Celtics at Mavericks Stat Pack

*On Sunday, the Celtics scored their most 2^nd-quarter points in a game this season (39).
–The Celtics also matched their most points in a half this season with 64.
–The Celtics’ 120 points were their most against the Pelicans franchise since 1999.

*The Mavericks’ 587 steals are the 2^nd-most in the NBA this season (76ers with 619).

*Kris Humphries got his 2^nd straight double-double on Sunday, giving him just his 2^nd set of back-to-back double-doubles since the beginning of 2012-13 season (other one came in January 2014).
–Last time he had 3 straight double-doubles: April 2012

*Anthony Davis became the first home player to score at least 30 points against the Celtics this season.
–The Celtics were the last team to have that occur against them this season.
–Before Davis, the last player to do that at home against the Celtics in the regular season: Jerryd Bayless (March 23, 2013).

*After the Celtics gave up more uncontested shots than contested ones to their opponent against the Knicks and Suns, the Celtics attempted more uncontested shots (50) than contested ones (47) on Sunday.
–The Celtics contested 63 of the Pelicans’ 94 shot attempts (67 percent) on Sunday.
–Unfortunately, New Orleans shot 54 percent on the contested shots as opposed to 42 percent on the uncontested shots.

*The Celtics and Mavericks like Mondays.
–The C’s are 4-3 this season on Mondays, their best record for any day and the only day that they are above .500.
–The Mavs are 7-2 on Mondays this season, their best record for any day.


*The last time the Celtics faced the Mavericks: Rajon Rondo became the first player since 2006 with the following stat line: 15 points, 3 made 3-pointers, 8 rebounds, 12 assists and 0 turnovers.
–Before Rondo, the last player to accomplish a line like that was Jason Kidd on February 26, 2006.

*The Celtics have yet to beat a team from the Southwest Division (0-9) this season.
–Only once in Celtics history did the team go winless against a division in a single season: 0-10 against the Pacific Division (2006-07).
–The Bucks are the only other team this season to be winless against at least one division (0-10 vs. Southwest Division).
–The last team to go winless against a division in a single season: the 2012-13 Bobcats (0-10 vs. Pacific Division)
–The last team to go winless against the Southwest Division in a single season: the 2007-08 Knicks (0-10 against both the Southwest Division and Pacific Division)

*The last 19 times that the Celtics have gone to a Western Conference building, they have fallen.
–Via Elias: “That’s the longest current road losing streak in interconference games in the NBA and the longest in Celtics history.”
–The last time the green won a road game against a Western Conference opponent: February 25, 2013 against the Utah Jazz.

*Surprisingly, the Celtics did not play on St. Patrick’s Day in either 2013 or 2011, but they have participated in all the other years on St. Patrick’s Day since 2006.

*Happy 55^th birthday to Danny Ainge today.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Mavericks
–Dallas has won its last 6 regulation games against Boston (C’s won in double-overtime in 2012).

Celtics at Pelicans Stat Pack

*The Pelicans are 22-6 when having a better field-goal percentage than their opponent this season, but are 4-33 when they do not.
–The Celtics are 10-0 this season when outshooting their opponent by at least six percent, but are 12-44 otherwise.

*The last time the Celtics faced the Pelicans: the Celtics had 3 different double-digit rebounders in the same game for the first time since April 11, 2012.

*The last time the Celtics won on the first night of a back-to-back was November 29 against the Cavaliers (10 straight losses for C’s on the first night of back-to-backs).

*Rajon Rondo had just 5 assists on Friday, and the Celtics are now 0-10 this season when he plays and has 8 or fewer assists.

*Avery Bradley is now 10 minutes away from a new career-high for minutes played in a season (would pass 1,435 in 2012-13).

*Jeff Green is just 7 free throws made away from matching his single-season career-high in that category (242 in 2008-09 with the Thunder).

*Kris Humphries had another fast start on Friday. He extended his season-best streak of double-digit scoring to 4 games.
–The last time he went at least 4 games in a row: March/April 2012 (5 straight games)

*For the 2^nd consecutive game, the Celtics gave up more uncontested shots than contested ones to their opponent.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Pelicans
–The Pelicans have won their last 4 games against the Celtics.

