The Boston Celtics have now won two consecutive games and have pushed their record up to 2-2. Right now the Celtics are 1.5 games behind the undefeated New York Knicks. This makes them currently tied for second in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. They are tied for second with the Philadelphia 76ers. (more)

Lou Williams assumed the starting role in the absence of Allen Iverson to score 26 points as the Philadelphia 76ers went on to defeat the Golden State Warriors Tuesday at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA. Iverson has been tending to his ill daughter for the past few weeks with hopes to make his way back when the squad returns to Philadelphia. Meanwhile, Williams was able to lead in scoring while collecting 10 boards and seven assists. Andre Iguodala contributed 22 points for the Sixers as Rodney Carney and Jrue Holiday followed up with 16 and 15, respectively. “We needed to keep our poise and we executed enough to win the game,” said Philadelphia head coach Eddie Jordan. “We knew they were going to make a run, but we did enough to pull out the win.” The 76ers will look to build momentum as they continue their road trip to Phoenix and Los Angeles. The Warriors are scheduled to rest up for the day and further prepare for the Denver Nuggets on Thursday.

The Philadelphia 76ers collectively netted 43 second quarter points to coast by the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-97 yesterday at the Wachovia Center. Andre Iguodala led the scoring campaign with 24 points. Lou Williams and Thaddeus Young came off the bench for 16 and 15, respectively. Philadelphia has certainly proved themselves as true competitors with victories over New Jersey, Chicago, New Orleans, Houston and now Minnesota in their last five games. Each win has been produced without veteran leader Allen Iverson, who is currently out tending to his ill daughter.   “I liked the way we played for 48 minutes,” said Sixers coach Eddie Jordan. “We didn’t have any lulls like we have seen in the past. We stayed at a high level.” Philly will look to continue their streak tonight against Chris Bosh and the Toronto Raptors as the Timberwolves welcome the Charlotte Bobcats to the Target Center.

Allen Iverson received quite the ovation last night at the Wachovia Center. In his first game back with the 76ers he produced 11 points and six assists, despite his new-look Philadelphia squad falling to the Denver Nuggets 93-83. “I just felt like I was back home,” said Iverson. “It was deja vu. Just a real good feeling. The fans made it hard on me because they made me more nervous than I already was.” Iverson landed the starting role right away and stayed on the floor for a total of 38 minutes. Coach Eddie Jordan learned a vital lesson from the Memphis Grizzlies organization, saying “the first time I’m coaching Allen Iverson, I am not taking him out until he tells me.” The 76ers were up two at the end of the third quarter, where Denver eventually went on to outscore them 30-18 in the fourth to clinch the W. Philadelphia has now lost ten in a row looking ahead to their next game against Iverson’s other former Detroit Pistons. Even though their recent streak isn’t exactly what they’ve been hoping for, the Answer is positive his team will soon look to a bright future. “I haven’t been here long enough to put a finger on one or two things wrong,” said Iverson. “Tonight, with the way the guys competed, I don’t know how they lost nine games in a row. I couldn’t see it, not from the team I was playing with tonight. We’ll get it together, believe me.” Philadelphia 76ers tickets are now available!

Allen Iverson has been rumored to go back with the Philadelphia 76ers as early as next Monday night for their game against his old Denver Nuggets squad. This would make for quite the celebration, knowing Iverson pondered the possibly of retiring a few days ago. This season the veteran guard lasted just three games with the Memphis Grizzlies. He and the organization parted ways when he basically declared that it’s not an option for him to come off the bench. Iverson and the Sixers are expected to agree on something around the $1.3 million veterans minimum contract.  Reserve guard Royal Ivey is hopeful for Iverson to join the team, saying “he’s a Hall of Fame-type player. He’s a great leader. I think he’d help us if he decided to come back. He’s a great contributor. I’d like to have him as a teammate. It’s that clear and simple.” Philadelphia currently ranks third in the Atlantic Division with a 5-13 regular season record. They are next scheduled to matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder tomorrow night.

Philadelphia 76ers PG Lou Williams rimmed out a three pointer at the buzzer to give the Washington Wizards the 108-107 victory in honor of team owner Abe Pollin, who passed away just hours before yesterday’s contest. “It was a hard evening,” said Gilbert Arenas. “But at the end of the day Abe Pollin loved us so much that we couldn’t feel the pain until after the game. We had to go out there and just play. He wouldn’t want us to stop doing what he loved.” Arenas finished the game with 17 points and eight assists, adding six turnovers to his stat line as well. Antawn Jamison led the Wizards with 32 points and 14 rebounds. Andray Blatche contributed with 14 of the bench’s 31 total points in his 22 minutes played. The Sixers made a progressive 32-23 run in the fourth quarter but ran out of time to finish out on top. Both coaches shared the same remarks following the heart-felt win for Washington. “I guess Mr. P, he probably contested that last shot better than anybody,” said Wizards coach Flip Saunders. 76ers coach Eddie Jordan stated soon after that “maybe Abe’s spirit knocked that out.” Philadelphia will now be making their way to Boston’s TD Garden for a game against the Celtics tonight at 7:30 PM. The Wizards are set to head south for their Friday night matchup with the Miami Heat.

