Celtics Plow Past Sixers En Route to Fifth Straight Win

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Nov 4, 2009

Celtics Plow Past Sixers En Route to Fifth Straight Win Will the 2009-10 Celtics win 72 games? Probably not. But they certainly looked dominant against the Sixers on Tuesday night.

Boston earned its fifth win of the season in a 105-74 thrashing of Philadelphia at the Wachovia Center.

Rasheed Wallace continued to prove his worth in Boston's second unit, coming off the bench to notch 20 points and six rebounds in 24 minutes on a night when neither Kevin Garnett nor Ray Allen was at his best. Paul Pierce picked up the rest of the slack, tallying a game-high 21 points with eight rebounds and four assists.

Celtics 104, Sixers 72
Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pa.
Nov. 3, 2009

Live Blog | Box Score | Recap

Headliner: As Gary Tanguay so eloquently put it, Rasheed Wallace has found a home with the Celtics. And much to the shock of many around the league, he seems to be accepting his role: He comes off the bench, he plays solid D and he hits 3s. In his return to Philly, where he was born and raised, he went 7-of-10 from the field — 6-of-8 from beyond the arc — for 20 points and six rebounds in 24 minutes.

Sheed has already proven to create huge matchup problems for opponents, especially when he's sharing court time with Eddie House. With Philly defenders focused on making sure House didn't get open looks from 3-point land, they often left Wallace with countless golden opportunities.

Unsung Hero: Paul Pierce continues to thrive in this offense, finishing the
evening with a game-high 21 points in just under 31 minutes. In four of five games
this season, he has scored over 20 points, and he's currently averaging
21.6 points per game and is shooting at a 59 percent clip. He's also hitting
56 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.

Scrub: The Sixers offense had no hope of taming the Celtics on a night when their offense completely forgot to show up. Philadelphia shot just 36.3 percent from the field and was held without a 3-pointer until there was just over a minute left in the game, finishing the evening with a brutal 1-for-16 mark from beyond the arc.

Turning Point: Just like they did in Friday's win over the Bulls, the Celtics used the third quarter on Tuesday to show just how dominant they could be, stretching out an eight-point halftime lead to 17 points in the midst of a 16-4 run midway through the period. A Rajon Rondo shot at the 7-minute mark gave Boston a 20-point lead that presented the very first nail in the Sixers' coffin.

Up Next: It's right on over to Minnesota for a Wednesday-night matchup against the Timberwolves. It's always fun when the Celtics face the Timberwolves because the Timberwolves are the home of the bizarro Celtics — those who were cast off around the same time KG and Ray Allen were added to the mix, including Al Jefferson, Mark Blount and Ryan Gomes

The Wolves have had a rough go of it thus far in 2009, coming into Wednesday's matchup with a 1-3 record. Their one win came on opening night against the hapless Nets, and since then, they've gotten handily beaten by the Cavaliers before losing quasi-close ones to the Suns and the Clippers.

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