The defending NBA champions, the Boston Celtics, converted their 8 consecutive victory by beating the Charlotte Bobcats in a close game 89-84 last Saturday. With this victory, Boston has a real record of 16-2 and leads the Eastern Conference. At present, the Celtics have a record of 7-1 in away games and 9-1 in home games, which is a great achievement for the team this season. This winning streak is their longest since last season in which they posted one of 10 consecutive wins during February and March of 2008.

It should be mentioned that the game was very close from the beginning to the end. The Bobcats started consistently leading the first half with an eight point lead. However, the Bobcats converted too many turnovers, which the Celtics took advantage of and came from behind. Late in the third quarter, the Celtics took a 7-point lead. Early in the fourth quarter, the Celtics led just 66-62, but Charlotte fought back twice. However, Pierce and Perkins gave the Celtics an 81-77 lead, but again Charlotte’s Gerald Wallace made it 81-80 with just 1:27 left. Even with Charlotte’s effort though, the Celtics were very smart late in the game as they played in the paint in the closing seconds and obviously some of the Bobcats players couldn’t stop Garnett and co and that. it cost them victory.

Coach Rivers is very pleased with his players and the way they are playing each game. The Celtics’ “Big Three” played amazingly, especially Paul Pierce, who scored 19 points. On the other hand, six Celtics players were in double figures, Ray Allen and Kendrick Perkins added 15 points respectively, Tony Allen scored 11 points, and Eddie House and Garnett each contributed 10 points. For the Bobcats, the top scorers were Gerald Wallace and Jason Richardson, with 23 and 22 points, respectively.

Also, we have to mention that the Celtics didn’t shoot as consistently as they always do; they shot 43.8% from the field and 14.3% from 3-point range, which is very low for a team that has such good shooters. For their part, the Bobcats shot 47.8% from the field and 38.5% from three-point range. Even so, the differences between the two teams were Charlotte’s 21 turnovers to just 13 for the Celtics and also the Celtics’ 46-point conversion in the paint contrasted with Charlotte’s 30 points.

For his part, Bobcats coach Larry Brown said that his team did everything they could on defense and played very well, however small mistakes cost them defeat. “We defended very well until the end. (But) in the first half we gave up 22 points on turnovers…Everybody played hard and tried, but you have to play perfect against a team of this caliber,” Coach Brown said. fixed.

As the Celtics prepare to continue their winning streak, they will play the Orlando Magic at home tonight. Coach Rivers expects another win and would like to keep his player consistent. Orlando for its part is coming off a victory over the Pacers and will love to extend its 5-game winning streak.