If the Playoffs Started Today: The Celtics Would Be In & the Bruins Would Be Out, Wait What?

There are 12 games left in the 2014-15 regular season, but somehow the Celtics (31-39 overall, 13-22 away) have hung around long enough to put themselves in a good position to make the postseason. Boston won 110-91 tonight at Barclays Center vs. Brooklyn (29-40 overall, 12-20 home) to take a 1.5 games lead on the hosts. The C's picked the perfect time to snap their three-game losing streak since Charlotte and Indiana both also lost. Boston went up half a game on Charlotte and one game on Indiana for the eighth-seed in the Eastern Conference.

Evan Turner was the catalyst in the victory with his second triple-double (19 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds) as a Celtic. It was a very balanced night of scoring for Boston as six guys scored in double-figures. Avery Bradley led the way with 20 points and seven rebounds while Tyler Zeller had 18 points and seven rebounds then Brandon Bass notched 12 points, five rebounds and two steals.

Other than Turner, the story of the game for the C's was Kelly Olynyk's 18 points and five rebounds off the bench. He had been in a major shooting slump so it was nice to see him hit three of the five 3-pointers that he attempted. Jonas Jerebko had 10 points and six rebounds with Jae Crowder putting up nine points and five rebounds. Not surprisingly with those numbers, Boston's bench outscored Brooklyn's 39-28.

The Nets were led by Brook Lopez's game-high 31 points. There with a couple problems with that though since seven (!) different Celtics had more rebounds than him (4). Furthermore, only two other Nets scored in double-figures: Thaddeus Young (12 points, 9 rebounds) and Deron Williams (10 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds). Lopez had a great night but clearly just dumping the ball down to him mostly on the low post meant that nobody else on Brooklyn could really get going or even touch the ball.

Brooklyn led 28-23 after the first quarter but then Boston slowly took over. The Celtics outscored the Nets by 10 (31-21) in the second quarter to take a 54-49 lead into the break. Despite playing their second game of a back-to-back, the Celts looked like the fresher team as they took the third quarter (29-25) and truthfully the Nets might have given up in the fourth (27-17).

The Celtics shot 15.1% better from the field (51.1%-36%), hit five more 3-pointers (6-1) and dished out 10 more assists than the Nets (25-15). Boston wrapped up the season series with Brooklyn 3-1 (their only loss was by 2 points the day after Christmas).

Up next, the C's take on the Heat (32-37) on Wednesday (7:30, CSN) at TD Garden. Miami is ahead of Boston by 1.5 games but that will change shortly as the Heat travel to Milwaukee tomorrow night before coming to Boston. So if they lose to the Bucks, a Celtics win vs. Miami would leave them tied for seventh-place in the East.

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Celtics Open 2014-15 Season With Low Expectations By Blowing Out the Nets

It is only one game so there is no need to call the Duck Boats quite yet but even the most cynical Celtics fan (points at self) has to admit that tonight's 121-105 demolition of the Nets at TD Garden was one hell of a way to start off the 2014-2015 regular season. For a team pegged to be a lottery team (again) with no hope of getting to .500, this result makes you wonder if we're simply underestimating the C's in year two under head coach Brad Stevens.

For the first time since 2002, Boston had eight guys score in double figures including all five starters (who each hit a 3-pointer as well). Rajon Rondo (13 points, 12 assists, 7 rebounds) surprisingly started despite his recent broken hand. Naturally he flirted with a triple-double in 30 minutes of action. Kelly Olynyk led Boston with 19 points and six rebounds. Jeff Green had 17 points, six rebounds and two steals. Avery Bradley scored 15 points and Jared Sullinger rounded out (no pun intended, he's fat!) the starting five with 13 points and two blocks.

Paul Pierce is now with the Wizards and Kevin Garnett (10 points, 6 rebounds) entered his 20th (!) NBA campaign, this has to be his final go-around. The Nets got rid of bozo head coach Jason Kidd for the not wanted Lionel Hollins but it probably doesn't matter who is in charge because they have no clear direction. Some Yugoslavian rookie named Mirza Teletovic, a power forward, led the Nets with a game-high 20 points, six rebounds and two blocks off the bench in 23 minutes. He'll be starting in no time if he keeps up that type of production.

