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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 24, 2008 8:38:50 GMT -5
www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1141016&format=textCeltics streak by Sixers 19 in row, 27-2 start set marks By Mark Murphy | Wednesday, December 24, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics Photo by Matthew West The Celtics [team stats] will insist they don’t know the number, as if the run they have concocted over the last 19 games is little more than fuzzy math. But there’s no avoiding history now, both locally and within the NBA. Their 110-91 win over Philadelphia last night set a team record for consecutive victories (19) and produced the best start (27-2) in league history, breaking a three-way tie with the 1966-67 76ers and 1969-70 Knicks. Ear plugs won’t work. With tomorrow’s NBA Finals rematch in Los Angeles now throwing heat like a wood-burning stove, the streak is a national phenomenon. But here’s how much it matters to the team that flew to LA last night following a brief postgame Christmas party, thrown by the Celtics wives and girlfriends in the locker room. “What do we get for that?” Paul Pierce [stats] said, falling back on his oft-used comment about the streak. “A car?” asked Kevin Garnett. “We get nothing,” said Pierce. Then there’s the Lakers game. “Do we get a car for that?” asked Garnett. So lights, cameras and a national television audience aside, numbers like 19 and 27-2 don’t count as much as 29, the number of Celtics points off Philadelphia turnovers, and six, the number of Celtics in double figures. Despite some game moments from the 76ers - the same franchise that halted the 1981-82 team’s streak at 18 - the Celtics were hot enough that their bench carried No. 19 home over the last 12 minutes. Rajon Rondo [stats] (18 points), Garnett (18) and Ray Allen (16) shot a combined 19-of-33, but their stretch fury was unleashed by Leon Powe. The power forward scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth, and was so un-guardable out of the post, he made six trips to the line for a 9-of-10 free throw performance. The crowd started chanting “Beat LA” early in the fourth quarter, and all Doc Rivers could worry about was a loss of concentration from his bench. “When they started it was still a 14-point game with five minutes left,” said the Celtics coach. “I was like, wait two or three more minutes, please. And then it was nice. Our crowd is a very smart basketball crowd, so they’re looking forward to it. “Before the game and during the game it’ll be fun and it will mean a lot,” he said. “So I’m glad it’s here.” The third quarter has typically been the time each night when the Celtics carve out a margin that they can carry home. But not even an early quarter 14-2 burst, paced by treys from Pierce and Ray Allen, was enough to discourage Philadelphia. Trailing by 22 points (74-52), the Sixers came back with a 10-0 run and, courtesy of three hoops from Maurice Speights in the last 1:38, cut the Celtics lead to 78-66 by the end of the quarter. Enter the bench, with Powe leading the procession. Powe, combining with Brian Scalabrine to fill the reserve spot left by Glen Davis’ absence, scored on the Celtics’ first three possessions of the fourth, the first two on dunks, with the second a three-point play set up by Tony Allen. The Celtics were now attacking, and heading to the line as a result. Powe, Eddie House and Scalabrine combined to hit eight straight free throws, and Gabe Pruitt followed up with a tightly guarded trey for an 11-1 run that gave the Celtics an impenetrable 94-71 lead with 6:55 left. Again, numbers pivotal to building the longest streak in franchise history and the best start in the history of the league.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 24, 2008 8:43:18 GMT -5
www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1141040&format=textBig Baby Glen Davis remains inactive By Mark Murphy / Celtics Notebook | Wednesday, December 24, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics Photo by Matthew West Glen Davis’ Christmas may be particularly inactive. The second-year forward, suffering from a concussion and a strained neck after his involvement in a three-car accident Sunday afternoon on the Mass Pike, missed his second straight game last night when the Celtics [team stats] beat the Philadelphia 76ers [team stats], 110-91, at the Garden to establish a new franchise record with their 19th straight victory. Davis’ role in Thursday’s game against the Lakers in Los Angeles is very much up in the air as well, though he flew out with the team last night for the start of a four-city western road trip. Davis suffered the concussion after hitting his head against the driver’s side window of his SUV. He has been experiencing dizziness since the accident, which occurred while he was driving into the city for Sunday night’s game against the New York Knicks. “With a concussion I really don’t know what is going to happen,” coach Doc Rivers said prior to the game against the Sixers. “I know we have to be cautious. He’ll try to run tomorrow and then we’ll see if there’s any dizziness. I know he still has headaches, though that could be me.” Lip service The Celtics continue to tick off