Come on, you had to know the Boston Celtics wouldn't head into the All-Star break with a loss to the New Jersey Nets

The Boston Celtics went into the 2011 All-Star break with the best record in the Eastern Conference.

The Cs (40-14) dispatched of the New Jersey Nets (17-40) 94-80 last night at TD Garden in a game that was about as scattered as you'd expect given that Boston's four most important players are headed to Los Angeles this weekend for the All-Star game.

After just one point against the Heat on Sunday, Paul Pierce bounced back in a big way with a game-high 31 points while Kevin Garnett added 14 points and 10 rebounds and Ray Allen scored 12 points. Boston's other All Star Rajon Rondo had seven points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals.

The Nets are still a mess and the on-going trade drama with Carmelo Anthony just gives a glimmer of hope to a terrible franchise. New Jersey has some pieces: Brook Lopez (18 points, four blocks), Devin Harris (16 points) and Anthony Morrow (14 points) but other than that, this Avery Johnson led team is devoid of any real talent.

Luke Harangody scored eight points while Von Wafer had seven points as Boston's bench had a good game (25 points) though they continue to be shorthanded. The NBA trade deadline is a week from today so it'll be interesting to see if Danny Ainge thinks this team needs another body or two for the stretch run (final 28 games) and playoffs.

Boston was up 27-22 after the first quarter but New Jersey came back to tie it at 47 at halftime. It was still tied (71-71) after three quarters but the Celtics clamped down in the fourth (24-10) to get out of town in a good frame of mind.

Pierce and Allen face-off in the 3-point contest on Saturday night then the Big Four will be coached by Doc Rivers on the Eastern Conference All-Star team on Sunday. Should be a fun weekend, the NBA's All-Star weekend is usually entertaining and LA seems like the perfect venue for this fluff.

We'll next see the full team together next Tuesday as they begin a West Coast trip at Golden State.

This man will helped break a 39-year drought, or something

I don't know which was more disappointing last night: the Boston Bruins' 4-3 gag reflex loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs or the trade that they made following the game.

I'm sure Chris Kelly is a decent player and a good guy but he got caught in the Bruins' impeccable timing as all day there were rumors of Toronto defenseman Tomas Kaberle getting dealt to the Bruins. He would sure up the power-play (a big weakness) and give us a puck-moving defenseman which makes us all weak in the knees.

Sadly, Boston's front office doesn't know how to make a big splash properly so even if that or something grander is in the works, you have to do that first. Trading for Kelly, a defensive center from the Ottawa Senators, for the minor fee of a second-round draft pick means nothing.

Kelly will be on the third line but explain how he's any different from Gregory Campbell or Daniel Paille?

Moving on. You had to know that ex-Bruin Phil Kessel was due for a goal against his former team. It turns out, he doubled his pleasure and fun as he and teammate Mikhail Grabovski both put in a pair of goals in Toronto's (24-27-6) comeback victory over Boston (31-9-7) at TD Garden.

The Bs lost their third straight and this one was inexcusable since they were playing a bad team and had a 3-2 lead with under seven minutes left in regulation.

Paille gave Boston a 1-0 lead at 8:04 of the first period when his pass deflected off a Maple Leaf skate. His second of the season was assisted by Mark Stuart and Campbell.

Kessel tied it up and broke his extended slump when he batted a rebound out of mid-air at 17:22 in the first period. It was his 20th of the season, on the power play from Dion Phaneuf and Joffrey Lupul.

Grabovski made it 2-1 at 4:35 in the second period from Mike Komisarek and Carl Gunnarson.

Campbell tied it up at 18:34 in the second period with a power-play goal (his 8th of the season) from Brad Marchand and Michael Ryder. Like Kessel before him, Campbell showed his quick hands by batting it out of the air.

Patrice Bergeron put Boston ahead 3-2 at 9:08 in the third period and his 20th of the season looked like it would be a fitting game-winner. Adam McQuaid and Mark Recchi assisted but Bergeron did the grunt work by fighting through a hit and putting the rebound past Maple Leafs goaltender James Reimer (32 saves).

However, Tim Thomas (24 saves) and the Bruins couldn't keep the lead as Kessel (another power-play goal, from Lupul and Kaberle) and Grabovski (with 1:01 left in regulation, from Clarke MacArthur and Phaneuf) each undressed Boston defenders with individual moves and beat Thomas.

