The two contenders will both stumble into Wednesday's matchup at the TD Banknorth Garden, with the Rockets looking to avoid a sixth straight road loss and Boston seeking to dodge its first three-game slide of the season.

Five losses in seven games seemed unthinkable for the Celtics (29-7) just two weeks ago, when the team had won a club-record 19 straight games to complete the first 27-2 start in NBA history.

But a 92-83 Christmas Day loss to the Los Angeles Lakers started them on their current tailspin - the first time they've dropped five of seven since the team acquired Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in 2007. All of the problems have come on the road, where the Celtics have lost five of six, including three losses to sub-.500 opponents.

"We told our team before the season it will be 82 Game 7s. Every time we play it's a Game 7 for the other team," coach Doc Rivers said. "On the nights we're not ready mentally for that, we're going to have to get lucky and play over our head to win."

They haven't done that in either of their last two games, losing 100-88 at New York on Sunday before Tuesday's 114-106 overtime defeat at Charlotte. A three-game skid last February was the Celtics' only such slide in the last two seasons.

While Paul Pierce had 28 points for Boston on Tuesday, the Bobcats shot 48.1 percent from the field, exploiting a defense that leads the NBA in that category, holding opponents to 42.0 percent shooting.

"They come in and intimidate you and try to punk you," Bobcats rookie guard D.J. Augustin said of the Celtics. "But if you don't back down from them, they kind of fold."

Boston has run out of time to address its road issues going into Friday's much-anticipated visit to Cleveland, which took a slim lead over the Celtics atop the Eastern Conference on Tuesday.

But the team has still won 13 straight home games and 18 of 19 this season. The Celtics have averaged 93.3 points in their last six road games, but they're scoring 108.1 per game during their home winning streak.

That doesn't bode well for the Rockets (21-15), who've begun a five-game road trip with three losses, running their road losing streak to five. They haven't lost six straight on the road since the 2001-02 season, when they finished 28-54.

Houston's normally reliable defense has also softened away from home. After Atlanta shot 58.9 percent from the field in a 103-100 win Saturday, Philadelphia made 56.2 percent of its shots, beating the Rockets 104-96 Tuesday.

Those were the two best shooting performances for Houston opponents all season.

"We have to really start looking at things and finding out why we're giving up way too high of a percentage to every team that we play," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "You can't win on the road unless you defend and we haven't been doing it."

One factor could be the absence of defensive stalwart Ron Artest, who has missed the last two games with a sore ankle. Shane Battier, another defensive-minded player, has missed the last four contests due to foot problems.

Forward Luis Scola led the short-handed Rockets with 18 points and 17 rebounds against the Sixers. With Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming struggling, Scola has been a bright spot lately, with four double-doubles in his last six games.

Scola had 21 points and nine rebounds against Boston on Nov. 4, but the Celtics got 29 points from Allen and won their third straight against Houston, 103-99.