Brooklyn's old guy backcourt of Deron Williams (19 points, 8 assists) and Joe Johnson (19 points, 6 rebounds) would be quite a combination say five years ago but in 2014, you know that Williams will either get hurt, disinterested or both before Christmas. Former Worcester Academy (look it up) star Jarrett Jack added 11 points off the bench for the Nets, he always seems to play well vs. Boston.

Three of the newest Celtics, rookie Marcus Smart (4 steals), Marcus Thornton and Evan Turner (7 rebounds, 5 assists) all scored 10 points off the bench. The C's might not have the best starting five in the Atlantic Divison, let alone the Eastern Conference but it appears that they'll have way more depth than last season so that's worth something, right?

This was simply never remotely competitive as Boston led 32-23 after the first quarter and 67-41 at halftime. To put it into context, they only had one 20+ point lead previously in 2014 (last season). The Celtics outscored the Nets 34-31 in the third quarter before Brooklyn's scrubs made it a little more respectable in the fourth (33-20) but not really.

All these young guys on the Celts will have a few days to hear how great they look before things get real with a trip to Houston (2-0) on Saturday (8, CSN) followed by a meeting in Dallas (0-1) on Monday (8:30, CSN). Those are two definite playoff teams in the always loaded Western Conference and Boston typically plays poorly in Texas so it figures to be a different story from this evening's fun.

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KG, Pierce and the Nets Take Round 1 vs. the Celtics

Everyone had the same thought: it was bizarre to see Paul Pierce (4 points, 7 rebounds) and Kevin Garnett (11 points, 9 rebounds) competing in Nets jerseys. The Celtics' legends got their first shot at their old team and they made it count as Brooklyn (7-14 overall, 3-6 home) held off Boston this evening 104-96 at Barclays Center.

For the early part of this season, the expectations for both of these teams were completely off the mark. Boston (10-13 overall, 5-8 away) was supposed to be a pushover while the Nets were built to challenge the Heat and Pacers in the Eastern Conference.

Pierce returned early from a broken hand so with most of their squad finally healthy, Brooklyn actually played well. Deron Williams had a game-high 25 points and seven assists while robot Brook Lopez added 24 points. Something called Alan Anderson scored 15 points and that bum Andray Blatche put up 11 points off the bench.

Avery Bradley paced the Celtics with 22 points. Jeff Green had 19 points and six rebounds, Jordan Crawford and Jared Sullinger each notched 15 points while Brandon Bass had the only double-double in the game (13 points, 11 rebounds).

It was close almost the entire game but the Nets were always in control: up 31-20 after the first quarter, 56-47 at halftime and 85-72 heading into the fourth quarter. Boston stayed in it by hitting eight more 3-pointers (11-3) and scoring 10 more points off turnovers (24-14). Brooklyn shot 11.9% better from the field, hit eight more free throws, grabbed seven more rebounds, had five more assists, 10 more bench points and scored 18 more points in the paint.

The reunion week continues with a back-to-back, Boston returns to TD Garden tomorrow night (7:30, CSN) to face Doc Rivers and the Clippers (14-8, 1st in Pacific Division). It will be his first game against the C's since he left this summer. These two games shouldn't have been this close together but what can you do? The Celtics aren't one of the marquee teams in the NBA anymore so their schedule isn't particularly attractive in many ways.

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A Christmas Miracle: The Celtics Remember How To Play Defense, In Brooklyn

I doubt that many people saw it since it tipped off shortly after 12 p.m. on Christmas (God bless DVR) but this afternoon at the Barclays Center, the Celtics turned in their best defensive performance of the season with a complete 93-76 win against the Nets.

I'll rule that the victory was the most important of the season for the Celts since this was the beginning of a very difficult four-game road trip. From here, they are off to California for three games. This was the third time they've held their opponent under 80 points, not surprisingly they are 3-0 in those contests with this being the lowest point total.

