Counting playoffs, they won 84 games and there was that new green and white flag up in the Garden rafters as a nice little memento.

But the final on-court sip was a bit bitter. The Trail Blazers didn't have their best player, but they had enough to burn the Bostonians, 91-86.

The Celtics still had the best record in the NBA when they boarded their red-eye charter home. But they also had a 1-3 road trip.

The home team survived the absence of Brandon Roy (right hamstring) and his 23-point average. Greg Oden had 13 points and 11 rebounds, Steve Blake had 21 points and Travis Outlaw added 20.

The Celts failed the boards, getting outrebounded 44-29 overall. Portland had a 13-5 edge on the offensive glass, which translated into a 20-7 advantage in extra-chance points.

The Trail Blazers pulled out all the stops, even going on a power play in the waning seconds of the first half. Something was fishy when Outlaw took a pass from Oden and dunked with three seconds left, with the Celtics believing they had accounted for everyone.

They had. Taking the term ``sixth man'' to a new level, the Blazers had an extra man on the floor. Kevin Garnett (17 points) pleaded with the officials, who met and gave Portland a technical for the extra skater. But, much to the Green chagrin, they allowed the basket to stand because they hadn't spotted the violation in time.

Ray Allen did get one of the points back by hitting the technical, but the Celtics were shaking their heads.

The Blazers shot 56.3 percent in the third quarter to complete the trip back from 13 points down. They got their first lead since 7-6 in the last minute, but Paul Pierce (game-high 28 points) hit two free throws to send it into the final period even at 64.

There Portland scored the first six points against a lineup of Eddie House, Glen Davis, Leon Powe, Tony Allen and Ray Allen. The Celts called time and subbed Garnett for Powe, and the Blazers were stopped on their next three possessions.

The C's got within a point on two Pierce free throws with 3:13 left, and they were within two after Pierce hit one from the line with 2:08 to go. But after an Outlaw miss, Rajon Rondo turned the ball over on a pass and LaMarcus Aldridge hit a turnaround in the lane with just under a minute remaining.

Pierce hit two more from the line, but Outlaw went around him and dunked on Garnett to return the margin to four with 29.4 left. Pierce then scored on a twisting drive and made it a three-point play (Oden foul) at 22.6.

Sergio Rodriguez was fouled on purpose and got the lead back up to three with 17.9 left.

House's trey with 11 seconds to go caught only air, and Rudy Fernandez ended it by making two foul shots.

Things got interesting with 5:11 left in the second quarter when Oden fouled a driving Ray Allen and gave him a little extra help into the cameramen and front-row fans. Allen replied with a ``what was that?'' look, while Kendrick Perkins came in seemingly with the approach that if someone was going to be hitting people it was going to be him. The Celts were up 12 after Allen finished making free throws, but this one was destined to get close.

The biggest concern for the Celtics early on was whether they could score. At all.

They missed their first five shots and had a turnover, going pointless for the opening 3:17 until Pierce put in a couple of free throws. It would take them until 8:05 to get their first field goal.

- sbulpett@bostonherald.com