the opposition with their chatter. It also couldn’t have helped when, as both teams waited for the clock to run down, Eddie House uncorked his third trey of the game just as the buzzer sounded. Though Rivers has said his team is talking less, that’s not how the Sixers’ Andre Iguodala heard it. “I think they’re a good team, but they don’t have the intimidation of say those Detroit teams when they were in the Finals every year,” Iguodala said. “People respect them as far as they’re a good team and they play great defensively, but they have a lot of trash talkers out there. That kind of takes away from them sometimes.” Iguodala added a parting jab. “The Patriots [team stats] were undefeated (in the 2007 NFL regular season) and they lost in the (Super Bowl),” he said. “I’m sure the Celtics are aware of that.” Ring of honor The Celtics, in an especially classy move, held a ring ceremony for ballboy James Toland of South Boston. Toland became a ballboy at roughly the same time he enlisted in the Army National Guard, and was on a base in Virginia when the rest of the ballboys were given their rings honoring last season’s NBA championship. The ceremony served as a nice send-off, considering Toland is being deployed to Iraq. Team president Rich Gotham and Celtics legend Jo Jo White presented Toland with his ring to a standing ovation. Rush hour An unusually bad traffic situation, even for Boston, resulted in a lot of late arrivals in both locker rooms last night. Sam Cassell, Leon Powe and Kendrick Perkins [stats], all driving in from the west, didn’t arrive in the C’s locker room until a half hour before the scheduled 7:30 p.m. tipoff. The second Sixers bus, carrying many of the veterans, didn’t arrive until 20 minutes before gametime. . . . The flight schedule had the Celtics jetting to Los Angeles after the game. “It’s tough to prepare for,” Rivers said of the hype surrounding tomorrow’s NBA Finals rematch. “They were building the game up before the season even started, and the travel part is tough.” The Lakers played, and won, in New Orleans before returning home from a four-game road trip.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 24, 2008 8:48:16 GMT -5
www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1141042&format=textMerry Christmas fans: Celtics-Lakers on tap It’s finally here By Steve Buckley / Opinion | Wednesday, December 24, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics Photo by Matthew West At 10:03 last night, it was officially OK for the Celtics [team stats] to talk about the Lakers. It was at that moment, their 110-91 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers [team stats] in the books, that the next game became the game. For weeks, it had been pointless to quiz the Celtics about their upcoming NBA Finals rematch against the Lakers, this because there was always a “next game” on the schedule, and the next game was the Hornets . . . the Jazz . . . the Hawks . . . the Bulls . . . the Knicks. Now it is this: Christmas Day. The Staples Center. The Lakers. The Rematch. Bliss. And don’t think the Garden masses weren’t clued into the big matchup. With a little more than five minutes remaining in this game, they started to chant for that game. “Beat LA . . . Beat LA . . . Beat LA . . .” But here’s the problem: Even as they acknowledge the hype, the Celtics refuse to get caught up in the stuff. Speaking with the media after the game, and with an approving Kevin Garnett sitting next to him, nodding, Paul Pierce [stats] spoke what he believes is The Truth about Celtics-Lakers. “This is for the fans,” Pierce said. “That’s why they put it on the commercials and that’s why they put it in the newspapers and that’s why they make it on Christmas Day. This is for the fans and the media. For us, it’s just another opportunity to get better. “If we beat the Lakers, do we get anything for it? Do we get another championship?” Should we all roll our eyes at this? Should we accept that it’s all just talk, that, deep down, the Celtics are as caught up in their upcoming showdown with the Lakers as the rest of the basketball-viewing public? They’re as obsessed about this game as everyone else, right? Maybe not. The Celtics made some significant history last night, extending their winning streak to 19 games. Think about that for a moment. For years, everyone wished the Celtics could turn back the clock and be like the old Celtics, and now, right before our eyes, they have done something the Cooz and Russell and Satch and Hondo and The Big Three could never do. Nineteen in a row. Wow. In other words, it’s hard to doubt a guy when he says his team is wedded to the notion of one game at a time . . . after said team has just won 19 straight games. Garnett, at least, was able to play a little big picture, saying, “I totally appreciate the whole history of the Lakers and Celtics and the tradition . . . but to say this is the game we circle, well, we circle all games. And if you’re on the schedule we don’t decline any shows.” Ray Allen, too, was able to show this game some love: “We understand the magnitude . . . as a man, we know what we’re up against, we know that they are definitely waiting for us and they’ve been paying attention to what we’ve done and what we’ve been doing all year.” But . . . “We have a little bit of favorable opinion on our side that it doesn’t make any difference who we play. We’re coming to prepare, and we prepare for every team the same way. And we know every game for us is a big game.” So be it. They are taking it one game at a time, and it just so happens the latest one game at a time is the Los Angeles Lakers. And if they say that that’s how they think, how they prepare, how they focus, then let the record show they are the one team in the NBA that can make that claim, this because they are the current champions. The rest of us will have to console ourselves with the belief that it’s the freakin’ game of the year.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 24, 2008 8:49:30 GMT -5
