The AP reports: Kevin Garnett scored twice before Miami made a basket, and
the Boston Celtics held the Heat to an NBA-record low 17 field goals, coasting
to an 88-62 victory Sunday. The matchup of the NBA’s best team and its
worst was even more lopsided than anticipated. Boston was up 27-4 after 10
minutes and Celtics coach Doc Rivers started subbing for his starters just 7:10
into the game. Boston’s backups finished the first quarter, handled most
of the second and all of the fourth as no starter played more than 25 minutes.
Leon Powe had 17 points and 13 rebounds for Boston, and Garnett finished with 12
points, five assists and eight rebounds in 21 minutes. Ricky Davis had 14 points
and six rebounds and Chris Quinn had scored 14 with eight assists for the Heat
(13-60), who lost their third straight and sixth out of seven as they solidify
their hold on the worst record in the NBA. Miami coach Pat Riley skipped his
fourth game to resume his college scouting tour, and assistant Ron Rothstein ran
the bench.

The AP reports: Paul Pierce scored 27 points, Garnett added 21, and the
Boston Celtics moved closer to wrapping up the top record overall by avenging
last weekend’s loss in New Orleans with a 112-92 win over the Hornets on
Friday night… David West did drive by for a basket after Garnett squared
up defensively, cutting it to 72-68, but the Celtics scored 19 of the next 24
points over the ensuing 5:56 to move ahead 88-73… Rajon Rondo added 17
points and Ray Allen had 12… Chris Paul paced the Hornets with 22 points
and 10 assists. Peja Stojakovic had 17 points and David West 14.

The AP reports: Kevin Garnett scored 30 points, sinking the final two to an
“M-V-P!” chant echoing through the new Boston Garden, and Paul Pierce had 12
of his 27 in the fourth quarter to help the Celtics snap a two-game losing
streak… Kendrick Perkins had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Ray Allen had
14 points and eight assists for Boston, which snapped a two-game losing streak.
Rajon Rondo scored 14 with six rebounds and six assists while pestering
Shaquille O’Neal into a technical foul as Boston turned a tie game into a
double-digit lead in the third. Amare Stoudemire scored 32 and Shaquille
O’Neal had 16 with seven rebounds for the Suns, who brought a seven-game
winning streak into Detroit on Monday night but lost 110-105 in overtime.

The AP reports: Andre Iguodala scored 10 straight points during a 19-0 run
that brought Philadelphia back from a double-digit, fourth-quarter deficit
Monday night, and the 76ers beat the Boston Celtics 95-90 to move above .500 for
the first time this season. “It shows how hard we’ve worked to get
back,” said Iguodala, who finished with 28 points… Andre Miller scored
20, Thaddeus Young had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Samuel Dalembert grabbed
12 boards for Philadelphia. Kevin Garnett scored 18, Leon Powe had 16 and Ray
Allen scored 14 for Boston, which lost its second straight after winning 14 out
of 15. The Celtics long ago clinched a playoff berth, and they played as if it
didn’t matter down the stretch.

The Boston Celtics’ Kevin Garnett and the New Orleans Hornets’
Chris Paul today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the
Week, respectively, for games played Monday, March 17, through Sunday, March 23.
This is the second Player of the Week nod for both players this season.
Garnett led the Celtics to a 3-1 week, as Boston became the first team since
the Sacramento Kings in 2001 to sweep the Texas Triangle (Dallas, Houston and
San Antonio). The last time Boston accomplished the feat was in 1987. Garnett
had 22 points, 11 rebounds and three steals in Boston’s 94-74 win over the
Rockets, snapping the team’s 22-game winning streak. For the week, Garnett
averaged 20.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals.
Paul led the Hornets to a 3-0 week, averaging 25.7 points, 10.0 assists and 3.0
steals. Paul has scored 20-plus points in 15 of the team’s last 19 games.
In a 113-106 win over the Celtics, New Orleans came back from a 15-point deficit
as Paul scored seven of his 19 points in the final 2:12 of the game. The Celtics
were 36-0 when leading by 15 or more. Paul had 37 points, 13 assists and three
steals in a 108-97 victory over the Bulls. He recorded 16 fourth-quarter points
to help the Hornets finish the game on a 24-4 run.
Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were
Atlanta’s Joe Johnson, Boston’s Paul Pierce, Cleveland’s
LeBron James, Indiana’s Mike Dunleavy, L.A. Lakers’ Kobe Bryant,
Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge, Phoenix’s Amaré Stoudemire and
Washington’s Antawn Jamison.

The New Orleans Times Picayune (John Reid) writes: “With 14 games
remaining on their schedule, all signs appear the Celtics will be the odds-on
favorite once the playoffs begin next month. The Celtics (55-13) play the
Hornets tonight at the New Orleans Arena having won 14 of 15 games. It had been
eight years since a team went to Texas and came away with victories against
Southwest Division foes San Antonio, Houston and Dallas. The Celtics became the
first since the Sacramento Kings achieved it in 2001. Boston came back from a
22-point deficit to defeat the Spurs and snap their seven-game home winning
streak earlier this week. They ended the Rockets’ 22-game consecutive
winning streak, the second longest in league history, after holding them to a
season-low 34 points in the second half. On Thursday night, Ray Allen’s
3-pointer with 31.7 seconds remaining sealed Boston’s 94-90 victory
against the Mavericks. The Celtics is 6-0 against Southwest Division opponents,
playing the Hornets for the first time tonight.”