*For St. Patrick’s Day: surprisingly, the Celtics did not play on St. Patrick’s Day in either 2013 or 2011, but they have participated in all the other years on St. Patrick’s Day since 2006.

*In addition, a happy 55^th birthday to Danny Ainge on March 17.

Celtics vs. Suns Stat Pack

*Jeff Green made 6 field goals in the 3^rd quarter on Wednesday.
–The only Celtic with more field goals made in a quarter this season was Jared Sullinger (7 in the 4^th quarter on November 27, 2013).

*The Knicks’ 116 points on Wednesday were their most in Boston since 1996.
–The Knicks’ 24-point margin against the Celtics was their highest in Boston since 2006. It was only the 5^th time in NBA history that the Knicks beat the Celtics by at least 24 points on the road.

*Via Elias: “[Wednesday] was the first game of [Eric] Bledsoe’s NBA career in which he registered more than six assists without turning the ball over.”

*Fun with Numbers: The Celtics and Suns are both 3-7 in their last 10 games.
–The Celtics are 5-5 in their last 10 home games.
–The Suns are 5-5 in their last 10 road games.
–The Celtics are 3-7 in their last 10 road games.
–The Suns are 5-5 in their last 10 home games.

*The Suns are the 2^nd-best team in corner 3-pointer made differential (made corner 3’s minus opponent corner 3’s). The only team that is better this season is the Trail Blazers.
–The Celtics are 9^th-best in corner 3-pointer differential this season. They are the only top-10 team in that category that does not have an above-.500 record this season.
–The Suns have made the 3^rd-most total corner 3’s in the league this season (180). The Celtics are in the middle of the pack with 134.
–The Suns have given up the 6^th-fewest total corner 3’s in the league this season (111 – tied with the Warriors). The Celtics are tied for the 2^nd-best team in that category (99 – tied with the Bulls).

*When the Suns outshoot their opponent this season, they are 32-3.
–Otherwise: 4-25

*The Suns’ 3 losses in a row have matched their longest losing streak in 2014.
–Their longest losing streak of the season is 4 games (in November).

*Rajon Rondo’s season-high 22 field goal attempts against the Suns earlier this season were his most since Game 7 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals (the previous time that he accomplished that feat in the regular season: February 15, 2012).
–It was only the 3^rd time in Rondo’s regular-season career that he had at least 22 field goal attempts.
–His 2^nd-highest field goal attempts total this season remains 15 (done twice).

*Rondo has multiple steals in each of his last 3 games, which is his longest streak this season.
–The last time he went at least 4 games in a row was December 2012.

*Avery Bradley is just 26 minutes away from matching his career-high for minutes played in a season (1,435 in 2012-13).

*With 1 more 3-pointer, Jeff Green would set a new single-season career-high for 3-pointers made (104 in 2009-10 with the Thunder).
–He is just 11 free throws made away from matching his single-season career-high in that category (242 in 2008-09 with the Thunder).

*On Wednesday, Cole Aldrich recorded just his 3^rd career NBA double-double.
–It was his first not in the month of April.

*On Wednesday, the Knicks attempted 6 more uncontested field goals than contested ones.
–The Celtics attempted 19 more contested field goals than uncontested ones.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Suns
–The Celtics and Suns have alternated victories the last 5 times they have met in Boston.

Celtics vs. Knicks Stat Pack

*On Tuesday, Rajon Rondo played an entire half for the first time this season.

*Rondo has multiple steals in each of his last 3 games, his longest streak this season.
–The last time he went 4 games in a row was December 2012.

*With 2 more 3-pointers, Jeff Green would match his single-season career-high for 3-pointers made (104 in 2009-10 with the Thunder).
–He is just 16 free throws made away from matching his single-season career-high in that category (242 in 2008-09 with the Thunder).

*The Knicks are 1-30 when trailing at halftime this season (worst record in the NBA).
–The Celtics are 2-30 when trailing at halftime this season.