Boston (14-13, 5-8 away) improved to 2-3 in the last five years on Christmas, their last win came in 2009 against Orlando. Brooklyn (14-13, 9-7 home) could never get on track, they scored 24 points in the first quarter but then were held to 18 or less in the final three quarters. The C's also handed the Nets their first head-to-head loss after Brooklyn won the first two meetings of the 2012-13 regular season.

Rookie Jared Sullinger had a career-high 16 points and seven rebounds as the Celtics had four guys in double figures yet none of them were named Kevin Garnett (8 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks)) or Paul Pierce (8 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds). Rajon Rondo led Boston with 19 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Jason Terry added 11 points while Jeff Green scored 15 off the bench.

After a great start to the season, the Nets have quickly come back to Earth. They have a bunch of good players but no real go-to scorer or team identity. Robot Brook Lopez had 15 points and eight rebounds while Gerald Wallace put up 15 points, six rebounds and three steals. Deron Williams (10 points, 6 assists) was a non-factor which is hard to explain, haha he must have been up all night building toys for his kids. Yeah, something like that. Joe Johnson scored 12 points but as always, he was invisible.

The Nets were up 24-22 after the first quarter but the Celtics turned it around to 56-42 at halftime. Boston outscored Brooklyn 17-16 in a grimy third quarter before putting it away in the fourth quarter (20-18).

Boston shot 8.8% better from the field (49.4%-40.6%), they grabbed five more rebounds (41-36) and handed out 11 more assists (25-14) with four more steals (10-6) and nine less turnovers (20-11). The Celtics imposed their will on the Nets with 12 more points in the paint (46-34). I'm sure that was all thanks to Jason Collins (4 points, 4 rebounds).

The next two games have the potential to be some of the best of the season for the Celtics. They are both at 10:30 p.m. EST but there is no excuse since you probably don't have to work the rest of the week and they fall on a Thursday and Saturday. On Thursday (10:30 p.m., TNT), the C's are at the Clippers (21-6, 1st in Pacific Division) then on Saturday (10:30 p.m., CSN) they are at the Warriors (18-10, 2nd in Pacific Division). Do yourself a favor and watch these games, I can almost guarantee that they will be entertaining one way or another. Believe me, I very rarely say that about the NBA.

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Without Rondo, The Celtics Put Up A Good FIght But Ultimately Lose 102-97 To The Nets

When word came over on Twitter tonight that Rajon Rondo would miss Boston's game in Brooklyn (due to his sprained ankle), that coupled with the fact that it was the second night of a back-to-back (a mortal enemy of the Celtics) made me think they would mail it in.

I have to give them credit, they fought way more than I expected but they still fell short as the Nets (5-2, 4-1 home) won their fourth straight game, 102-97 over the Celtics at Barclays Center. Boston saw their three-game win streak snapped.

Everybody has been high on Brooklyn coming into this season and for good reason, it looks like they might finally give the C's some competition in the usually terrible Atlantic Division. Deron Williams had 24 points and eight assists while Brook Lopez also put up 24 points along with six rebounds and four blocks. Former Celtic Joe Johnson had 19 points and eight rebounds while Kris Humphries notched 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Paul Pierce had 22 points and seven assists, Leandro Barbosa started at point guard and continued his strong play from last night with 17 points. This game was also notable since it was Courtney Lee's best one in a Celtics uniform (not that there were many to choose from): 13 points, nine rebounds and three steals off the bench. Jason Terry scored 10 points but Brandon Bass (8 points) and Jeff Green (5 points) were nowhere to be seen. I guess they stayed back in Boston.

The only reason the Celts had a chance to win is because of their excellent third quarter (29-15). Other than that, they were outscored 87-68 including 28-18 in the fourth quarter when predictably, their legs gave out. I can't explain how but Boston had 14 more fast break points (19-5) and 10 more points in the paint (46-36).

