BOSTON — The Boston Celtics turned consecutive games against teams they’re jockeying with for playoff positioning into a notice for the rest of the Eastern Conference: They have every intention of breaking off a postseason run.
Kevin Garnett scored 20 points and Rajon Rondo dished out double-digit assists for his 17th consecutive game, finishing with 15 to help lead Boston to a 103-79 win over the struggling Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night.
One night earlier, the Celtics posted a double-digit win at Indiana, a team one spot ahead of them in the East’s playoff chase.
“We know what’s at stake,” said forward Paul Pierce, who had 17 points. “A fourth seed, maybe a third.”
Brandon Bass and Avery Bradley each added 18 points as the Celtics won for the seventh time in nine games, improving their Atlantic Division lead to three games over both the 76ers and New York Knicks.
Last week, Boston coach Doc Rivers blasted his team after a tough loss in Chicago.
“I think that was just Doc blowing off steam,” Pierce said. “We’ve got a room full of veterans. I don’t think we need any more motivation.”
Two seasons ago, Boston was in a similar place in the standings late in the season and made a run to the NBA Finals before falling to the Lakers in seven games.
“This team is taking it to another level. They make you look bad. Did it to Miami last Sunday, did it to Indiana and now they did it to us,” Philadelphia coach Doug Collins said. “They are going to be a handful and I wouldn’t want to play them in the playoffs. When Boston locks in they are really tough to play against. It’s going to be very interesting. I wouldn’t blink on Boston. Everybody wants to talk about Miami and Chicago.”
Nikola Vucevic led Philadelphia with 14 points and Andre Iguodala had 13. The 76ers have dropped 10 of 14, falling out of first in the Atlantic and forced to compete for the final playoff spot in the East. They are tied with the Knicks for seventh place, one game ahead of Milwaukee.
Coming off their 86-72 win over the Pacers, the Celtics broke this one open early in the second quarter.
Boston led 25-22 after one and outscored the 76ers 20-4 to start the second, pulling to a 45-26 lead on Bradley’s runner in the lane. Ray Allen, coming off the bench for the third straight game, ignited the spree with eight points. His 3-pointer from the right wing gave Boston its first double-digit advantage (34-24) 3:04 into the quarter.
The Celtics held Philadelphia to 27.3 percent shooting in the second quarter (6 of 22). The 76ers missed 12 of their first 13 shots.
Rivers is most impressed by his team’s play on the defensive end during the current run.
“The defense is real good, guys are locked in,” he said. “I don’t care how well you play, your offense is going to fail you sometimes. But if you come with the right mind-set, your defense never should, and it’ll always give you a chance to win a game.”
Philadelphia entered the game with the league’s best scoring defense, but the Celtics had things pretty easy in the opening half, getting open looks and numerous drives into the lane.
The 76ers may feel like things are slipping away after an impressive 20-9 start.
“We are tied with the Knicks and they have the tiebreaker,” 76ers forward Elton Brand said. “Definitely bad right now and we need to get out of this slump.”
Boston led 50-36 at halftime, shooting 57.6 percent (19 of 33) in the opening 24 minutes.
The Celtics then turned it into a rout with an 18-4 run coming out of the break, pushing the lead to 68-40 on Bradley’s 3 from the right wing. Garnett scored eight of Boston’s first 13 points, driving for a few easy buckets off Rondo’s feeds.
The Celtics led 84-63 after three quarters.
Philadelphia made a run early in the final quarter, closing to 86-70 on Lou Williams’ breakaway layup, but Sasha Pavlovic hit a 3-pointer to give the Celtics a 91-72 lead and they were never tested the rest of the way.
KNICKS 100, BULLS 99: Carmelo Anthony scored a season-high 43 points, making the go-ahead 3-pointer with 8.2 seconds left in overtime, and the New York Knicks spoiled a rusty Derrick Rose’s return to the lineup to beat the Chicago Bulls 100-99 on Sunday in New York.
Rose scored 29 points after missing the previous 12 games with a strained right groin, but he shot only 8 of 26 from the field and missed a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left in regulation and the Bulls ahead by three.
Anthony made a 3-pointer eight seconds later to tie it, and scored the final five points of the extra period as the Knicks pulled out a thriller in a possible playoff preview.
The Bulls trailed by 21 in the first quarter, led by 10 in the fourth, then failed to put it away by missing four straight free throws in the final 34 seconds of regulation.
Despite having their starting five together for only the 11th time this season, the Bulls lost for the third time in four games, their NBA-best record falling to 43-14.
The Knicks increased their lead over Milwaukee to one game for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They travel to Chicago on Tuesday, visit Milwaukee on Wednesday, and close a difficult week by hosting Miami next Sunday.
HEAT 98, PISTONS 75: LeBron James scored 26 points, Chris Bosh finished with 22 points and nine rebounds, and Miami steadily pulled away to beat Detroit in Miami.
James Jones scored 18 on 6-for-8 shooting from 3-point range for Miami, which played without Dwyane Wade for the 11th time this season. Wade sat out with right ankle soreness, which the team said was caused by an awkward landing on a dunk attempt against Memphis on Friday night.
The Heat are 10-1 when Wade is sidelined this season and 18-1 in their last 19 home games.
Detroit rookie Brandon Knight scored 16 for the Pistons.
Miami (40-15) pulled within two games of Chicago (43-14) for the best record in the East.
NETS 122, CAVALIERS 117: Gerald Green scored a season-high 32 points, including a clutch 3-pointer with 36.7 seconds left in regulation and a high-flying dunk in overtime, leading New Jersey to a win over Cleveland in Newark, N.J.
Anthony Morrow scored 24 points, Deron Williams had 18 points and 10 assists, and Kris Humphries added 16 points and 11 rebounds as the Nets won a season-best third straight at home.
New Jersey also finished with its highest scoring total of the season.
Antawn Jamison scored a season high-tying 34 points, Lester Hudson had 26 and Alonzo Gee added 22 points and 11 rebounds for Cleveland, which lost for the 10th time in 11 games.