No small feat as Celtics' streak ends

''I told our guys that I'm not going to take being young as an excuse," said Rivers. ''That's the problem we have with youth is the [lack of] urgency. They say, 'I messed that one up. I'm learning.' No, no. That's unacceptable. We had mistakes down the stretch that we just can't make. I don't care what age you are . . . It's inexcusable with how long we've been playing and working on stuff. Unfortunately, it was a lot of the young guys who did it. We just broke down. We gave them a couple 3-point plays where we were doing the wrong things, things that we talked about [yesterday] morning we would do if we went small [we didn't do]. That was disappointing."

Boston went small and battled back from an 11-point deficit, taking a 1 point advantage (97-96) when Ricky Davis hit a 3-pointer with 7:57 remaining. It was the last time the Celtics would go ahead after leading much of first half. With a 3-point play by Rashard Lewis, Seattle quickly regained the lead. Then, the Sonics broke a 105-105 tie with a 6-0 run. Fittingly, the spurt started with a 3-point play by Ronald Murray (season-high 29 points) and ended with Nick Collison (16 points, 10 rebounds) grabbing an offensive rebound for a layup. A pair of 3-pointers by Delonte West and a free throw miss by Seattle reserve Damien Wilkins brought Boston back within 1 point (112-111) with 1:44 left. But the second 3-pointer by West was the last gasp for the Celtics as the Sonics closed the game with another 6-0 spurt courtesy of free throws and a 19-footer from Collison. Down the stretch there were misses from Pierce (5-footer, 3-pointer), West (3-pointer), and Banks (running layup). Rivers acknowledged the Celtics went away from Pierce in the closing minutes a little more than he would have liked.