Boston is off tomorrow then has two more games this weekend as the Raptors (2-6) come to TD Garden on Saturday afternoon (12:30 p.m., CSN) then the C's head to Detroit (1-8) on Sunday (7:30 p.m, CSN). Playing four games in five days is certainly not preferable but everybody has a stretch like this at some point in the NBA season. Even without Rondo, the Celtics should be able to beat what are probably the two worst teams in the Eastern Conference. I'm sure I'll watch both games but could you think of a less appealing weekend?

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Celtics Decide To Show Up, Thereby Automatically Beating The Nets

The Celtics might occasionally fall on their face but I can guarantee that they won't do it twice in a row against inferior opponents because they have too much pride for that.

Boston (35-25, 14-16 away) put the loss in Toronto last night quickly behind them and they were able to get the job done this evening against the New Jersey Nets (22-39, 9-21 home).

The Celtics won 94-82 at the Prudential Center (the one in ghetto Newark, not downtown Boston) in the middle game of their back-to-back-to-back insanity weekend. They also swept the season series with the Nets (3-0).

I'm not sure what happened to these guys against the Raptors but at least they recovered tonight. It just gives me more reason to blindly hate Canada I guess. Kevin Garnett had 21 points and 12 rebounds, Brandon Bass had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Avery Bradley scored 18 (3 of 4 on 3-pointers!). Rajon Rondo reached double-digit assists (15) for the 21st straight game (it feels like that streak will last for the rest of his career) and Paul Pierce had 17 points.

Greg Stiemsma was the only guy off Boston's bench that really did anything: six points, nine rebounds, two blocks.

This was the final meeting between these teams in the Dirty Jerz since the Nets are moving to Brooklyn, NY (Where Brooklyn At?!) next season. Former Celtic Gerald Green led New Jersey with 15 points off the bench. If you have a minute, read up on his incredible journey just to make it back to the NBA this year. It's amazing and it is fun to have him around again. Former Providence College star MarShon Brooks added 13 points for the Nets while Deron Williams (12 points, 14 assists) and Jordan Williams-no relation-(12 points, 14 rebounds) both put up double-doubles.

This tour of the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery teams concludes tomorrow night in Charlotte (6 p.m., CSNE) as they get their final look at the worst team in the NBA: the Bobcats (7-51). I wouldn't blame Doc Rivers if he wants to sit the starters more than usual since they'll be exhausted; I really think that the bench could at least hold their own against Charlotte, they are that bad. The Celtics have already beaten the Bobcats twice, time to make it three.

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The Celtics Continue To Make Danny Ainge's Job Harder, Hope He Doesn't Have Another Heart Attack

For the time being, what transpires off the court-mainly in the Twitterverse, online, in newspapers, on the radio and television-is way more interesting with the Boston Celtics than their actual games.

The Celts (18-17) are the subject of non-stop trade rumors (the deadline is March 15) but they don't seem to be affected by it since they won their third straight tonight, 107-94 over the New Jersey Nets (11-26) at TD Garden.

This was the first time since the opening two games (at New York, at Miami which were both losses) that Boston has put together back-to-back 100-point performances. That's not much of a milestone in the NBA but for this time, it most certainly is. The Celtics improved to 17-2 against the Nets in their last 19 meetings.

Every day I go back and forth on whether Celtics GM Danny Ainge should just blow it all up or hope that Boston can stay relatively healthy, win the Atlantic Division and hope that somebody else knocks off the Heat and Bulls.

Jermaine O'Neal might be done for the season with a wrist injury and Ray Allen missed tonight's contest with the flu but the C's still managed to play one of the better games of the season. Duly noted that it also helps that New Jersey is awful.

Paul Pierce (27 points, 8 assists) was great and Kevin Garnett (20 points, 10 rebounds) continued to show plenty of pride in what could be his last season. KG has scored 18+ points in five straight games. Rajon Rondo (14 points, 13 assists, 5 steals)-the main subject of the trade rumors-had a solid game. Mickael Pietrus started for Allen and he added 11 points while Brandon Bass scored eight points. Chris Wilcox went for 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

Brook Lopez led the Nets with a game-high 28 points yet he somehow had three rebounds in 35 minutes, way to hustle big guy. Deron Williams mailed it in with 12 points and eight assists and MarShon Brooks scored 11 points. Both Anthony Morrow and former Celtic Gerald Green each added 11 off the bench.

