Thursdaynight was a mulligan. The Boston Celtics didn't have to win.

Their wins at San Antonio and Houston, on back-to-back nights, were historic enough, overcoming a 22-point deficit against the defending NBA champs in the former and ending a legendary 22-game winning streak in the latter.

The Dallas Mavericks really and truly needed this win. They hadn't beaten a team above .500 since the acquisition of Jason Kidd, going a disappointing 9-6 since the trade, and they are currently seventh overall in the Western Conference and dangerously close to not making the playoffs (3<1/2> games ahead of Denver with 13 to go).

But the Celtics passed on the mulligan and rallied to win at Dallas, 94-90.

They decided they needed to win because, well, they're the Celtics and frankly, for the first time in a decade and a half, that means something.

It's called pride. It's something Baby Boomers took for granted in the Dave Cowens years of the 1970s and the Larry Bird era of the 1980s.

The 55-13 Celtics are on pace for 66 wins, a number surpassed by only one Celtics team before, maybe the greatest team the franchise ever had | the championship 1985-86 squad which won 67 games.

But back to Thursday night's win for a moment.

The Celtics did not play well. Their point guard tandem of Rajon Rondo and Sam Cassell combined for a 1-for-16 evening. Overall, the team shot 34.5 percent, one of its lowest percentages of the year.

But numbers don't matter, wins do.

This Celtics team, which is universally noted as the best defensive group in the NBA, slowed this once-offensive juggernaut to a crawl.

If you've listened to their last few opponents, you wouldn't be surprised.

Rockets MVP candidate Tracy McGrady said of the C's, "It's a hell of a team over there. They outplayed us. I've never seen a defense like that. I mean, if they play defense like that, night in and night out, the NBA is in trouble because that was defense at its finest."

The bench, which has been a mainstay during this recent hot-streak, wasn't so dependable. But that's OK, because the Big Three, played like the Big Three, scoring 63 points.

Ray Allen's 3-pointer, to give the Celts a lead they would never relinquish, 90-88 with 31 seconds remaining, broke a 3<1/2>-minute dry spell in which the Celtics didn't score.