www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/other_nba/view.bg?articleid=1141048&format=textTrip ends with a win for Lakers By Herald Wire Services | Wednesday, December 24, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | NBA Coverage Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, Pau Gasol added 20, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Hornets, 100-87, last night in New Orleans in a performance that was more dominant than the final score indicated. The Lakers stormed to a 19-point halftime lead and led by 20 after Bryant’s jumper over James Posey early in the fourth quarter. After stumbling through the beginning of their four-game road trip, the Lakers’ dominance of the Hornets should serve as a warning to the defending champion Celtics [team stats], who visit Los Angeles for a much-anticipated Christmas Day contest. Chris Paul finished with 17 points and 10 assists for the Hornets, who had won 11 of their previous 13 games and were looking to move closer to the Lakers in the Western Conference. Los Angeles had dropped a pair of games on its road trip and needed a fourth-quarter comeback to win Monday at Memphis. Last night, the Lakers won convincingly for the second time in two meetings with the Hornets, both times in New Orleans, and ended the Hornets’ six-game home winning streak. Andrew Bynum scored 13 points for Los Angeles, which also got 11 points from Derek Fisher and 10 from Trevor Ariza. Cavaliers 99, Rockets 90 - LeBron James scored 27 points, 18 in the second half, and Mo Williams added 23 as Cleveland remained the NBA’s only undefeated team at home by beating Houston. Pistons 104, Bulls 98 - In Auburn Hills, Mich., Rodney Stuckey scored a career-high 40 points and Detroit overcame an injury to Allen Iverson [stats], who scored only five points and sat out most of the second half with a groin injury, in a victory over Chicago. Nets 108, Pacers 107 - In Indianapolis, a jumper by Devin Harris (29 points, 11 assists) from the top of the key as time expired pushed New Jersey, which got 38 points from Vince Carter, past Indiana. Hawks 99, Thunder 88 - Joe Johnson had his second career triple-double (20 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists), and Marvin Williams scored 21 points in Atlanta’s win against visiting Oklahoma City. Bobcats 80, Wizards 72 - Emeka Okafor had 29 points and 18 rebounds, and Charlotte pulled away in the fourth quarter for the victory against Washington, which got 31 points from Caron Butler. Heat 96, Warriors 88 - Dwyane Wade had 32 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and host Miami matched last season’s win total (15) by beating injury-depleted Golden State. Blazers 101, Nuggets 92 - LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 points to help host Portland past Denver. Mavericks 100, Grizzlies 82 - Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points and host Dallas stretched its winning streak against Memphis to 13 games. Spurs 99, Timberwolves 93 - Tony Parker scored 36 points as San Antonio handed visiting Minnesota its 13th consecutive loss. Bucks 94, Jazz 86 - Michael Redd scored 27 points to lead Milwaukee to its fifth straight home victory, over shorthanded Utah.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 24, 2008 8:50:31 GMT -5
www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/12/24/great_lengths?mode=PFGreat lengths Celtics make some history with their 19th win in a row By Frank Dell'Apa, Globe Staff | December 24, 2008 The mantra of taking one game at a time has served the Celtics well this season. But their fans were not allowing them to meditate on their success, loudly annunciating their own mantra with a "Beat LA" chant in the final quarter of last night's 110-91 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, the Celtics' franchise-record 19th consecutive victory. "They started it and it was still a 14-point game with five minutes left," coach Doc Rivers said. "To me, I was like, wait two or three more minutes, please." The Celtics (27-2) improved to 17-1 at TD Banknorth Garden with their 12th straight home win, a sendoff for a four-game road trip that begins tomorrow against the Los Angeles Lakers. They broke the franchise win-streak mark set by the 1981-82 team and also surpassed the NBA mark shared by Philadelphia (1966-67) and New York (1969-70) for best start through 29 games. The anticlimax of another blowout victory allowed the sense of anticipation to begin building as the Celtics' reserves increased