It was a bitter loss, one of the worst of the season, and that rancid taste was just added by the intrigue and then disappointment in the Bruins' trade. There's 12 more days (Feb. 28) before the trade deadline and it's clear this team needs more skill to get anywhere in the playoffs which is all that matters.

Boston will play six straight games on the road, starting with a back-to-back in Long Island tomorrow vs. the Islanders then Friday night in Ottawa (Chris Kelly night?).

Time for the Bruins to play better and beat all these crappy teams.

The Boston Celtics still own the Miami Cavaliers

There will absolutely never be a better time for LeBron James and the Miami Heat to knock off the Boston Celtics than yesterday afternoon.

The Celts are losing players seemingly daily and are just trying to hang on (one more game) until the All-Star break next weekend.

It was very ugly but Boston (39-14) came through with perhaps its biggest victory of the regular season over Miami (39-15), 85-82.

With the win, the Cs moved to 3-0 against the Heat this season. Boston vaulted ahead of Miami to the top of the Eastern Conference and these teams will only meet one more time (April 10 in South Beach) in the regular season. Gee, do you think they'll play each other in the playoffs?

Rajon Rondo led the Celts with 11 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds while Kevin Garnett had 19 points. Kendrick Perkins notched 15 points and Ray Allen had 13 points.

With only two players that played significant minutes off the bench, Glen Davis (16 points) and Von Wafer (10 points) showed up in a big spot.

Chris Bosh paced the Heat with 24 points and 10 rebounds, LeBron added 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists while Dwyane Wade was held to 16 points.

Miami led 20-15 after the first quarter and 43-39 at the half as it looked like injuries and old legs would be an easy out for a poor performance.

However, Boston played outstanding in the third quarter (35-18) which enabled them to hold on for a rocky fourth (21-11 Miami).

LeBron had a chance to tie it with two free throws with 12 seconds left but he bricked the first one and made the second. Finally, Mike Miller (who is a great shooter) had a wide-open look on a 3-pointer but he missed it as time ran out.

Paul Pierce was 0-for-10 and only had one point but an MRI on his left foot today was negative, meaning he'll play on Wednesday when the Celtics host the New Jersey Nets. Delonte West is expected to return and hopefully, Boston can hold the fort before the Big Four and Doc Rivers head to LA for the All-Star festivities.

Well the good news is that the next time the Boston Bruins could see the Detroit Red Wings is in the Stanley Cup Finals

Well I'm tired of seeing the Detroit Red Wings skate circles around the Boston Bruins, how about you?

While it certainly wasn't as embarrassing as Friday night's steaming turd at the TD Garden, the Bruins' visit to the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit yesterday afternoon had the same end result: a loss for the Black and Gold.

Detroit (34-16-6) won 4-2, erasing Boston's (31-18-7) 2-1 lead and sending the Bruins home humbled by the Western Conference's second best team. The only good news is that they won't see each other again this season, except if they meet in the Stanley Cup Finals. Haha, and if the Bs make the Finals, we have absolutely nothing to complain about and we'll cross that bridge when we have to.

After sitting for two games to get his head right, Tyler Seguin scored at 1:29 of the first period (his ninth of the season). Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder assisted on the rookie's nice work in front of Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard (23 saves).

Todd Bertuzzi is a bum against virtually every other team in the NHL but not against the Bs when he looks like a world-beater. Bertuzzi had four goals over the two games against the Bruins.

He continued his hot streak, tying it at 6:09 of the first period after Brad Marchand had a terrible giveaway in his own end. Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas (32 saves) had no chance since he was hung out to dry.

Marchand atoned for his gaffe with a power-play goal at 12:17 of the first period (his 16th of the season) from Ryder and Mark Recchi.

Detroit never seems to be rattled, perhaps its because of their endless supply of talent they can keep rolling over the boards. Pavel Datsyuk tied it up at 3:54 of the second period (from Brian Rafalski and Jiri Hudler).

Kris Draper, who has to be about 80 years old, put the Red Wings ahead for good at 12:44. Patrick Eaves and Darren Helm assisted on Draper's goal when he broke loose and Eaves found him through the seam.

Bertuzzi scored his second goal, in the third period at 13:35 and that was that. Johan Franzen and Henrik Zatterberg assisted on Bertuzzi's second tally.

Boston has a good chance to right the ship on Tuesday as they host the hapless Toronto Maple Leafs and Phil Kessel.

So that's what a real hockey team looks like

You have to admire the way that the Boston Bruins never let their fans get too high before quickly cutting them down to size.

