The leaders of the NBA regular season last night won another victory.
A significant contribution to the success of “Boston” in a meeting with “New York” was made by the defender “Celtics” Paul Pierce, who scored 33 points. In addition, the center of the winners Kendrick Perkins recorded a double-double at his own expense (16 points + 13 rebounds).
One of the leaders of “Orlando” Vince Carter scored 24 points in a meeting with his former club “Toronto Raptors”. This figure, coupled with the successful game of center Dwight Howard and point guard Jason Williams, who scored 17 and 16 points, respectively, allowed the “wizards” to prevail.
Lakers leader Kobe Bryant scored a modest 26 points in a meeting with Oklahoma, which, however, did not prevent the current league champions from achieving a confident home victory.
The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a league member of the Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of the league’s original eight teams, the Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which they share with the National Hockey League (NHL) Boston Bruins. The Celtics are considered one of the most successful basketball teams in NBA history; the franchise is tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most NBA championships won with 17 (representing 23.6 percent of all NBA championships since the league’s inception) and currently holds the record for most recorded wins of any NBA team. The Celtics are one of only two chartered BAA franchises (the other being the New York Knicks) still play in their hometown.
The Celtics have a notable rivalry with the Los Angeles Lakers that was heavily publicized in the 1960s and 1980s. During the two teams’ numerous matches in the 1980s, Celtics star Larry Bird and Lakers star Magic Johnson had an ongoing feud. The franchise has played the Lakers a record 12 times in the NBA Finals (including their last appearances in 2008 and 2010), of which the Celtics have won nine. Four Celtics players (Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, Dave Cowens, and Larry Bird) have won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for a record number of NBA 10 MVP awards. Both the Celtics’ nickname and their mascot “Lucky the Leprechaun” are homages to Boston’s historically large Irish population, as well as the Original Celtics.
The rise to dominance of the Celtics began in the late 1950s, after coach Red Auerbach acquired center Bill Russell, who would become a cornerstone of the Celtics dynasty, in a 1956 draft pick. Led by Russell and a superstar. point guard Bob Cousy, the Celtics won their first NBA championship in 1957. Russell along with a talented secondary cast of the future. Hall of Famers including John Havlicek, Tom Heinsohn, K.K. Jones, Sam Jones, Satch Sanders, and Bill Sharman would lead the Celtics to the greatest period in franchise history, winning eight consecutive NBA championships throughout the 1960s. Following Russell’s departure in 1969, the Celtics entered a period of recovery. Led by center Dave Cowens and point guard Jojo White, the Celtics returned to the championship level by winning two NBA titles in 1974 and 1976. The Celtics returned to dominance again in the 1980s. Led by the Big Three, which included Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish, the Celtics won the 1981, 1984, and 1986 championships. Having won 16 championships during the 20th century, the Celtics, after struggling in the 1990s, rose again to win a championship in 2008 with the help of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen in what is called the era of the new Big Three. The Celtics returned to the NBA Finals in 2010, only to lose to the Lakers in a seven-game series.
By the start of the 2013 season, none of the “Big Three” were still on the team, ushering in a new era for the team. With the help of newly hired head coach Brad Stevens, the team began rebuilding. Stevens led the Celtics in his second season, returning to the playoffs in 2015. the following season, the Celtics took the top seed in the Eastern Conference but were eliminated in the Conference Finals. This prompted an aggressive rebuild in 2017 when the team acquired the All-Stars. Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. However, the pair struggled with injuries throughout the 2017–18 season and the team was again defeated in the Eastern Conference Finals despite the Cleveland Cavaliers taking it to seven games.