The Celtics , in their home opener, limited Charlotte to a truly embarrassing low of 59 points at the Garden. Jackson, acquired in a trade seven games ago, was supposed to change that for the Bobcats. Charlotte, which came into last night on a four-game win streak, was facing a C's team that wasn't playing up to its record, despite its own four-game run.

The best that could be said for the Bobcats in Game 2 of the season series was that they hit 90. Jackson, who arrived from the Golden State Warriors, shot 4-for-13 from the field, and the team with the shakier streak looked better than it has in a week.

Such was the nature of the 108-90 Celtics victory last night, a win which featured Ray Allen staging perhaps his best shooting exhibition of the season. The C's have now defeated the Bobcats twice, by an average margin of 25.5 points.

Allen finished with 27 points. He shot 6-for-9 from the floor, including 5-for-6 from 3-point range, and 10-for-10 from the free throw line.

Celtics center Kendrick Perkins, unleashed against a soft Charlotte interior, produced a season-high double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Thinking back to the Oct. 28 game, after which he said he had to coach better, Bobcats coach Larry Brown made an interesting choice.

``I thought we tried harder in the first game,'' Brown said last night. ``At least we made a run. But you cannot beg people to compete. That is not your problem.''

On a night for rest, coach Doc Rivers did have four-fifths of the starting unit in late. Rivers finally pulled Kevin Garnett (16 points) and Rajon Rondo with 3:02 left, to derisive cheers. Paul Pierce and Perkins came out a minute later.

Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace couldn't help feeling bad for the crowd.

``I hope everyone is embarrassed as a fan,'' Wallace said. ``I wouldn't come back as a fan. Even Doc Rivers had 12 points.''

More to the point, the Celtics are now 6-1 on the road, with games in San Antonio (Thursday) and Oklahoma City (Friday) remaining on the current road trip.

``Just being a veteran team and understanding the focus you have to have on the road is what goes into it,'' Pierce said. ``We've had some mental lapses at home, but hopefully we can make it up on this road trip. You have to play through the crowd noise, and stay mentally focused.''

That doesn't seem to be a problem.

``We have great focus,'' Rivers said. ``Right now we have better focus on the road. In the last two games on the road we've got off to great starts. There's been good ball movement and we made shots. Ray made shots early, and when your shooter makes shots, the floor opens up a little bit more for you. And then defensively, tonight of all the nights, especially in the first half, we were as good as we've been all year.''

- mrmurphy@bostonherald.com