What’s happened to the Boston Celtics? Are they unraveling? Probably not, though the NBA champs have dropped four of their last six games after a 27-2 start.

On Sunday, the once-mighty Celtics fell 100-88 to the lowly New York Knicks, who had lost seven of eight going into the game. New York also had failed to win in the last six showdowns with Boston at Madison Square Garden, but that streak was snapped with second-year forward Wilson Chandler dropping a career-high 31 points on the Celtics. Veteran Al Harrington added 30.

The Celtics could have focused more on stopping Chandler than barking at each other and the referees in the loss. They allowed 100 points for just the eighth time in 35 games and managed the lowest total allowed by the Knicks this season.

“We’ve just got to come together,” said Paul Pierce, who led Boston with 31 points. “We talked about it after the game amongst the players, what we’re doing right, what we’re doing wrong, and the good thing about this group, we’re a strong group. It’s just about getting through this period and we know we’re a better team that the way we’ve been playing.”

So, what are the Celtics doing wrong -- or at least differently? Here are the Celtics’ numbers in their 29 victories compared to the totals of their four recent losses to the Lakers, Warriors, Blazers and Knicks.

Celtics Per-Game Averages, 2008-09

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pts/G. . . Opp. . . . . . . . FG%. . . . 3P%. . . . . . . Reb/G. . . . .Opp
In 29 Wins. . . . . . .104.1. . . .89.9. . . . . . . . 49.7. . . . 38.8. . . . . . . .43.7. . . . . .36.7
Last 4 Losses. . . . . 86.5. . . .95.5. . . . . . . . 43.7. . . . 28.8. . . . . . . .38.3. . . . . .40.0

Three of Boston’s four recent losses were winnable in the fourth quarter, but the Celtics frequently didn’t shoot well down the stretch. They’ve averaged just 19 fourth-quarter points per game in those losses.

Boston’s three-point shooting hasn’t been as good with the game on the line or the Celtics trailing, something that’s been more common of late. The Celtics also haven’t been winning the battle under the basket the last two weeks, as they had during their franchise-record 19 straight wins leading up to the current 2-4 skid.

Although five of their six losses have come on the road, the Celtics may look forward to facing the Bobcats Tuesday night in Charlotte, where they’ve won four straight. The Bobcats are just 12-22 on the season, but that doesn’t guarantee a win for the Celtics. They have been beaten twice lately by a pair of struggling teams, the 13-19 Knicks and 10-26 Warriors.