Celtics notebook: Boston could notch 10th straight road win
Their bid for the franchise's first double-digit winning streak in more than two decades was denied in shocking fashion Wednesday night.
For the second time this season, the Boston Celtics were unable to get past nine straight victories when they lost to the Charlotte Bobcats.
The Celtics have not won at least 10 games in a row since going on a 14-game binge during March and April of 1986.
While one winning streak is over, the Celtics will try to keep another one alive tonight in East Rutherford, N.J.
When the Celtics face the New Jersey Nets at the IZOD Center (7:35, TV: Comcast SportsNet; radio: WEEI-850 AM), they will be bidding for a 10th straight road win.
That would tie for second place on the franchise's all-time list with the 1960-61 team. The team record is 13 road wins in a row, established from Dec. 5, 1964-Jan. 20, 1965.
The Celtics (29-4) will be looking to bounce back from their first ugly performance as they were overwhelmed by the Bobcats at home.
Boston will have help as both Ray Allen (pinched nerve in the neck) and Glen Davis (sore right knee) practiced on Thursday and will play against the Nets after missing the loss to Charlotte.
The Celtics will be in Washington on Saturday night, a game that will go nearly unnoticed since it will be head-to-head with the Patriots' playoff opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Garnett still in lead
Kevin Garnett continues to be the leader in voting for the NBA All-Star game, which is Feb. 17 in New Orleans.
Garnett has received 1,756,251 votes, putting him ahead of LeBron James (1,564,974). The All-Star starters will be announced on Jan. 24.
Paul Pierce remains fourth at the forward position behind Garnett, James and Chris Bosh while Allen is third at the guard spot behind Dwyane Wade and Jason Kidd. Allen has 733,440 votes, roughly 135,000 behind Kidd.
Celtics vs. Nets
After allowing the Nets to shoot 67 percent in the first quarter in their only meeting Nov. 10 at the Meadowlands, the Celts rolled to a 112-101 win after holding an 87-66 lead after three quarters.
Allen scored 27 points with 10 rebounds, Garnett 18 points with 14 rebounds and Pierce 28 points. Davis gave the Celts a huge boost with eight rebounds. Richard Jefferson managed 28 points for the Nets, while Vince Carter and Jason Kidd came up with 17 each, Kidd adding 12 assists. Carter didn't play the fourth quarter thanks to an ankle injury.
On Nov. 14, the Celtics flat-out blasted the Nets, 91-69. Six Celts scored between 10 and 16 points. Carter was out with the bad and the Nets shot 33.3 percent, turning the ball over 21 times. The Celts limited the Nets to 4-for-20 shooting in the fourth quarter.
In the spotlight
Kidd has been tremendous. His triple-double streak was stopped at three by the Bobcats. No NBA player had recorded four straight since Michael Jordan had seven straight in 1989. It was Kidd's 10th T-D of the season. He's the first player to have two straight T-D seasons since Grant Hill in 1995-97.
Kidd has 9,056 career assists, leaving him only five assists short of tying Isiah Thomas for the fifth most assists of all-time.
Jim Fenton of The Enterprise and Mike Fine of the Patriot Ledger contributed to this report.