*The Knicks are 1-32 when trailing at the end of 3 quarters this season (also worst record in the NBA).
–The Celtics are 3-33 when trailing at the end of 3 quarters this season.
–1 of those 3 victories was on December 13 when the Celtics hosted the Knicks at TD Garden.

*The Knicks are 10-0 this season when scoring at least 110 points in a non-overtime game.

*The Knicks’ turnover percentage is 12.4 percent, the 3^rd-best mark in the league this season.

*13 of Rajon Rondo’s 15 shot attempts on Tuesday were contested.
–He made just 4 of those 13 contested shot attempts.

*On this date in Celtics history: Larry Bird scored a franchise-best 60 points at Atlanta.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Knicks
–Maybe this one is a stretch, but in regular-season history, the last time either of these teams did not win two or more consecutive games in Boston was 1983.
–A Knicks win on Wednesday would break that 31-year streak of not alternating wins (as in win-loss-win) in Boston.

Recap: Pacers 94, Celtics 83

Recap: http://www.celticshub.com/2014/03/11/recap-pacers-94-celtics-83/

Plus Around the Association: http://espn.go.com/nba/recap?id=400489823

Celtics at Pacers Stat Pack

*The last time the Celtics won on the first night of a back-to-back was November 29 against the Cavaliers (9 straight losses for C’s on the first night of back-to-backs).
–Andrew Bynum started that Celtics-Cavaliers game on November 29. It is also the last time he faced the Celtics.

*Since signing with the Pacers on February 1, Bynum has missed all 18 games that the team has played.

*When C.J. Watson has played fewer than 15 minutes this season (including the games he has missed), the Pacers are 4-9 (otherwise: 42-8).
–The only Pacers game this season that Watson has missed and Indiana has won was November 22 at Boston.
–The Pacers are 9-0 when Watson plays at least 25 minutes this season. They are 19-1 when he plays at least 20 minutes this season.

*The only NBA team with a longer active losing streak than the Pacers: the 76ers.
–The Pacers’ 4-game losing streak is their longest since March 2012.

*Over the last 3 games, the Pacers are the league’s worst team in terms of point differential (-19.7).

*Over the last 3 games, the Pacers own the worst 3^rd-quarter differential in the NBA (-10.3).
–They are still the NBA’s best 3^rd-quarter team overall and at home this season.
–Overall 3^rd-quarter differential: +3.9
–Home 3^rd-quarter differential: +5.8

*The Pacers are also the league’s best team in home point differential this season (+13.0).

*Via Elias: “The Pacers were 46-13 before their current four-game losing streak. It’s the first time in three years that a team lost four consecutive games despite being at least 30 games over .500 when the losing streak began. The Spurs (six-game losing streak, 34 games over .500), Lakers (5, 35) and Mavericks (4, 32) all did it March/April 2011.”

*Even with this losing streak, the Pacers are still the best defensive team in the league. They lead the NBA in the following categories:
–Points allowed per 100 possessions (95.6)
–Opponent field-goal percentage within the restricted area (53.4%)
–Opponent field-goal percentage on shots within 5 feet (51.5%)
–Opponent field-goal percentage on shots within 8 feet (49.2%)
–Opponent 2-point field-goal percentage (44.1%)
–Opponent effective field-goal percentage (45.9%)

*The Pacers’ 46-17 start is the franchise’s 2^nd-best 63-game start to a season.
–Their best was 47-16 in 2003-04 when the Pacers swept the C’s in the first round.

*According to the Pacers’ game notes: the Pacers have a winning record on their home court for the 25^th consecutive season, the longest streak in the NBA.
–The Pacers’ 29-4 home record this season is the best in the league.

*The Pacers are 7-0 at home this season against the Atlantic Division.

*The Pacers have played the fewest games (5) that have been decided by 3 or fewer points this season.
–They own a 2-3 record in those games this season.

*The Pacers have had fewer assists than their opponent in each of their last 6 games, their longest streak since February/March 2011.

*The Celtics’ performance of 38 assists and 5 turnovers in a game was only the 3^rd one of that kind in the NBA over the last 2 decades.
–January 23, 2008: the Cavaliers had 39 assists and 5 turnovers.
–February 28, 2003: the Timberwolves had 40 assists and 4 turnovers.

