"It was hard for me sitting in the first half, just watching basically layup after layup after layup," said Wallace, who entered as the reigning Eastern Conference player of the week after twice topping 30 points in victories last week.

The Bobcats shot 31 percent in the first half without him, and trailed by as many as 26 points before he got his first points with 8:15 left in the third quarter.

But it might not have mattered with the Bobcats shooting 55 percent and Allen finding his touch.

A career 40-percent shooter from behind the arc, Allen had gone 6 for 23 in the past four games. Rivers said at the shootaround that he had said nothing to him and that "he hasn't forgot how" to shoot.

With Perkins and Garnett drawing attention inside, Allen was hitting from the outside and the foul line, where he made all 10 attempts. The Celtics didn't even need Paul Pierce (eight points) to move into a tie for the Eastern Conference lead with Orlando.

"I put some baby oil on the rim," Allen said, smiling. "I said earlier I had to just put it in, just swish the ball, not even mess around with the rim. It's really all a body thing, just getting your legs in the air and being consistent."

It was a setback for the Bobcats, whose winning streak came at the heels of a seven-game skid and included an impressive home win over Cleveland Friday. They shot just 41 percent and trailed by as many as 28 points.

"You could have taken five people from the stands and they'd have run their stuff and I think it would have been just as competitive," Brown said.

Added Gerald Wallace: "I think even Doc Rivers had 12 points."

NOTES: Rasheed Wallace is already halfway toward earning a suspension for his technical foul count. "His teammates are on him. We talked to him about it," Rivers said. "But at the end of the day, he's going to have to solve that on his own. Rasheed has a reputation, and he's earned it." ... Mohammed received a technical for getting in Garnett's face after Garnett was called for an offensive foul for hitting him in the face. ... The Celtics held only their second morning shootaround of the season, but it was because Rivers canceled practice Monday.