A 12:30pm start, Really?

The scheduling gurus for the NBA came up with a dozy for the Celtics and Cavaliers on Sunday as they forced the two teams (who both played away on Friday night) to tip-off at 12:30pm local time. With LeBron out (dislocated finger), the C's (14-2) and Cavs (9-9) obliged the zombie fans in attendance with a garbage game. Boston won 80-70 in a game that surely won't be on ESPN Classic anytime soon.

The Celtics are now 9-0 at the Garden and just three games away from tying the best franchise start at home (from '84-'85). It's a safe bet to say that without James, the Cavs are a fringe NBDL team. Ray Allen (20 points) led the way for the Celtics, who only had one other double-digit scorer, Rajon Rondo added 12. Kevin Garnett had nine points and eight boards while Paul Pierce managed just seven points. Big Baby Glen Davis had a nice game off the bench with nine points and seven boards before he fouled out. James Posey added seven points and Eddie House had six.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas led Cleveland with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Sasha Pavlovic (11 points) and Drew Gooden (10 points, 11 boards) were the other standouts.

Boston travels to Philly on Wednesday to take on the struggling Sixers.