Celtics Set NBA Record With Win Over Philly

By Geoff in Celtics, Featured ⋅ December 23, 2008 at 11:20pm ⋅ Post a comment

The Celtics set a new NBA record Tuesday night for the best start to a season by beating the Philadelphia 76ers 110-91. The Celtics moved to 27-2 with the win and also set a new franchise record of winning 19 games in a row. The previous record streak of 18 straight wins was done by the 1986 Celtics.

This was a very well-balanced game and saw good ball movement amongst the team with no one individual really doing all the work.

Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo both produced 18 points, Ray Allen had 16 and Paul Pierce finished with 10. Kendrick Perkins could not really keep up with the starters in scoring but continued to define himself with the boards as he grabbed 11 rebounds.

From the bench, the Celtics had strong contributions from Leon Powe who had 15 points and 6 rebounds, and Eddie House who had 13 points.

The 76ers also had a fairly balanced attack, but it was not enough to stop a juggernaut like the Celtics. Both Andre Iguodala and Andre Miller had 14 points and Miller also grabbed eight rebounds. Off the bench Reggie Evans had 12 points, and Lou Williams and Marreese Speights had 16 points each. Among the 76ers’ problems throughout the game were the mismatches they had on defense against the Celtics as well as their lack of size compared to the Celts.

The Celtics are really making an even greater name for themselves and are only three games away from the impressive streak the Houston Rockets made last year with 22 straight wins (until that streak was stopped by the Celtics). Boston is starting to be compared to Celtics teams from the 50′s, 70′s, and 80′s, as well as the Michael Jordan’s ’90s Chicago Bulls, who set the single season winning record by going 72-10 in 1995-1996. Whether the Celtics manage to set their own mark for win sin a seaason not is up the air still, but at this rate I would not count it out.

Other Notes:

Glen “Big Baby” Davis, who missed his second straight game after his car accident, appeared in street clothes for the Celts.
The Celtics will get to face the L.A. Lakers on Christmas Day in L.A. in search of their 20th consecutive win. The last time these teams met the Celtics dominated the Lakers and won their 17th NBA Championship.

Tags: Andre Iguodala, Andre Miller, Celtics, Eddie House, Glen Big Baby Davis, Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, Leon Powe, Lou Williams, Marreese Speights, Michael Jordan, Paul Pierce, Philadelphia 76ers, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Reggie Evans