Bob Ryan, Boston Globe – “The Celtics are no longer reliable. That’s rather evident. They can’t sustain. They can’t hang. They can’t finish. Dare I suggest they’ve lost their confidence as a unit? Hey, why not? Their coach looks at the fourth-quarter collapses and thinks it’s a possibility. ‘You know, I just don’t know what it is, honestly,’ said Doc Rivers. ‘[Today] it was that we didn’t play well. I thought we tried to hold on to the game. What disappointed me about that is that I told our guys, ‘We can’t act like we’re surprised to be up.’ We should have been up, and we should have been up more. So that was rough.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “If we’re looking at larger snapshots here, the worst thing that could have happened to the Celtics [team stats] yesterday wasn’t the 90-89 loss to the loathed Lakers. The worst thing would have been playing as shaky as they did in the last quarter, bleeding out a win and believing that everything is right with their world. If the Celts had overcome their amnesia and throttled Kobe and crew for 48 minutes – and, more importantly, followed it up with similar performances – it would constitute the sea change that is needed for this team to again speak seriously about a run at the title. But there has been far too much sound and fury signifying mediocrity of late. And worse.”

Rich Levine, CSNNE – “The most heartbreaking aspect of Sunday’s dramatic loss to the Lakers wasn’t Kobe’s jumper. Or Pierce’s phantom offensive foul. Or even Ray’s wide open misfire. In fact, it had nothing to do with any of little twists and turns that eventually led to yet another Celtics defeat. Nope. In reality, the worst part about Boston’s latest fourth quarter collapse was this: You could see it coming from a mile away.”

Paul Flannery, WEEI – “Perhaps this odd stretch in the middle of the NBA winter is the best thing that could have happened to the Celtics, short of discovering their old magic and winning all three. Consider that before this trio of games the Celtics considered themselves one of the elite teams despite the preponderance of evidence that has been building against them since Christmas. If they needed a jolt, getting unceremoniously swept is about 10,000 volts worth of electricity.”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “‘I thought I made a good move,’ Pierce said. ‘I got to my sweet spot. I guess the ref saw it differently and he made a call. That’s part of the game. That’s why you’ve got referees. I thought I made a great move, though.’ The pushoff was as clear as it is common practice in the NBA. ‘I just think at that point it’s got to be unbelievable,’ Boston coach Doc Rivers said. Said Ray Allen, who missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer and whose top priority was to keep Bryant from going off, ‘He puts his arm out. That’s part of the game. It’s like even the last play with Paul. I don’t think Paul did anything different from what Kobe had been doing all [day].’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “Considering the Lakers added four fourth-quarter free throws, only one basket came outside of the paint: Bryant’s winner. What’s more, Los Angeles generated only two fast-break points in the period, meaning the Lakers simply brought the ball down the court, got it inside the paint, and scored. ‘I don’t know if concern is the word, but we haven’t been able to get timely stops to end the game,’ Rivers said. ‘If anything bothers me, over the turnovers and the offensive [struggles], it’s that we’ve been able in the past to lean on our defense when we go cold offensively. The Atlanta game, down the stretch, they scored every time. The Orlando game, down the stretch, they scored every time. And again tonight. The biggest quarters over the last three games, offensively, have been the fourth quarters by the other teams. And we have to reverse that.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “Allen then missed a 3-point try when the Celtics desperately needed him to be true to form – at the buzzer. But the Celtics can be thankful that the bite didn’t break the skin. It’s not that time of year yet. ‘Postseason is a whole different season,’ said Rasheed Wallace. ‘It’s the added-on season when all the shots get bigger. That’s when you see who has the biggest machismo – I don’t want to say the other word – but that’s what it comes down to. Regular season, yeah, you get a few big games where anybody can hit shots, but when it’s for the hardware, some cats don’t want to take those shots. So I don’t think it’s a psychological advantage if you dominate or beat a team in the regular season.’ But here’s a caveat. Based on the Celtics’ recent struggles – including their 0-3 run through a prime-time gantlet of the Lakers, Atlanta and Orlando – they won’t be playing for that hardware.”

Steve Buckley, Boston Herald – “It was not surprising, then, not surprising at all, that Kobe Bryant answered the question thusly: “I didn’t say, ‘Give me one more chance.’ I just said, ‘Give me the damn ball.’ I didn’t give him much of a choice. ‘All we talked about,’ Bryant added, ‘was really just the execution of it and how I was going to catch the ball. That was the only difference.’ You can love Kobe Bryant or you can hate him, but in the end – and we’re talking to Celtics fans here – you must respect him as one of those year-in-year-out, head-of-the-class players who expects to take the last shot. Give me the damn ball.”

Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports – “The Celtics have initiated trade proposals on Allen, multiple league sources say, and Boston is searching for a younger, less expensive guard and an expiring contract. This way they can find a replacement for the 34-year-old Allen without losing him and his $20 million expiring contract for nothing in free agency this summer. Only, there isn’t a shooting guard available who’s Allen’s peer. This threatens a perilous choice between transitioning for the future and refusing to compromise a chance to win a title now. Allen is privately resigned to the fact that it’s unlikely the Celtics will want to re-sign him this summer. He’s believed to be intrigued with the possibility of joining the Miami Heat or staying close to his Connecticut home and signing with the New York Knicks. Nevertheless, Allen wants to stay a Celtic and that’s never wavered. Yet the sheer economics make it improbable unless he’s willing to cost himself several million dollars next year.”

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