SACRAMENTO -- All week long the Celtics said it didn’t bother them. All week long, they rolled their eyes and offered terse, clipped answers about the inevitably of the March 15 trade deadline. Veterans all, there was some truth to their responses. They have, after all, gone through this before and they do understand the business better than most.

But behind the cool exteriors lay a weariness about the whole thing. Sure, much of it was media driven. In each city and arena, a new horde of microphone-holding strangers pumped question after question. On the morning after it was over and with no deal in place, Paul Pierce offered the most honest answer of the week. 

“It’s probably more of a sense of relief for y’all than me because I don’t really put much into it,” Pierce said after a shootaround.

One day we’ll know how close Danny Ainge actually came to breaking up the Big Three before their expiration date. These things have a way of leaking out eventually. What we do know is that Ainge stayed active in talks right up to the 3 p.m. deadline and the names reported to be in play were Pierce and Ray Allen.

Ainge didn’t make a deal because he was acting like a buyer in a seller’s market. He wanted picks and players for his veterans -- not salary dumps -- and the price was simply too high. All along Ainge felt like he was in a position of strength. He didn’t have to blow up his team because he has already laid the plans for it to end by natural causes.

“If there were opportunities to improve for us in the future and fast forward a process that could take longer, we would do it,” Ainge said.

Pierce acknowledged that reality.

“I’ve had thick skin in this business, being a veteran,” he said. “If it was something that was going to benefit the franchise, then so be it. I’d be happy for the franchise, especially all the things that they’ve been able to do for me. If it was something that was going to better the Boston Celtics in the long run, I’d have been happy for them. They’ve done a lot for me in my career. There would have never been any hard feelings.”

They went through this in 2010 when the era seemed to have run its course, but Ainge didn’t make the move. That team defied everyone and made it all the way to Game 7 of the NBA finals, which earned the stars a collective two-year extension. But this is different. There are no more referendums for the Big Three, and they know that.

“I’d be lying if I say I didn’t [think about it],” Kevin Garnett said after the game against the Kings. “But I try and look at this thing for the long haul. That’s where my mindset is. I don’t want to look down the line at that. I’m looking at game by game and where we are.”

Even though it’s inevitable, the ending still will be difficult. Garnett, Pierce and Allen waited their whole careers to play with stars who complement their games. With the other two by his side, Garnett is free to be the defensive anchor and the key behind the scenes figure. It suits him, just like it suits Pierce to be the spokesman and out-front leader. Five years is a long time in this game, but it still feels too short for players who have given so much.

There are still flashes of the good stuff. The brash Clippers foolishly tried to play their game, and the Celtics were only too happy to slug it out. "We went through the OG’s," Brandon Bass said afterward. "The OG’s carried us."

They knocked off the Warriors with an impeccable last-second possession from Pierce to Garnett that used up almost the entire 24 seconds of the shot clock. But they returned the favor two nights later trying to play an up-tempo game against the Kings and were burned for 41 points in the third quarter of a frustrating setback.   

“We have a lot of games and not very many days,” Ainge said. “So I anticipate us looking really good some nights and looking bad some nights. I have a lot of faith in our guys. They know the time and the score and they know when the lights are on. They rise to the occasion at big moments. They have a great deal of pride and experience and know-how. I'm hoping that we can get to the playoffs healthy. Add a little bit of beef between now and the playoffs and we'll take our chances there.” 

The first priority is finding some help for the inside. Make no mistake: Garnett is the center now, and even though he professes to “hate” the assignment, he’ll willingly do it. And in truth, it may wind up adding a few years to his career. It’s not his size that allows him to play the position, but his skill, particularly his jump-shooting ability. He’s quicker than his opponents now and still a defensive force. It’s ironic that his move to center was done with offensive motives in mind, but that’s a huge part of the game plan for the rest of the season. 

But Garnett and Brandon Bass need some relief, if only to survive the final 22 games of the regular season. Ronny Turiaf is available, and the hope is that a few more players will be bought out before Friday’s deadline. The C's will have competition, and unlike past years, they can’t reasonably offer the chance to compete for a championship along with the veteran minimum.

With Dwight Howard staying in Orlando, the first three playoff spots in the East seem fairly secure, so they are realistically looking at finishing anywhere from fourth -- if they can catch Philly in the Atlantic Division -- to their current standing in seventh. They’ll take their chances on health and their invaluable cohesion in what surely be a chaotic postseason.

“We’ve got a group that’s been together for a while, especially me Ray, Kevin and [Rajon] Rondo,” Pierce said. “You got a certain chemistry that’s hard to replace, especially when you start getting into tough games, when you start getting into playoff moments. You got a group that’s come together and make things happen.”

This road trip was supposed to provide some form of resolution, but instead it gave us two more months of the status quo and the future remains every bit as mysterious. Ainge will go into the summer armed with two first-round draft picks and a boatload of cap space. The free agent pickings will be slim, but in this collective bargaining agreement era, cap space and flexibility under the luxury tax are the new currency. They can absorb contracts in trades more easily and with no roster to tear down, Ainge can build without having to shed burdensome contracts.

It won’t be a quick process, and that gives people pause. They want names and a plan. Be assured that Ainge has several in place, but even he doesn’t know exactly how it will play out yet. So, the Big Three play on with every moment feeling a little more important.

“With this ballclub we’re very confident,” Pierce said. “We feel like basically, this may be the last year we ever play together, so you feel it more than ever.”