and eight of 13 (choose your favorite dry spell) entering the All-Star Break. But they just went 3-1 on a West Coast road trip so put the shovels back in the shed for at least a little while.

The trip included a 95-92 win at Sacramento (OK, the Kings are lowly) and an 87-86 win at the Los Angeles Lakers (OK, the Lakers didn't have Kobe Bryant). But Friday's 96-76 rout at Portland was impressive and there was no shame in falling 114-105 Sunday at Denver.

Yes, it was ugly falling behind by 20 points in the first quarter. But the Celtics did tie the score 66-66 in the third quarter before running out of petrol at the end. Eastern teams tend to do that when playing in the high altitude of Denver on the final game of a swing out West.

"Before the trip (the Celtics said), 'Let's see if we can sweep this trip,'' said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "I'll take (3-1) now. (Last) summer, when I looked at it, I was like, 'Oh, gosh, it's a brutal little trip here.' But 3-1 is a good mark. But we really did want (to win Sunday).''

It's amazing, though, the Celtics (35-19) even were close in the second half with the disastrous outing from forward Paul Pierce. Pierce had just two points until the game's waning moments before finishing 2-of-10 from the field and 1-of-4 from the foul line for five points.

The guy, though, is hurting. Pierce hasn't looked the same since suffering a mild sprain of his right thumb (shooting hand) in the first half Thursday against the Lakers.

Pierce said the injury is "really affecting my shot'' and has made him less aggressive. Rivers hasn't ruled out Pierce missing a few games to rest the injury.

"I think it is,'' Rivers said of the injury bothering Pierce, who is questionable for Tuesday's home game against New York. "You can see it on free throws. I think the thumb, the knee and the foot (other recent injuries sustained by Pierce) have caught up to him right now. So we might have to look at giving him some rest. I don't know yet. On the surface, that's the way it looks like it's going.''

Obviously, the key for the aging Celtics will be to get healthy for the playoffs. It's a good thing they don't have back-to-backs in the postseason.

And it remains to be seen how much Celtic Pride this outfit has left. Basketball historians remember an ancient Celtics team going 44-38 in 1968-69 in Bill Russell's final season and still being able to eke an 11th title they had no business winning. And the battered 1986-87 team, with Kevin McHale dragging around a broken foot, somehow managed to take the Lakers to a sixth game in the NBA Finals.

"It was a pretty good trip overall,'' guard Rajon Rondo said of the latest Celtics showing. "We just have to continue to get better.''

Forward Kevin Garnett, a 15-year veteran who usually plays as if he's afraid of being sent to the D-League (true, he's not eligible for that), has the same attitude. Garnett talked about a recent meeting he had with Rivers in which it was made clear he must be more aggressive inside.

Garnett scoring average has declined from 15.8 last season to 14.2 and his rebounding average from 8.5 to 7.3. He insists he feels fine in coming back from a knee injury that knocked him out of last season's playoffs and slowed him as training camp began.

"I told myself and I had a meeting with Doc,'' said Garnett, who had 15 points and five rebounds Sunday. "And he was very straight up with me. I just got to be post presence. And that's my focus. I'm trying to get my rebounding and that such up and all that... I want to be a better post presence. I want to be a lot more aggressive the second half.''

Although it might be a bit liberal to call 28 games remaining a second half, the Celtics soon should get an energy infusion down the stretch from Nate Robinson. The 5-foot-9 guard, who was acquired last Thursday from New York and has been working out in Boston, is expected to be thrown out Tuesday against his old team and Rivers will see what happens.

"We're just going to wind him up and push him out on the floor and let him go,'' Rivers said.

The Celtics no doubt can use this Energizer Bunny. But, as the trip out West showed, there's still some battery life in these guys.

Source: Chris Tomasson, FanHouse