the lead. "It was nice, our crowd is a very smart basketball crowd and so they were looking forward to it," Rivers said of the Los Angeles visit. "Both teams are looking forward to it, I'm sure." Barely one-third of the season has been completed, and the league's dominant teams have emerged. But jockeying for home-court advantage in the playoffs places a premium on nearly every game, something the Celtics are emphasizing. "I don't think you understand how we see it," Kevin Garnett said. "We're not downplaying anything, we're just being totally honest with you. Unless you win it all, it's pretty much just steam in the air - you see it and then it evaporates. "Obviously, the significance of the history involved, we understand, and maybe we'll look back on this, winning it, and sit back and reflect on the year and then we might actually understand what it is and the significance of it. But, at this point, it's all about getting better." Against the Sixers, the Boston bench displayed significant improvement, despite performing for the second successive contest without Glen Davis (concussion). Though Rivers played the role of paranoid coach, the outcome was determined early and the second unit cemented things. An 18-footer by Garnett (18 points) signaled the start of a 10-2 Celtic spree that allowed them to close the first half with a 58-44 lead. Rajon Rondo (18 points) scored 6 points during the rally, on drives with :03 and :02 left on the shot clock, and a follow after a Kendrick Perkins failed 3-point play chance. The Sixers pulled within 60-50 on Samuel Dalembert's shot 2:55 into the second half. Then a 14-2 Celtic run over a 3:24 span extended the lead to 74-52, capped by Garnett's left-handed tip of a Paul Pierce lob with 4:32 left in the third quarter. The Sixers responded with 10 successive points and a 14-4 spree, concluding the quarter with Marreese Speights's dunk to cut their deficit to 78-66. The Celtics' second unit, plus Ray Allen, got off to an 11-4 start in the first 4:26 of the final quarter, Leon Powe scoring 9 points and blocking Reggie Evans, leading to the first of two successive Philadelphia 24-second violations. Powe's free throw for an 89-70 advantage with 7:47 remaining made Rivers feel secure enough to replace Allen with Gabe Pruitt. Pruitt confirmed that faith with a 3-pointer for a 93-71 lead with 6:57 to play, which turned out to be the clinching points. The "Beat LA" chants started soon after that. "I don't see the magnitude because I can't understand it," Rivers said of the visit to Los Angeles. "But I do understand that it's a game that a lot of people are looking forward to; so are we and so are they. "I mean, we can say what we want, and that's human nature. Kevin's right, it is just one of 82. If we win the game, does it mean anything that we can win? No. And if they win, same thing, they don't get anything after the game." As for the team-record winning streak, Rivers said, "I'm not downplaying it. I know it's great and all that stuff. But we didn't get our hands in and say, 'Hip, hip, hooray,' or anything. Nobody even mentioned it. "So we just want to keep playing and we want to keep winning, and we want to try to keep getting better."
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 24, 2008 8:52:48 GMT -5
www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/12/24/talk_of_streak_is_struck_down?mode=PFTalk of streak is struck down Celtics not about to rest on laurels By Monique Walker, Globe Staff | December 24, 2008 Looking for a little perspective on this season's Celtics? They are owners of the longest winning streak in franchise history at 19 games and own the NBA record for the best start at 27-2. No other Celtics teams can say that. But leave it to Paul Pierce to throw in a dose of reality. "Has any other Boston Celtic team lost 18 in a row? We've done that," said Pierce, referring to the losing streak in 2006-07 of which he was a part. Last night, the Celtics defeated the Sixers, 110-91, at TD Banknorth Garden. The win came in the same fashion as many of the others in the streak. The starters lit the spark, the bench maintained the fire, and a combination of the two wrapped the game up. And they walked off the court with little celebration. While questions flowed about what the victory meant, Pierce wanted to know whether a car or some other big prize was theirs for winning a contest 29 games into the season. Kevin Garnett said the reaction is not meant to downplay the achievement but to keep everything in perspective. "Unless you win it all, it's pretty much just steam in the air - you see it and then it evaporates," he said. "Obviously, the significance of the history involved, we understand, and maybe we'll look back on this, winning it, and sit back and reflect on the year and then we might actually understand what it is and the significance of it. "But, at this point, it's all about getting better." The last time the Celtics lost was Nov. 14 against Denver, 94-85. And as the wins piled up, they have refused to address anything more than the next game. Any talk of greatness has been replaced by a discussion of imperfection. A mention of the streak is overshadowed by the next opponent. Coach Doc Rivers said he is not able to appreciate what it