No backing down

C’s excelling at games on consecutive nights

NBA. In a strange recent development, the Celtics have proven they are indeed human.

Kevin Garnett does in fact bleed. Paul Pierce not only puts his pants on one leg at a time, he needs oxygen to live. Ray Allen will miss an occasional open shot. And the Celtics do lose.

But, when it comes to playing on back-to-back nights — considered one of the toughest tests league-wide — the C’s have been flawless.

“It’s definitely hard,” captain Paul Pierce said. “You’ve got to deal with the time you played in the game [the first] night, the travel to get into the hotel, you’ve got to wake up in the morning. It’s not easy, but we’ve got a job to do, and everybody in the NBA is asked to do it. That’s the challenge of the NBA.”

They will play 19 sets of back-to-backs this season, and already have three under their belt, combining to go 6-0 on both ends entering last night. The Celtics face Miami tonight in the second leg of their fourth back-to-back this season.

The Celtics’ first double-dip came on Nov. 9-10. They beat the Hawks at home before knocking off the Nets in New Jersey. Just a few days later, the C’s disposed of the Pacers in Indiana on Nov. 13, before topping the Nets at the Garden.

Last week’s back-to-back signified the typical routine. The Green played one of their best games of the year to beat the Lakers in Boston, but they needed a buzzer-beater from Allen to stave off the Bobcats in Charlotte.

The Bobcats were also on the back end that night. Boston opponents are 0-3 when playing the C’s on the second leg of a back-to-back this season.

Also coming with back-to-backs is the urgency to find proper use of days off. Practices can become limited, along with days off. Head Coach Doc Rivers must judge his team’s durability when planning for the open days in the schedule.

“The thing about it is the rest has definitely been beneficial,” Pierce said. “But, even on days off, we’ve got guys coming in, getting their shots up, their weightlifting up, guys coming in getting treatment. It’s been sort of hectic the last couple weeks, playing every other day, playing a couple back-to-backs or four games in five nights.”