These teams only meet once more, April 14 in the Garden State.

The Bruins and Celtics face all New York and New Jersey teams this weekend. The Devils came to the Garden last night, Nets were in town tonight, the Islanders are here tomorrow afternoon, the Bruins go to New York Sunday afternoon to face the Rangers at the same time that Celtics host the Knicks.

I don't know if you've heard of him but this guy from Harvard named Jeremy Lin plays for the Knicks now. Boston and New York split their first two games this season but Lin only played a minor role in the last one, a 91-89 Celtics win on February 3. With all the Linsanity hype and the fact that the Knicks have been playing light years better since he was inserted into the starting lineup, Sunday's matchup-a national game on ABC-should be entertaining theater (the best kind of NBA action).

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The night the Boston Celtics gave up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference

You want to tell yourself that this season is different for the Boston Celtics but after watching them lose for a third time in their last four games (all to inferior opponents) and you have to finally admit that it's 2009-10 all over again.

The New Jersey Nets (22-43) won their fifth game in a row, 88-79 at the Prudential Center. Boston (47-18) was held under 90 points for the third straight game and it really hurt them since their defense was up to the task.

It was another horrorshow in the second night of a back-to-back for the Celts, they seem destined to lose all of them at this point.

Brook Lopez led the Nets with 20 points while that skank Kim Kardashian's main squeeze Kris Humphries proved his worth with 16 points and 15 rebounds. How does one bounce from Reggie Bush to Humphries? Granted, I don't have the world's most famous butt. It's just funny that I had never noticed Humphries until I found him on my fantasy NBA waiver wire a few months back. I'm sure Kim discovered him in the same manner.

New Jersey's new point guard Deron Williams notched 16 points, nine assists, six rebounds and three steals, Anthony Morrow had 15 points and Travis Outlaw put up 12 points off the bench.

Boston received 19 points from Ray Allen and 18 points and eight rebounds from Kevin Garnett but Glen Davis (16 points, 14 rebounds off the bench) was the only other player to really show up. Rajon Rondo blindly ran into Humphries on a hard screen (easy Kim) and that didn't seem to help him in his recent slump as he was held to two points (1-for-10 shooting) and nine assists.

The weird thing is that the Celtics looked in control when the game started. They were up 23-14 after one quarter but the Nets cut it to 38-36 at halftime. New Jersey got it done in the third quarter (31-23) and Boston couldn't hit any shots in the fourth quarter (21-18 for the Nets).

Boston shot 41.2% to New Jersey's 39.7%. However, the Nets led by Williams (4) and Morrow (3) hit nine more 3-pointers (11-2) and eight more free throws (15-7). The Celtics actually grabbed five more rebounds (50-45) and dished out three more assists (22-19). New Jersey had three more blocks (6-3).

Big Baby looked great in his second game back from knee tendinitis. Hopefully Delonte West can have an impact too as he's set to return tomorrow night when the Celts host the Pacers.

Boston needs to not only win but get their offense back on track. They're tied now atop the Eastern Conference with the Bulls and the Heat are only two games back. There's only 17 more games left in the regular season so they all have meaning for homecourt. Thinking the Celts can get to the Finals again without homecourt throughout the playoffs is naive and not very realistic.

John Stockton and his short shorts must be rolling over in his grave

More so than any other professional sport, the NBA is prone to having teams basically no-show on the second end of back-to-back games or at the finish of a long road trip.

This was definitely the case last night as the anticipated battle between Deron Williams (5 points, 6 assists, 4 fouls) and Rajon Rondo (4 points, 12 assists, 5 rebounds) never materialized and consequently neither did the game really as Boston rolled over Utah 110-86 at the TD Garden.

The sad part about it is the Jazz (27-16) are a very good team but the Celtics (33-9) will only get one more shot at them in the regular season. Unfortunate.