means to be in the midst of the streak as the team heads to Los Angeles to start its West Coast trip tomorrow against the Lakers. "I'm not downplaying it," said Rivers. "I know it's great and all that stuff. But we didn't get our hands in and say, 'Hip, hip hooray,' or anything. Nobody even mentioned it. "So we just want to keep playing, and we want to keep winning, and we want to try to keep getting better. Ray Allen said the streak shows that each player is great and is preparing each day the proper way. "What it says about us as a team is that in the first 29 games, we've been very focused," Allen said. "We know what we're trying to do. Playing that Game 6 [vs. the Lakers] in this building in the Finals, playing the playoffs, that's not that far away from us at this point where we stand today, so that's a place we want to get back to. "We like our record, but there's more to go." Some Sixers, though, weren't completely sold on the greatness of Boston. "I think they're a good team, but they don't have that intimidation like, say, those Detroit teams had when they were in the Finals every year," said forward Andre Iguodala. "I think people respect them as far as they're a good team and they play great defensively, but they have a lot of trash talkers out there. That kind of takes away from them sometimes. "But as a basketball group, they do a great job executing and a great job sticking to their game plan." And the Celtics aren't ready to claim greatness yet. "If you don't win the championship, all that goes out the window," Garnett said. "If you don't win it at the end, then it's pretty much meaningless. Our ultimate goal is to win this thing again and get better as we go."
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 24, 2008 8:55:15 GMT -5
www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/12/24/crowd_gets_into_la_game_early?mode=PFCrowd gets into LA game early By Frank Dell'Apa, Globe Staff | December 24, 2008 Most of the Celtics will not be home for Christmas. Paul Pierce is the exception, as he returns to Los Angeles with his teammates for tomorrow's game against the Lakers. "It's my daughter's first Christmas, so she gets to be around her family," Pierce said after the Celtics' 110-91 victory over Philadelphia last night. "Just enjoy the small amount of time I get to be around my family, but I understand I have a job at hand and that's to play basketball and try to win the game. I get to go and be around people who are close to me." Garden spectators created a pre-playoff feel, despite the blowout nature of the game, by chanting "Beat LA" in the final quarter. "This is for the fans," Pierce said. "That's why they put it on the commercials. That's why they put it in the newspapers and that's why they make it on Christmas Day. "If we beat the Lakers, do we get anything for it? Do we win another championship? Do we get another ring? No. It's just another game on the schedule we have to play." A Christmas surprise Doc Rivers said he was surprised when he learned before the season that the Celtics were scheduled to play an away game on Christmas. "They told me we were playing on Christmas Day and I didn't really look at it, I just assumed it was at home," he said. "Then I saw it was on the road, and I said, 'What's that?' "I'm sure arena availability probably had something to do with it. It's not just they wanted to play it in LA, but as a coach, I'll make it that way. "One of the things I did before the season, the league has the coaches send in rules suggestions, I said one of the packages of winning the title is you should get the ring, the trophy, and a guaranteed home date on Christmas Day. So let's hope that gets through." When he played for the Atlanta Hawks, Rivers said, a Christmas game was scheduled annually because of TBS programming. Since retiring as a player, Rivers has mostly been able to be with his family in Orlando, Fla., for Christmas. "Because I've been in the league 20-whatever years, the kids get used to it," Rivers said. "The young one said yesterday, 'You're not coming home for Christmas?' "This will be the first time for him; we played one in Orlando but we played at home. We get both sides of the family together and we actually contemplated doing it in LA, but that would have been impossible." Looks good from there The Lakers' Kobe Bryant has been impressed with the Celtics. "They look tough. I think they're better, to be honest with you," Bryant said. "They have a great system and a great structure where they can continue to bring in guys who play hard, play within the system, and play within themselves. [Rajon] Rondo seems more confident, seems more relaxed, he's worked on his shot a lot. He's gotten better, and because he's gotten better, he's made them better." . . . There was some symmetry to the Celtics setting the franchise record for a winning streak (19 games) against the Sixers. It was Philadelphia that snapped the 1981-82 Celtics' 18-game streak with a 116-98 win March 22, 1982. That Philadelphia team then went on to eliminate the Celtics in a seven-game playoff series. Frontcourt shortage It took Glen Davis's GMC Yukon sliding on an icy road and his resulting concussion to reveal the Celtics' frontcourt vulnerability. Davis was injured on the