Boston Celtics

Streak stoppers?

By Gary Dzen

2 minutes to read

Welcome to the Garden, where the Boston Celtics (12-38) will host the Milwaukee Bucks (19-33) tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Celtics fans looking for the team to end its franchise-record 18-game losing streak have had today’s date circled on their calendars since the streak began to reach record proportions. The Celtics will have both Paul Pierce and Wally Szczerbiak on the floor for the first time since Dec. 16. That game, a win over the Charlotte Bobcats, was the final game of a five-game win streak for the Celtics. The Celtics have won just two games since, none since Jan. 5.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee comes into this game banged up and having lost eight of its last 10 games. The Bucks will be without leading scorer Michael Redd, as well as Bobby Simmons and Dan Gadzuric, tonight.

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The Celtics face a daunting task if they cannot pull out a victory tonight. NBA All-Star weekend begins Friday, and Boston hits the road for a five-game trip beginning Tuesday. The trip will take the Celtics to Sacramento, Phoenix, Los Angeles (Lakers), Utah, and Houston. The Celtics can tie the NBA single-season record for consecutive losses (23) at Utah.

  • Pierce was warming early before tonight’s game. The captain took jumpers around 5 p.m. on the opponents’ end of the court, with Brian Scalabrine working near the Celtics bench. It’s the same routine Pierce used earlier this season and all of last season. Pierce didn’t get onto the court until about 5:45 p.m. in his return to the court last Friday.
  • Rajon Rondo and Allan Ray came onto the court a short time later. Rondo played a game of one-on-one with a Celtics trainer and then took a seat next to Tommy Heinsohn on the Boston bench. It was hard to hear with the dance team warming in the background, but the Celtics legend talked to Rondo about finishing around the rim and making better decisions after Rondo had beaten his man. Heinsohn told Rondo to look at his defender’s posture for help in making that decision.

    The Celtics locker room has just opened. We’ll be back in a bit with pregame comments from players and coaches.

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