Dec 14, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets small forward Chandler Parsons (25) passes the ball against the Boston Celtics in the second quarter at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The C’s are now 3-1 when I recap the game for them. The luck had to run out at some point, right? Well, the Celtics obviously didn’t have the best game tonight on the defensive end. They lost to the Hoston Rockets 101-89 in a game they probably could’ve won the game had they managed to gain any type of competitive edge on the defensive end late in the game.

That turned out not to be the case. Instead, they were sloppy and lethargic all night long and didn’t get many good looks. The Rockets weren’t perfect defensively and were error prone on offense. They turned the ball over 17 times tonight and only racked up 23 assists. There’s no way that they should’ve won this game.

In the second half the Celtics turned off the defensive pressure and allowed Houston to score 58 points. There were times that they could’ve gotten back into the game, but they were neutralized by bonehead plays on the offensive end. Rajon Rondo had 2 turnovers in the last 8 minutes of the game that were detrimental. They killed the Celtics break and allowed the Rockets to have a break of their own.

Houston had 25 fastbreak points tonight and a lot of them came from beyond the arch. They shot 10-27 from that range on the night and Boston could do little to stop them. It seems like the gambling that worked on Wednesday night in Boston led to a totally different outcome for the C’s tonight.

Chandler Parson’s had himself a game tonight. He almost posted a triple double tonight with 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. The Celtics wanted everyone but Harden to beat them tonight and that’s what happened. Harden only scored 21 of the Rockets 101 points and it took him 17 shots to get there.

Jeremy Lin was held in check by Rondo who had 15 points and 13 assists himself. He had a good game, but again he killed the Celtics down the stretch with his seven turnovers. Its possible that the Celtics have been too dependent on Rondo and, in turn, have become predictable. Of course, he’s still effective but some versatility from his teammates will do him some good.

The Celtics will have a chance for redemption tomorrow night in San Antonio at 8:30 p.m Eastern. The good news about this back-to-back is that they won’t have that far to travel. Hopefully, they’ll be able to get a win.