Celtics stop Bulls, run winning streak to 17 games

It’s getting to the point where it hardly qualifies as “news” anymore—the Boston Celtics win again, running their winning streak and torrid start to even more impressive heights.  The Chicago Bulls were the latest victim of the NBA’s best team as they fell 126-108 at the TD BankNorth Garden on Friday night.  The victory extended the Celtics current winning streak to seventeen games, and improved their record to 25-2. 

Four of the five Celtics starters scored 15+ points—Ray Allen led all scorers with 27 points, while Kendrick Perkins added 25 points and 8 rebounds.  Kevin Garnett contributed 17 points and Paul Pierce 16.  The only member of the Boston starting lineup to not score in double figures was pointguard Rajon Rondo who was too busy getting his teammates involved in the offense by dishing out 15 of Boston’s 40 assists.   Luol Deng let the Bulls with 19 points and 7 rebounds, with Derrick Rose chipping in 15 points and 5 assists.

Boston was in control from the tip, leading 31-21 after the first quarter and never really appeared threatened by the 12-14 Bulls.  Most of the starting lineup knocked off early, with Allen the only Celtic starter seeing action at all in the fourth quarter.  Kevin Garnett even joked about the one rebound he hauled in:

"I got one rebound? On this team, with Rondo and Perkins, you can't get rebounds. They're going to trade me. I'm only joking, y'all. You guys can stop writing that down."

The frightening prospect for the Celtics’ NBA opponents is that as good as they were last year en route to their championship victory this year’s team is almost certainly better.  They could very well finish as the best team ever in the storied history of Boston Celtic basketball—if not on a short list of the most dominant in NBA history.  By comparison, the team’s longest winning streak during their 66-16 season a year ago was ten games. 

Boston will enjoy two more home games against teams with losing records before facing their toughest test in quite some time—a Christmas day game in Los Angeles against the Lakers that could very well serve as a preview of the NBA finals.  The 21-4 Lakers have only lost once at home this season, so if the Celtics manage to make it to Southern California with their winning streak intact they’ll have a serious fight as they try to run it to 20 straight.