Celtics beat 76ers for seventh straight win

BOSTON(AP) Ray Allen had a stretch of 11 straight points in the third quarter Friday. Rajon Rondo had a hand in all of them.Allen
scored 23 points and Kevin Garnett added 16 to lead the Boston Celtics
to their seventh straight victory, 102-78 over the Philadelphia 76ers.Allen
was 10-for-15 from the field, including 3-for-5 on 3-pointers. In the
last three games, he is 13-for-19 from behind the arc."I thought
the difference in us the last four games was (when) they scored, we
zipped it up the floor and Ray made a wide-open 3,'' Celtics coach Doc
Rivers said. "We're setting better picks for him. We realize that to
get Ray shots we have to get him open and I think our guys have done a
better job.''Allen had three baskets in a row from 3-point land
during his 11-point surge as the Celtics (15-2) extended an 18-point
halftime lead to 73-47. Rondo assisted on all four baskets."When
the game was over, I told him, 'When you play like that, we're a beast
to contend with,''' Allen said. "I told him, 'I feed off you.'''Rondo
had 12 assists, including one on the last basket of the third quarter,
a perfectly executed alley-oop to Garnett for a dunk.Tony Allen and Leon Powe each scored 10 points for the Celtics. Paul Pierce was limited to six points on 1-for-6 shooting.It
was another poor offensive night for the 76ers (7-9), who had their
lowest-scoring game and first half of the season. Their previous low
was 80 points in loss to Utah on Nov. 11."They showed us why they were world champions last year,'' 76ers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "Their defense stifled us.''They
scored a season-low 12 points in the second quarter, as the Celtics
opened a 46-28 lead. Boston opened the quarter with a 9-0 run, capped
by a three-point play by Powe, to take a 33-16 lead.Philadelphia
was held scoreless until Reggie Evans converted a free throw almost
four minutes in, but did not make its first shot from the field until
Louis Williams' layup made it 33-19 at the 6:39 mark.The 76ers
have lost three in a row after winning five of six. The only starter to
shoot better than 50 percent in the first half was Elton Brand, who was
5-for-9 for 12 points. The rest of the starting five was 6-for-20 as
the 76ers were held to 33.3 percent shooting from the field."We've
been in this situation before, having bad losses,'' said Andre
Iguodala, who was limited to nine points. "When you have a loss like
that, you can't pinpoint one person or one thing. You have to look at
yourself as one whole group effort. We have to play better.''Brand
scored 18 points and Williams added 15 points. Andre Miller and
Marreese Speights each had 12 points. Speights was ejected with 43
seconds remaining after committing a flagrant foul on Brian Scalabrine.Notes:
The Celtics are 4-0 against Atlantic Division foes. Miller is shooting
32 percent (12-for-38) in his last three games. The 76ers have been
held under 100 points in their last six games. Celtics forward Glen
Davis had made 11 free throws in a row before missing the back end of a
pair in the fourth quarter.