*The Celtics’ 118 points on Sunday were their 2^nd-most against the Pistons since the beginning of the 1995-96 season.

*Before Kelly Olynyk on Sunday, the last Celtic to score at least 18 points in 18 or fewer minutes in the regular season was Al Jefferson in 2005.
–Paul Pierce did it in the 2012 playoffs, Rasheed Wallace did it in 2010 playoffs and Leon Powe did it in 2008 playoffs.

*Jeff Green now has 4 separate games of at least 5 made 3-pointers this season (there have been only 3 other such performances by players in green jerseys this season).
–The last Celtic to have at least 4 such games in a single regular season: Ray Allen (4 in 2011-12)
–Last Celtic with at least 5: Ray Allen (12 in 2008-09)

*With 2 more 3-pointers, Green would match his single-season career-high for 3-pointers (104 in 2009-10 with the Thunder).
–He is just 22 free throws made away from matching his single-season career-high in that category (242 in 2008-09 with the Thunder).

*Kris Humphries had a season-high 20 points on Sunday.
–The C’s also finally won a game with a Humphries double-double (now 1-5 this season).

*Rajon Rondo has attempted at least 5 shots from 3-point distance in each of his last 4 games.
–He never had done it 3 straight games before this most recent stretch.

*Kyle Singler hustled up and down the court on Sunday. His 2.9 miles covered were the most for a player in a game involving the Celtics since Jeff Green’s 2.9 miles on February 22 at Sacramento.

*The Celtics currently own the championship belt (nbachampionshipbelt.com) and will be looking to defend it again on Tuesday.

*The Celtics have yet to give up 30 points to a player on the road this season.
–Every other team has already given up at least 2 such performances.
–The last home player to score at least 30 points against the Celtics in the regular season: Jerryd Bayless (March 23, 2013).

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Pacers
–With a Pacers victory on Tuesday, they will sweep the season series from the Celtics for the first time since 1998-99.

Celtics vs. Pistons Stat Pack

*Heading into Sunday, Rajon Rondo has had back-to-back games of at least 7 turnovers for just the 2^nd time in his career.
–He has never gone 3 straight games with that many turnovers.

*Rondo has made at least one 3-pointer in each of his last 4 games, the longest streak of his career.

*The Pistons have lost each of their last 8 road games.
–The last time they lost at least 9 road games in a row: February 23 to April 5, 2011 (11 in a row).

*Before Friday, the last time the Celtics won a game in which they committed at least 25 turnovers was November 8, 2006.
–Last time in a non-overtime game: December 23, 2001.

*On Friday, the Celtics became the first NBA team to commit 25 turnovers and allow fewer than 85 points since the Lakers did so on January 8, 2012 (against the Grizzlies).
–The last time the Celtics accomplished this feat: December 23, 2001 (also against the Grizzlies).

*On Friday, Rondo had at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals in the same game for just the 9^th time in his regular-season career (11^th time overall).
–Last time: November 12, 2012

*It was also just the 3^rd time in Rondo’s career that he had a stat line of at least 20 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 steals in the same game.
–Friday was his first time with that stat line at TD Garden.

*Kris Humphries has posted a negative plus/minus in each last 8 games, tying his single-season career-high.
–He had 8 straight negative plus/minus games from March 8 to 22, 2010 (with the Nets) and from December 15, 2004 to January 3, 2005 (with the Jazz).
–His longest overall regular-season streak is 9 games: April 15 to November 14, 2007 (with the Raptors).

*Jerryd Bayless played a season-high 39 minutes in Friday’s game.
–Last time he played at least 39 minutes in a game: January 31, 2013
–Last time he played at least 39 minutes in a home game: April 13, 2011

*It was an odd Friday night for the Nets: they shot 6-of-32 (19 percent) on their uncontested shots. They went 23-of-48 (48 percent) on contested shots.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Pistons
–With two more losses to the Pistons this season, this would be the first time that the Celtics were swept by the Pistons since 2006-07.
–The C’s have dropped 6 of the last 7 meetings between the 2 squads.