For most of the first three quarters last night, the Celtics sleepwalked against the over-matched Philadelphia 76'ers. Fortunately for the home team, they found some defense in the second half and most importantly, they found their shooting stroke in the fourth.
Boston (32-6) came away with a 116-89 blowout win that was pretty deceiving given the early struggles.
Philly (15-25) took a 57-54 lead into the break. The Celts outscored them 24-16 in the third and 38-16 in the fourth as every shot seemed to fall for Boston.
Ironically enough, the guy who really provided a spark for Boston was the most unlikely of players: 12th man Leon Powe. The second-year big man out of Cal scored 10 points and grabbed six boards as he played the last 15 minutes of the game. He sured things up on the inside as the Sixers were absolutely killing the C's on the glass before he went in.
Ray Allen (9 of 14 from the floor for 23 points, 6 assists, 4 steals) had another great night. Probably his best back-to-back performances of the season. Paul Pierce scored 22 and had three assists in three quarters of action, he sat out the fourth. Eddie House (15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) started at point guard and hit some big shots when the Celtics started to pull away. Kevin Garnett had 11 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two blocks. Tony Allen (12 points), Kendrick Perkins (8 points, 7 rebounds) and James Posey (8 points) all made plays as well.
Philly was led by Andre Iguodala (17 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals), who might have the highest arching shot in the NBA. Samuel Dalembert had a double double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Andre Miller (12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists) and Jason Smith (10 points) also scored in double digits.
Boston shot a ridiculous 58.9% for the game while Philadelphia was 45.3%. The other number that really jumps out at you is the C's made a season-high 14 of 22 3-pointers. Conversely, the Sixers were just 2 of 10. Philly held the rebounding edge, 39-30 but Boston handed out more assists (31-20). Finally, Boston scored 33 points off 23 Philadelphia turnovers.
Up next, the Celts travel to New York to face the Knicks in a special 1 p.m. start on Monday (Martin Luther King Day). The Knicks three-game win streak was stopped last night so who knows what to expect from them? Boston put a serious beatdown on New York the first time these teams met, in late November at the Garden.
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