It Doesn’t Get Any Better for O’Brien, Celtics

New Celtic Coach Jim O’Brien didn’t stomp up and down the sideline. He barely used the full-court press. He didn’t yell at his players every second of the game.

The only thing he did like Rick Pitino was lose.

In Boston’s first game after Pitino resigned, Steve Smith made two three-point shots 42 seconds apart in the fourth quarter to give the Trail Blazers the lead and help Portland beat the Celtics, 98-90, Monday.

“I’ve got news for you, I had a big part of us being 12-23,” O’Brien said, dispelling any chance that Pitino would take all of the blame for the team’s troubles. “But I feel pretty good that one of Rick’s people can be involved in trying to turn it around.”

It was the eighth consecutive victory for Portland. Boston has lost six in a row and 12 of its last 15, a skid that persuaded Pitino to declare his rebuilding plan a failure earlier in the day and walk away with more than $20 million remaining on his contract.

“Jimmy has his work cut out for him,” Portland Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “I wish him luck.”

For the Trail Blazers, Scottie Pippen, playing in his 1,000th regular-season game, scored 22 points. Smith had 17 points.

Paul Pierce scored 25 points, and Antoine Walker had 17 with 11 rebounds for the Celtics. Boston was three for 18 from three-point range, missing five three-point shots in the final minutes.

The Celtics seemed to come out inspired, taking a 72-69 lead after three quarters against the top team in the Western Conference before crumbling in the fourth.

“I think the guys look at it like a fresh start. It was like starting over,” Pierce said. “I think I see a different kind of attitude.”

But O’Brien said he didn’t think the team was reacting to the day’s news.

“I think they played hard and, for the most part, I think they played smart,” O’Brien said. “I think that if Rick were standing here now, I think the guys would have played extremely hard tonight. I don’t think there would have been one bit of difference.”

Boston led, 71-61, before the Trail Blazers closed the third period with an 8-1 run and then opened the fourth with a 10-3 spurt, taking a 76-75 lead on Smith’s three-point shot from the right wing.

O’Brien’s first message to his team was to edit the standings on a chalkboard in the locker room to erase all of the teams except the four ahead of the Celtics in the Eastern Conference playoff race. O’Brien said he was convinced that his team, which was three games out entering the night, could reach the postseason, which they haven’t done since 1995.

O’Brien, who previously coached one game when Pitino was ill in 1998, received an ovation from the half-filled FleetCenter when he was introduced before the game. But the crowd mostly booed as the team left the court after the loss.