Final Score: Boston 94, Houston 74
 
POST-GAME NOTES
 
Team Leaders:
Houston
Points: Luis Scola-15
Rebounds: Luis Scola-8
Assists: Tracy McGrady-8
 
Boston
Points: Kevin Garnett-22
Rebounds: Kevin Garnett-11
Assists: Paul Pierce-5
 
Today’s attendance of 18,525 is Houston’s 23rd sellout at Toyota
Center this season and marks the largest crowd in team history, surpassing the
audience of 18,409 set last game vs. the L.A. Lakers (3/16/08). Houston’s
top-five attendance totals at Toyota Center: 18,525 today, 18,409 vs. the L.A.
Lakers (3/16/08), 18,402 vs. Cleveland (2/7/08), 18,392 vs. the L.A. Lakers
(12/12/06) and 18,375 vs. Phoenix (4/16/07).
 
The Rockets have now sold out all of their last eight home games, which matches
Houston’s longest single-season sellout streak at Toyota Center (eight
games from 2/27/05-4/3/05).
 
The second longest winning streak in NBA history comes to a close at 22 games
with a 94-74 loss to the Celtics, which also draws to a close a 15-game home
winning streak for the Rockets. It was Houston’s first defeat since a
97-89 setback vs. Utah (1/27/08).
 
The Rockets scored a season-low 74 points in suffering their largest margin of
defeat this season (-20, 74-94). Houston’s 72 points last season vs.
Boston (2/26/07) were actually the fewest in the all-time series against the
Celtics. The Rockets also registered their fewest points in a second half this
season with 34 tonight, edging out a 35-point second half at Toronto (12/9/07).
 
Houston lost the battle of the boards by a double-digit margin (-10, 35-45)
tonight. The Raptors (-13, 35-48 on 12/9/07 at Toronto) and Warriors (-13, 34-47
on 12/31/07 vs. Golden State) are the only other two opponents to have
outrebounded Houston by a double-figure total this season.
 
The Celtics outscored the Rockets 32-16 in the third quarter, setting
Houston’s opponent high for third-quarter points this season. The previous
high was 31 done twice before (last: 3/2/08 vs. Denver). Houston has now
scored a combined 28 third-quarter points over the last two games, including 12
points on 4-for-23 (.174) from the floor in the third quarter vs. the L.A.
Lakers (3/16/08).
 
Rafer Alston finished with 12 points, including a pair of makes from beyond the
arc. He now has at least one 3-point field goal made in each of the last 20
games.
 
Mike Harris came off the bench to notch 12 points (6-10 FG), matching his
career-high 12 points (5-8 FG) vs. Charlotte (3/14/08).
 
Kevin Garnett (22), Leon Powe (21) and Paul Pierce (20) all reached the
20-point mark in tonight’s game. It was the first time this season for a
Houston opponent to have three players each score 20 or more points in a
game.

NBA News: With their 104-92 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday,
the Houston Rockets (46-20) extended their franchise-record winning streak to 22
games and took over sole possession of first place in the Western Conference. On
Jan. 28, the day before the streak started, the Rockets were 24-20, in 10th
place in the West and eight games out of first. Houston passed the 1970-71
Milwaukee Bucks on Friday for the second longest stretch in NBA history. The
record of 33 straight victories was achieved by the Lakers in the 1971-72
season. The Rockets have won 26 of their last 27 games and 31 of their last 34.
They’ve won 15 straight at the Toyota Center; 12 straight on the road; 10
straight since All-Star Yao Ming suffered a season-ending broken foot; and 11 of
their last 13 games by double digits. The Rockets host the Boston Celtics
tomorrow (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT).
The Celtics pace the league with a 52-13 mark and are an NBA-best 23-8 on the
road. For the Celtics, however, tomorrow’s game in Houston is the start of
a hyper-difficult Texas Triangle trip in which they will also play the Dallas
Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs. The three Texas teams are a combined 80-18
(.816) at home this season, and are riding a 26 game winning streak. The last
team to sweep the Texas Triangle trip was the 2001-02 Sacramento Kings (Nov.
27-30, 2001).

The Boston Globe (Marc Spears) reports: Celtics forward/center Scot Pollard
said before tonight’s game against the Detroit Pistons that he will be out
for the rest of the season with a torn tendon in his left ankle. Pollard has had
a lingering left ankle injury since October that hasn’t healed. The
original injury revealed a slight tear that became a lot worse as shown on an
MRI today, Pollard said.

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have reassigned rookie guard
Gabe Pruitt to their NBA Development League affiliate Utah Flash.  Pruitt is
the team’s fourth assignment to the NBA Development League this season and
the third time for Pruitt.
 
Pruitt was averaging 2.0 points in 5.7 minutes per game at the time of the
assignment.  The 6′4 guard had appeared in nine games since his recall
from the Flash on December 13, 2007. 
Pruitt scored a career-high seven points in his first game returning to the
Celtics from the Flash on December 14, 2007 against the Milwaukee Bucks in five
minutes of play.