Of all the things that mystified and befuddled the Celtics last season, it was their curious inability win games at TD Garden that bothered them the most. No matter ho much they talked about it – and talked about it – the 2009-10 Celtics just couldn’t seem to establish any kind of a homecourt identity.

That team won just 24 games at the Garden last season and on Wednesday, this year’s team passed that mark with a tougher-than-expected 94-80 win over the Nets (click here for a full recap).

The Celtics started strong by jumping out to a 25-10 lead and then completely disintegrated after that, allowing the Nets to take a nine-point lead in the third quarter. But the Celtics clamped down in the fourth quarter, forcing New Jersey to miss 21 of its 24 shots.

It was the kind of defensive stand this team is known for and it came at exactly the right time, because if they had faltered it would have gone down as their worst home loss of the season. For all their problems playing back-to-backs and losing games they shouldn’t, all of those have come on the road.

“We can’t take any game for granted,” Kendrick Perkins said. “We have to play as hard as possible. Maybe if we had Game 7 of the finals at home last year we win that, so I think coming down the stretch we’ve got to finish them out strong.”

The Celtics head into the All-Star break tied with Miami for the best record in the Eastern Conference, but one game ahead in the loss column. If they are going to make a serious run at the top spot, these are the games they need to win, especially at the Garden.

“Obviously you’ve got to go through it, but we did talk about it going into the year,” Doc Rivers said. “We knew we had a ton of injuries and we were playing guys strange minutes, but one of the things we still expected through all that last year was just to win the home games. And we didn’t do that. Obviously this year has been much better.”

The Celtics have finished up the glamour portion of their schedule. Outside of trips to Miami, San Antonio and Chicago, their remaining 28 games will mostly feature teams like the Warriors, Clippers and Nets.

The playoffs start in two months but the remaining 28 games will help determine their fate. It all starts at home.

Here are three more points:

PAUL PIERCE IS FINE

It only took two days off from practice and an MRI for Paul Pierce to rediscover his game, but he quickly erased the memories of his 0-for against Miami with a blistering 31-point performance.

“Well, I felt better,” Pierce said. “Getting some of my health back. It’s a good start.”

The MRI revealed a foot bruise, which was a welcome relief for Pierce.

“When I had the situation a few years back when I broke my foot it was the same type of situation,” he said. “[I had] some pain in my foot just walking around. I really wanted to make sure I didn’t do any further damage to it. It’s getting better.”

Pierce’s health has been one of the underrated keys to the Celtics success this season. While he admirably played through numerous ailments last season, he clearly wasn’t himself and the Celtics suffered for it.

Pierce’s style of play is always going to lead some bangs and bumps, but he has finished better and stronger at the rim than he has in years and he has also morphed into an efficient scorer from all over the court.

Keeping Pierce intact, especially without a legitimate backup, will be one of the biggest keys to the final 28 games. For him, the All-Star break couldn’t have come at a better time.

THE BENCH IS STILL SEARCHING FOR CONSISTENCY

Without Delonte West, who was kept out after tweaking his wrist in practice, the Celtics once again had just 10 players. They got a nice lift from Luke Harangody who contributed eight points and three rebounds, but all in all it wasn’t a good night for the second unit.

“I was upset at halftime because I thought our starters came out with unbelievable spirit and then our second unit – it happens – our second unit watched how much we were scoring and they forgot the reason we were scoring was because we were playing great defense,” Rivers said.

The coach has used several variations of the same speech many times before. The starters play well, the bench comes in and forgets to bring the focus on defense.

It’s fairly remarkable that they have achieved what they have achieved through this point in the season with the second unit struggling as it has. Injuries are the biggest reason – maybe the only reason – that the bench hasn’t been able to come together yet.

“We just got to play hard regardless of injuries,” Nate Robinson said. “Everybody’s not 100 percent. We just got to play through it.” 

Asked if it was important to establish some kind of a set rotation before the playoffs, Robinson deferred. “Whatever Doc has in mind we’re all for it,” he said. “We believe in what he has going.”

They should get a lift from West’s comeback and Semih Erden is also slated at the moment to return in time for the Golden State game next Tuesday. That will help, but time is running short for the second unit to establish something, anything, before the playoffs start.

KENDRICK PERKINS IS HANGING IN THERE

It’s easy to forget with the way he’s been playing how quickly Perkins reasserted himself into the lineup. But 11 games into his comeback, Perkins is definitely feeling the effects.

He said after the Miami game that he was sore all over and noted his hamstrings, which would be a typical reaction to adjusting to the rigors of logging 30 minutes a night with limited practice time.

One good sign, however, is the strength of his shoulder, which had been a constant struggle in the past. The time off helped that part of his body heal. “You know I haven’t thought about it, but it hasn’t bothered me,” Perkins said.

The Celtics are going to continue needing big minutes from Perkins for the foreseeable future. Even when Erden comes back, it remains anyone’s guess when Shaquille O’Neal will return and Jermaine O’Neal is still weeks away.

A lot is riding on Perkins. He’s held up to the burden so far, but he remains the last line of defense up front.