Massachusetts Turnpike Sunday, missing that night's win over New York and last night's victory. Davis traveled with the team to Los Angeles but is doubtful for tomorrow's contest. P.J. Brown has not officially retired but he did not return after last season, leaving the Celtics short up front. Leon Powe and Brian Scalabrine were first off the bench in relief of Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins the last two games. Powe scored 15 points in 16 minutes and Scalabrine had 1 point against the Sixers. "We don't have enough size to begin with, with P.J. gone," Rivers said. "And now you take Baby [Davis] away and we're down to Scal or Patrick O'Bryant, who hasn't played. We can't afford to lose a 'big,' and we just lost one. "What I won't do is extend Kevin's minutes, no matter what happens. He's going to play his minutes, because we have to look at the whole picture." Driving to the hoop The Sixers' bus required 55 minutes for the trip from the Four Seasons Hotel to the Garden, and a second bus, with several players aboard, had not arrived 45 minutes before the start. The Sixers made their way in less than 15 minutes for a shootaround yesterday morning.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 24, 2008 9:01:05 GMT -5
www.metrowestdailynews.com/sports/pros_and_colleges/x220011786/Celtics-110-76ers-91-Best-start-everCeltics 110, 76ers 91: Best start ever -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Loading multimedia... Photos -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elise Amendola./Associated Press Paul Pierce (right) is congratulated by Sam Cassell after scoring a bucket during the Celtics' 110-91 win over the Sixers. By Lenny Megliola/Daily News staff MetroWest Daily News Posted Dec 23, 2008 @ 11:32 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSTON — Nineteen wins in a row. No Celtics team had ever done that. A 27-2 start to the season. No NBA team had ever done that. If you're luvin' it, you're not the only one. The suits at league headquarters and at the ABC network are hyperventilating over the Christmas day matchup between the Celtics and Lakers. Now, a Boston-LA game is a pretty easy TV sell, given the teams' history, and considering they were the finalists last June. Not that tomorrow's game would have been stripped of any of its luster if the Celtics had lost to the 76ers at the Garden last night, but the idea that it's the Lakers that get the next chance to stop this historic Boston surge only adds to the attraction. With about five minutes left in the Celtics' 110-91 win, the fans were standing and exhorting their favorite team to "Beat LA!" In the past, that's been a Garden chant saved for the spring. Suddenly, it's a winter solstice war cry. Coach Doc Rivers thought the chant was a bit premature. "I was thinking, 'Can you wait a few minutes, please?"' With all the hype and anticipation of tomorrow's game, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett couldn't have downplayed it more. "It's not like we circled this game," said Pierce. "It's just another game on the schedule. If we beat LA, do we get anything for it? Do we get another championship? Do we get another ring?" But 19 straight, Paul. "Has any Boston Celtic team lost 18 in a row? I've done that." What concerns Pierce is the four-game road trip across the country. He's curious to see if the Celtics can keep the high quality play in motion. "It gets started against the best team in the West," he said. No more and no less than that. The Celtics are the Big Story for the second straight season, but again, what do all the records mean, Garnett pondered. "If we don't win it all, it's steam in the air. It evaporates. If we don't win the championship, it all goes out the window. It's meaningless." It might have been meaningless for the 76ers to show up last night. The Celtics led by 22 at one point. Still, Andre Iguodala hasn't been blown away by the Celtics yet. "They're a good team, but they don't have the intimidation like those Detroit teams had when they were in the Finals every year." The Celtics led by 14 at the half and 12 going into the last quarter. Garnett and Rajon Rondo finished with 18 points each. Ray Allen chipped in with 16. Leon Powe used 9-for-10 at the line to finish with 15 points. Bench mate Eddie House had 15. Kendrick Perkins had 11 rebounds. Marreese Speights and Louis Williams paced the Sixers with 16 apiece. Iguodala and Andre Miller both scored 14. Rondo took over the second quarter with his hard drives (he knows no other way) and three sensational layups. When Perkins missed a free throw, it was Rondo who came up with the rebound just outside the foul line. He took it to the hoop - why not? - and scored to make it 56-42 with 44.5 seconds left. The quicksilver Rondo wasn't through. After Speights hit a jumper, Rondo made two at the line with 8.4 remaining for the 58-44 edge at the break. Rondo had 10 of his 12 points in the quarter, and was 5-for-7. Garnett had 12 and Ray Allen 11 at the half. The Sixers got a dozen each from Iguodala and Miller. OK, Paul and KG, you're absolutely correct. Tomorrow's game is for the fans more than you guys. But you don't mind that we're drooling a little, do ya?
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