Boston won its fifth in a row thanks to some balanced scoring. Kevin Garnett had a game-high 21 points and Paul Pierce scored 20. Glen Davis (15 points, 7 rebounds) and Semih Erden (career-high 14 points, 7 rebounds) were great off the bench and Ray Allen scored 11 points.

The only bad news for the Cs was that Shaquille O'Neal got hurt in the first quarter (hip) and didn't return. He's expected to miss the next few games.

Overall, Boston's bench was spectacular, scoring what has to be a season-high with 52 points and giving the starters plenty of rest. Marquis Daniels and Nate Robinson scored eight points apiece and Von Wafer had seven points.

For Utah, Earl Watson (12 points) was their high-scorer so that's pretty much all you need to know about the game. Williams was in foul trouble immediately with three in the first half and as a result, his team basically laid down and died without him.

Andrei Kirilenko (sporting a new Eurotrash 'do, no more flat top) had 11 points and Paul Millsap added 11 points. Babyface Gordon Heyward-who should have stayed at Butler-scored 11 off the bench.

Boston led 30-19 after one quarter and 59-41 at halftime. The Celts won each quarter: closing it out in the third (26-22) and the fourth (25-23).

For the game, the Cs shot 55.2% to 40.0% for the Jazz. Boston had five more 3-pointers (9-4) and made one more free throw (27-26). Rebounds were even at 34 but thanks to Rondo, Boston had 12 more assists (31-19). The Celts also made nine more steals (15-6) while Utah had one more block (6-5). The Jazz had five more turnovers (21-16), fast break points were even (17-17) and Boston had 12 more points in the paint (44-32).

The Celts travel to Washington DC tonight to take on the Wizards. With rookie point guard John Wall, Washington is decent at home. Still even in a back-to-back, this is a game Boston should always win.

Those Mormons are crafty, in life and on the basketball court

Utah has to be near the top of the list of places in the US that I have absolutely no interest in visiting. The squeaky clean Mormons frankly scare me and the fact that they're not big on the nightlife is similarly frightening.

The Celtics went to Salt Lake City last night riding a four-game win streak and the overriding sense that they've gotten their proverbial shit together. Impressive wins in Houston on Friday night and in Dallas on Saturday night was giving C's fans optimism that maybe the Big Three and Co. has one last title run in them.

Or maybe not. Boston (45-25) was in complete control in the first half, up by double digits before the Jazz (46-25) scored the last seven points of the second quarter to slide into the break only down 54-49.

Utah scored the first nine points of the second half and by then, dreams of a win at EnergySolutions Arena (one of the toughest home courts in the NBA, where the Jazz are 29-8) disappeared faster than a Mormon at a strip club. Utah won 110-97 as Boston completely crumbled in the second half, with a rare Doc Rivers ejection serving as the cherry on top for all the pasty-faced Jazz fans.

C.J. Miles scored a game-high 23 points for Utah while the incomparable Deron Williams added 22 points and 11 assists, using his big frame to push around the much smaller Rajon Rondo (6 points, 6 assists).

Nobody ever talks about them but the Jazz are very solid. Carlos Boozer had 19 points and nine rebounds and Mehmet Okur notched 14 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks. Wesley Matthews and Paul Millsap both scored 10.

Boston looked the part of an old team playing the last game of a road trip. Their legs were tired and nobody except for Glen Davis (13 points, 5 rebounds) had a good game. Davis was also hit in the face by Millsap's forearm, causing him to have one of those cotton swabs stuffed in his nose.

Ray Allen led the Celts with 15 points, Paul Pierce had 11 and Kevin Garnett scored 10. The Boston bench was one point away (49-48) from tying the output of the starters which is never good. If only Rasheed Wallace wasn't completely done, the second unit would be pretty formidable. Nate Robinson, Marquis Daniels and Michael Finley all had eight points.

Things don't get any easier tomorrow night as Boston opens up a six-game home stretch (its longest of the season) with a visit from the Denver Nuggets, the number two team in the Western Conference.

