BOSTONBrandon Bass tied a career high with four assists in Boston's 106-104 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Jason Collins took one shot from the floor and finished with a season-high seven points.
Jason Terry, known throughout his career as a shoot-first guard, led the Celtics with six assists.
Sunday's win over the Los Angeles Clippers was a game in which the Celtics relied once again on the sum of the parts on their roster and not any one or two individuals.
"Balance is the formula for our success," Terry said. "You know we gotta do it by committee. Obviously we got two of our key parts down, but again, spread the wealth."
In addition to his six assists, Terry also had 14 points. He was one of three double-digit scorers off the Celtics bench, joining Leandro Barbosa (13 points) and Jeff Green (14 points).
Boston, playing without Rajon Rondo (torn right ACL) and Jared Sullinger (lumbar disc surgery) who are both out for the season, have been getting by with strong play at both ends of the floor.
Boston Celtics
Offensively, the C's ball movement in this post-Rondo era has been superb. And defensively, the Celtics are contesting shots, helping one another more on switches. And that has led to them getting more opportunities to get out in transition which has put most opponents on their heels lately.
The new-look C's have indeed been making life tough for opponents, with most attributing the Celtics' improved ball movement as the biggest challenge.
Its (the ball) definitely moving around," said Clippers guard Jamal Crawford who had 23 points off the bench. "Its a little hard keying on guys. (Paul) Pierce is going to get his, (Kevin) Garnetts going to be a big part of what they do, but other guys are stepping up for them and thats a credit to their team.
Here are some other keys to today's game outlined prior to tip-off that played a role in Boston's 106-104 win.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Scoring is going to be a challenge for both teams when you consider they are each among the top-10 scoring defenses in the NBA. The C's will look to get out in transition and score a few easy buckets, but the Clippers' size, depth and athleticism will make those times few and far between.
WHAT WE SAW: Both teams were on fire in the first quarter, combining for 63 points. But the C's defense took over the game in the second, let up in the third and managed to barely hang on for the win in the fourth.
MATCHUP TO WATCH: Paul Pierce vs Caron Butler. Similar size, strength and build, this is one of the more below-the-radar matchups that should be a major factor in the game's outcome.
WHAT WE SAW: Both players had strong nights for their respective teams, with Pierce scoring a team-high 22 points (including the game-winning shot with 2.5 seconds to play) while Butler had 18 points and five rebounds.
PLAYER TO WATCH: With 118 dunks to his credit this season, it's hard to take your eyes off of Blake Griffin when he's on the floor or even in the air. You can count on him to have a couple jams at some point today.
WHAT WE SAW: Griffin had a pretty average night with 20 points, 11 rebounds and three dunks, but shriveled up when the game mattered most -- the fourth quarter -- as he went the final 6:16 of the night without a single point.
STAT TO TRACK: Paul Pierce comes into today's game with three straight games of at least 10 rebounds. A double digit rebounding game today would be just the second time in Pierce's career that he has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in four straight games. The first time was Nov. 16-23, 2002.
WHAT WE SAW: Pierce's string of double-digit rebounding games has come to an end, with the captain grabbing just five rebounds on Sunday.