What the phuck!

I admit, I didn't see much of the Celtics-Sixers game last night. Every time I paid attention, Boston seemed to have a comfortable 6-12 point lead. I thought it was in the bag.

Obviously, I was surprised when I looked up late in the fourth and saw the Celtics were down eight. The Sixers held on to win 95-90 at the TD Banknorth Garden. Philly (36-35) put it away by going on a 19-0 run in the fourth that the Celts (55-15) couldn't recover from.

The 76ers love to run and they've been playing really well lately with Andre Iguodala (game-high 28 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals) and Andre Miller (20 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists) setting the tone. Rookie Thaddeus Young (16 points, 9 rebounds) and Samuel Dalembert (12 rebounds) also contributed to the win.

Amazingly, this is the first time all season Philly has been over .500. They could be dangerous in the Eastern Conference playoffs (something you can't say of some of the teams jockeying for the 6-8th spots). The Sixers could end up as high as fifth seed.

Kevin Garnett (18 points, 5 rebounds) played well but the same can't be said for the rest of his teammates, except for Leon Powe (16 points and 7 rebounds in 22 minutes). Ray Allen was held to 14 points (6 assists) and Paul Pierce only managed 12 points. Rajon Rondo had seven assists and three steals but just six points, way down from his recent scoring binge. Eddie House added 11 points in the loss.

The C's led 28-22 after the first quarter and 52-48 at the half. After beating the Sixers in all three of their earlier meetings, the Celts seemed to be in good shape. Boston outscored Philly, 19-18 in the third but they crashed and burned in the fourth, getting dominated, 29-19.

The stat of the game was the 76ers advantage at the line: 15 more free throws made (30-15). Philly also outrebounded Boston by eight (42-34) which nullified the Celts crisp passing (28 assists on 34 baskets).

Boston has now lost two in a row, a rare occurrence this season. They'll have their hands full on Wednesday too as the Phoenix Suns (who had won seven in a row before losing to the Pistons in OT last night) come to Boston. The C's will be looking to knock off the Suns after Phoenix beat Boston on its West Coast trip (right after they acquired Shaq).

Celtics bury Sixers with 38 point fourth quarter

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.