Celtics get back to shitting on the rest of the NBA

With three days off between games after a brutal eight games in twelve days stretch to open the season, the Celts predictably threw a beating on the Utah Jazz 105-86 last night at the TD Garden.

Seven Celtics scored in double-figures as Boston (8-1) continued to look like the team to beat in not only the Eastern Conference but the NBA as a whole.

Kevin Garnett led the C's with 18 points while Ray Allen (15 points), Rajon Rondo (14 points, 11 assists), Paul Pierce (13 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists), Rasheed Wallace (12 points), Kendrick Perkins (10 points, 8 rebounds) and Marquis Daniels (10 points) all provided great support.

This might be the deepest team in the NBA or at least one of the deepest and it showed as Utah (3-5) could not keep up with all the talent Celtics coach Doc Rivers kept putting on the court.

Deron Williams and Ronnie Brewer paced the Jazz with 13 points apiece while Andrei Kirilenko (12 points) and Carlos Boozer (10 points) were the only other Jazz players to score over 10.

Boston led 28-23 after one quarter and 54-44 at the half. A fine third quarter (30-18) allowed Rivers to sit the starters.

The shooting was on point all night for the Celts as they shot 53.2% and 16-of-18 from the line. They also had 30 assists to go with 15 turnovers. Utah's assist/turnover ratio was under one since they had 18 assists and 21 turnovers.

The Atlanta Hawks come to the Garden tomorrow night to renew the intense rivalry that started in the playoffs two seasons ago.

Never Trust a Mormon

I'll give credit where credit's due: in front of a rabid crowd at EnergySolutions Arena, the Utah Jazz enjoy one of the biggest home court advantages in the NBA.

Using that, along with some terrible calls by the ghost of Dick Bavetta and a possibly huge injury, the Jazz beat the Celtics last night, 90-85 in a game that normally neutral C's announcer Mike Gorman quickly added at the completion, "the Celtics got hosed tonight."

Boston (44-12) lost the heart and soul of its team, Kevin Garnett, in the second quarter when he landed after an attempted alley-oop and starting hopping around, favoring his right leg. He went to the bench immediately and then hobbled to the locker room as Celtics fans around the country held their collective breaths.

The first word was that it's a right knee strain and he'll miss the next three games of the West Coast trip. I don't want to speculate about the severity of the injury but needless to say, if he is out for a significant period of time, it completely changes the complexion of the Eastern Conference and NBA as a whole. Yeah, he's that important.

The Jazz (32-23) got off to a very slow start, as they trailed 22-13 after the first quarter. They closed it to 39-38 C's at the break.

One of the easiest, most cliche, ignorant things to say about any sport is a critical comment of an official. They're human, they make mistakes, etc. However, last night was a complete joke.

With KG out, Boston still racked up 30 fouls to Utah's 18. The Jazz only took two more free throws (24-for-31) than the Celts (19-for-29) but the damage was clear as Boston defenders could never figure out what was a foul and what wasn't. I'm all for giving jobs to the elderly but I think it's time for Dick Bavetta to be put out to pasture. I mean really.

Boston valiantly played well without KG in the third (27-22) but predictably, it all came crashing down in the fourth (30-19) as the Jazz made all the big shots and their white bread crowd went about as crazy as a bunch of boring, white people can get.

This was all done without Carlos Boozer, so it was nonetheless an impressive win for Utah and perennially overlooked coach Jerry Sloan.

Mehmet Okur led the Jazz with 19 points and six rebounds. Deron Williams (18 points, 10 assists) made a clutch jumper to put the Jazz up four late. Ronnie Brewer added 16 points and four steals.

Everybody's favorite Russian baller Andrei Kirilenko had 13 points off the bench while Paul Millsap (or as I like to call him, Ryan Gomes on a good team) notched eight points and 10 boards.

Paul Pierce paced the C's with 20 points and nine rebounds but his shot wasn't falling like usual at the end. Rajon Rondo got in early foul trouble but still managed 15 points and seven assists. Kendrick Perkins had a nice game with 12 points, 11 boards and three blocks. Ray Allen added 12 points and Leon Powe was great off the bench (9 points, 9 rebounds).