I feel like anytime they play a great game, they follow it up with a dud that always leaves you questioning the team.

The latest chapter in this neverending give and take was last night at TD Garden as the Detroit Red Wings made their first visit to Boston since 2008. The Bs never ever play on a Friday night (especially at home) so naturally they treated they're hard-working fans to a diaper full of Indian food.

It was a fun night for Eminem, Kid Rock and all the other miserable souls from that wretched area as the Red Wings (33-16-6) won 6-1 in a game that didn't even feel that close.

To say the Bruins (31-17-7) didn't show up would be too kind. It was easily their worst performance of the season thus far. Tuukka Rask (14 saves) gave up two goals in the first 3:10 and Detroit added three second-period goals in this laugher.

It got so bad that Rask was booed then given mock cheers when he made routine saves. If that wasn't bad enough for his fragile confidence, Bruins head coach Claude Julien mercifully pulled him after two periods.

Henrik Zetterberg (1 goal, 2 assists), Jiri Hudler (1 goal, 2 assists), Todd Bertuzzi (2 goals), Tomas Holmstrom (1 goal, 1 assist), Daniel Cleary (1 goal, 1 assist) and Pavel Datsyuk (2 assists) led the Red Wings, who believe it or not came into town on a skid (losers of three of their last four, outscored 12-4).

Former University of Maine star Jimmy Howard made 25 saves for Detroit in a very quiet night's work.

Bertuzzi scored at 1:10 of the first period from Johan Franzen and Zetterberg. Cleary made it 2-0 on Detroit's second shot of the game at 3:10 from Jiri Hudler and Niklas Kronwall.

Boston's only highlight of the game was David Krejci's first goal in 21 games (his 8th of the season). It was at 17:53 of the first period on the power play with a nifty pass from Milan Lucic, who caught Howard out of position. Zdeno Chara also assisted.

Hudler (from Zetterberg and Brian Rafalski), Zetterberg (on the power play, from Holmstrom and Cleary) and Bertuzzi (from Datsyuk) all scored in the second period.

A third power-play goal, this one from Holmstrom, was the final Red Wings goal in the third period. Hudler and Datsyuk assisted on that one.

I figured it out, the Red Wings are the San Antonio Spurs and the New England Patriots. The robotically efficient teams that are always good but don't get any credit nationally since they're you know boring. It'll be interesting to see how they fare the rest of the season.

More importantly, the Bruins have a chance to atone for last night's stinker when they go to Joe Louis Arena tomorrow afternoon for a rematch with the Red Wings on NBC. Tim Thomas will be in goal to start and I'm guessing Boston will play just a tad better.

Lakers beat Celtics on Ray Ray's big night

The fans that packed the TD Garden last night got what they wanted: Ray Allen broke Reggie Miller's NBA record for 3-pointers with a pair in the first quarter but the game (an afterthought) didn't turn out as perfectly as the Lakers won 96-92 in their only regular season visit to Boston.

It was a nice moment even though they didn't stop the game right away which was puzzling. The usually emotionless Ray got to hug Miller (commentating for TNT) and his family who were all courtside.

Buoyed by the momentum of Allen's (20 points) memorable night, the Celts (38-14) got up by as many as 15 points in the second quarter but LA (37-16) eventually wore them down with their big bodies.

More than ever (which is saying something), the Celtics have so many injuries. Nate Robinson went down in the second quarter with a knee injury (don't think it's too serious) while Shaq, Delonte West, Jermaine O'Neal and Marquis Daniels are still out.

Boston dressed only 10 players which leads to wacky things like Avery Bradley covering Kobe Bryant (23 points) for a couple minutes in the third quarter.

Pau Gasol had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Andrew Bynum scored 16 points with nine rebounds while Lamar Odom (10 points, 12 rebounds) and Shannon Brown (12 points) were superb off the bench.

Paul Pierce had 15 points, Rajon Rondo notched 12 points and 10 assists, Kendrick Perkins put up 12 points and nine rebounds while Kevin Garnett had a quiet 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Von Wafer was great off the bench with eight points while Glen Davis scored nine but struggled shooting (3 of 10).

The Cs were up 27-20 after the first quarter and 53-45 at halftime. LA worked them in the third quarter (27-15) and Kobe helped finish it off in the fourth (20-18).

For the game, the Lakers shot 47.9% to 40.2 for the Celtics. Boston hit two more 3-pointers (5-3) but LA made four more free throws (19-15). LA grabbed 11 more rebounds (47-36) but Boston had five more assists (25-20). The Lakers pounded it inside to the tune of 50-32 points in the paint while the Cs didn't get to run much (9-2) fast break points.