With two days off between games, Boston has some time to refocus as they try to figure out how they'll do this without KG at least for the next week.

Not making a move at the trade deadline (other than dumping dead weight Patrick O'Bryant and Sam Cassell) is looking like a bad decision. The C's are running out of healthy bodies. Tony Allen might be out for the rest of the year after thumb surgery so rookies Bill Walker and J.R. Giddens will have to play some minutes.

They go to Phoenix on Sunday, which just found that Amare Stoudemire will be out for up to eight weeks after eye surgery.

Celtics win 15th straight as Rondo sets a career high

Much like the UNC men's team right now in college hoops, Boston Celtic fans wonder not who will beat the Green but who can just give them a challenge.

It is cocky and ridiculous that it has already come to that, but what else can you expect after the Celts beat the Jazz, 100-91 last night at the Garden. Boston (23-2) won its 15th consecutive game.

Rajon Rondo scored a career-high 25 points with nine rebounds, eight assists and three steals. He's making the case for Boston to get four players in the All-Star game (him, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett).

The rest of the starting five for the C's all scored in double figures. KG had 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. Kendrick Perkins continue to improve, posting another double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Pierce added 15 points and Ray Allen had 12.

Paul Millsap led the Jazz (15-11) with 32 points and 10 rebounds. Deron Williams had 15 points and seven assists. Mehmet Okur scored 13 and Andrei Kirilenko tossed in 12.

Utah power forward Carlos Boozer missed the game with an injury while Boston guard Eddie House was at an aunt's funeral.

Gabe Pruitt was the backup point guard for the C's and he scored eight points in nine minutes.

Boston jumped out to a 28-16 lead after one but Utah came back in the second to make it 43 all at the half.

The C's took the third (26-22) and fourth (31-26) to notch another win on this amazing streak.

The Jazz got destroyed on the boards (50-30) which was pretty much the story of the game.

The Celts go to Atlanta tomorrow night for another chapter in their blooming rivalry vs. the brash, young Hawks.

Sorry Mormons

Full disclosure: since a certain football team was trying to go 16-0 last night, I didn't see much of the Celtics game at the Jazz. I flipped back and forth a couple times during commercials and it seemed like an exciting contest but I couldn't focus on it for very long. Turns out, Boston (25-3) came away from Salt Lake City with a 104-98 win over the Jazz.

Paul Pierce somehow was scoreless in the first half but woke up in time in the second half, scoring a game-high 24 points to go along with six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Ray Allen was another standout, scoring 23 points with four boards and three assists. KG had 15 points, nine rebounds and three assists while Kendrick Perkins (11 points, 9 rebounds) and Tony Allen (10 points) were the other double-figure scorers. Eddie House had nine points off the bench and Rajon Rondo had seven points, seven assists, three steals and three boards.

Utah (16-16) led 56-49 at the half but only by two heading into the fourth. As expected Deron Williams (22 points, 11 assists but 7 turnovers) dominated Rondo. The guy is a beast, easily one of the best point guards in the game. Meanwhile, the Jazz had five other guys in double figures: Carlos Boozer (19 points, 11 rebounds), Mehmet Okur (14 points), C.J. Miles (11), Matt Harpring (11) and Paul Millsap (10). Andrei Kirilenko didn't play, he was out with a strained bicep, possibly caused when he was applying his hair gel, who knows?

Utah shot 54.8% from the field but the Celtics survived a 46.3% shooting night by making more threes (10-5) and more free throws (10-5). They also owned the boards, 41-30.

Tonight is the last game of their four game West trip. Going 3-1 would be perfectly acceptable but at this point, you want 4-0. It won't be easy as the Lakers have been playing great basketball lately. Andrew Bynum is quickly becoming a star and Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player on the planet, no question. It should all make for an awesome atmosphere as this used to be the biggest rivalry in the NBA. Expect the usual celebrity-infested crowd in Los Angeles to be filled with even more A-listers than usual. Maybe they'll be filming a scene for Entourage with a cameo by Brian Scalabrine?