This gauntlet of games ends on Sunday as the Celtics host the Miami Heat. Boston has won both matchups so far this season but truth be told, those were very early in the season.

Old Time Hockey gives everyone pants tents

When the Boston Bruins had their fight-filled game against the Atlanta Thrashers right before Christmas, I didn't think it would be topped in terms of excitement this season. However, last week they staged a ridiculous game with the Dallas Stars which included three fights in the first four seconds. Again, I was too narrow-minded to imagine a regular season game that would be better than that.

Last night was proof that all the excitement of those first two games added to facing your most bitter rival (the Montreal Canadiens) can make for an absurdly entertaining contest that the Bruins won 8-6 at the TD Garden.

If 187 combined penalty minutes don't do it for you, how about 14 total goals? Truly, this game had it all and I'm insanely jealous of anyone that was in the building. The atmosphere was understandably electric and we can only hope that these teams meet in the playoffs.

Montreal had beaten Boston the first three times they played this season, they have two more left in the regular season.

Nathan Horton (1 goal, 4 assists) had his first career five-point game, David Krejci had three assists, Dennis Seidenberg had a goal and an assist while Milan Lucic (1 assist) and Michael Ryder each scored a pair of goals for the Bs (31-16-7), who stayed four points ahead of the Canadiens (30-20-5) with the win and on top of the Northeast Division.

For Montreal, Yanick Webber had one goal and two assists, Max Pacioretty scored twice while David Desharnais (1 goal, 1 assist), Brian Gionta (1 goal, 1 assist), Tomas Plekanec (2 assists), PK Subban (1 goal, 1 assist) and James Wisniewski (2 assists) all had multiple points.

To put a bow on it, Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas (27 saves) and Canadiens goaltender Carey Price (26 saves) even tried to have a goalie fight in the second period but it never really materialized since you know, neither knows how to fight.

This was one of those nights where I was thankful to have the night off from work since I got to watch this all unfold live and not second-hand through Twitter, AP stories and highlights then DVR when I got home.

The game couldn't have gotten off to a better start as Boston popped in two first-period goals for a 2-0 lead. Brad Marchand (his 15th of the season) scored one of the prettier goals of the season off assists from linemates Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi. Then Seidenberg took advantage of a poor clearance by Subban to score his fifth of the season, from Horton. Those goals were 12 seconds apart (13:16-13:28), tying their quickest mark of the season.

As I always like to say though, nothing is ever easy for the Bruins and they immediately allowed Montreal to tie it early in the second period. Gionta scored 25 seconds in from Plekanec and Wisniewski. At 8:30 Subban put in the first of four power-play goals for the Canadiens. Gionta and Plekanec assisted on the rookie defenseman's slap shot from the point.

From there, things went absolutely berserk as Adam McQuaid scored his first of the season (from Horton and Lucic) at 9:48. Weber tied it at 11:01 from Mathieu Darche. Ryder scored his first goal (his 15th of the season) after a sweet pass from rookie Zach Hamill. Blake Wheeler also assisted on Ryder's tally. Lucic put the Bruins up 5-3 at 12:31 (his 22nd of the season) from Horton and Krejci.

Five seconds later, a flurry of scraps broke out (including Thomas and Price) which ended up with the comical sight of six Bruins in the penalty box at the same time.

Desharnais scored a power-play goal at 12:48 from Subban and Weber. At 14:49, Lucic scored a short-handed goal from Krejci and Horton that was key.

Pacioretty got his first of two third-period goals at 7:06 from Wisniewski on the power play. Ryder had a goal wiped out on a bogus call when Marchand was pushed into Price but he exacted some revenge a few moments later when he scored on the power play at 10:01 from Seidenberg and Steve Kampfer.

Horton gave Boston a three-goal lead with his 14th of the season at 14:54, don't ask me how Price played the entire game, before Pacioretty got a garbage time power-play goal at 19:46 from Desharnais and Weber.

Oh and there were two more huge brawls that were way too complicated to detail.

This game took nearly three hours and I feel like it will go down as one of the most memorable Bruins games I'll ever see. Just insane from start to finish.

No doubt, there will be a letdown tomorrow night when they host the Detroit Red Wings but hopefully Thomas can carry them enough and they'll wake up in time to get two points against one of the Western Conference's best teams.