Rasheed Wallace was more than comfortable in his hometown last night during Boston’s 105-74 romping over the Philadelphia 76ers. The premier 6th man netted six threes while gathering six rebounds and two steals. Whenever traveling to the place of his upbringing, Sheed will always make it a point to perform at his best. “It’s home. A lot of friends and family don’t get the opportunity to see me play,” said Wallace. “Everybody can’t get that league pass and all that stuff. It’s always fun to come back here and play.”  Paul Pierce led the 5-0 Celtics in scoring with 21 points. Eddie House and Rajon Rondo added insurance to the blowout with 12 and 11. Philadelphia hit just 1 of 15 from beyond the arc. Andrew Iguodala and Thaddeus Young were the only Sixers to reach double digit numbers. The Celtics are scheduled to square off against the Timberwolves tonight in Minnesota. Boston Celtics tickets are available now!

Los Angeles Lakers 113, Utah Jazz 100. Trevor Ariza scored a playoff career high 21 to get the Lakers going Sunday night in LA.  Kobe Bryant and Paul Gasol added the bulk of their scoring with 24 and 20.  LA was in control the whole game, putting up 62 points in the first half alone.  Utah kept the pressure on, outscoring them in the second half but it was never enough.  “They kept knocking on the door and we just never let them in,” said Bryant. The Lakers have the series lead 1-0 with another game to play at the Staples Center before heading to Utah. Philadelphia 76ers 100, Orlando Magic 98 The #6 seeded sixers stunned the Magic in Orlando in game 1 with Andre Iguodala netting the game winner with 2.2 seconds left.  Iguodala played a great overall game scoring 20 points with eight rebounds and eight assists.  “We won one more game than people thought we would win,” Iguodala said. “I was pretty amped up.”  Dwight Howard had 18 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in the first half, leading to his total of 31 points and 16 rebounds for the Magic. Despite his efforts, Orlando could not hang on to their 18 point lead in the fourth as the sixers rallied back to notch the upset. Atlanta Hawks 90, Miami Heat 64 The Atlanta Hawks held the Heat to just 25 points in the second half as they cruised to an overwhelming double digit lead.  Josh Smith scored 23 points including a few show time fast-break jams for Atlanta.  Dwayne Wade led the Heat in scoring with 19, but it wasn’t enough to keep his squad in the game.  The Hawks will keep their home court advantage for game 2 before traveling to Miami. Denver Nuggets 113, New Orleans Hornets 84 Chauncey Billups led the Nuggets to blow by the Hornets Sunday night with 36 points, hitting eight of nine from three. Chris Paul controlled the New Orleans offense with 21 points and 11 assists despite their losing efforts.  The Hornets will have to steal a game at Denver to have any sort of chance to advance past this series. Game two will be played this Wednesday at 8:30 pm at the Pepsi Center. San Antonio Spurs 105, Dallas Mavericks 84 Tony Parker led in scoring with 13 points, contributing 19 in the first quarter to help San Antonio get revenge over the Mavericks from game 1. Dallas couldn’t find an answer to Parker all last night, trying numerous different defensive strategies to slow him down.  “You want to make sure I’m in attack mode every single play,” Parker said. “Even if it’s not to score, to penetrate for my teammates or make great cuts.”  The Spurs tied the series 1-1 with the win as they head to Dallas for game 3. 2009 NBA Playoff Tickets are available now!

Three of Devin Harris’s 39 points came in the final seconds after hitting a 47 footer to pull the Nets ahead by 2 points in last nights thriller against the Philadelphia 76ers.  Keyon Dooling and Vince Carter chipped in with 16 and 10 points as the Nets gave Philly their fourth straight loss.  Andre Iguodala led the 76ers with 21 points and 9 rebounds, despite the luck belonging to Harris this time around. Harris described the excitement saying “after the review, everyone was jumping up and down, going crazy.”  The spectacular shot came after bobbling the ball while running into Philadelphia’s Iguodala, who remains bitter about the play.  “I thought a lot was going on for 1.8 seconds,” Iguodala said. “I thought for sure it wasn’t good and I still don’t think it was good.” He will have to get over the shot sooner or later as the 76ers travel to Washington to play the Wizards tomorrow.  New Jersey will host the Chicago Bulls at home next. Philadelphia 76ers tickets are available now.

With half a second to go, Ray Allen fired off a game-winning 3-pointer to give the Celtics their 12th consecutive win. Without Kevin Garnett for the second consecutive game, the rest of the team had to step it up again. Paul Pierce was stellar again, scoring 29 points with 7 rebounds and 6 assists-including the game winner to Allen. “I got to my spot and (Pierce) made a great play,”Allen told AP writer Dan Gelston. Allen’s recent stellar play seems to be giving him a shot at the All-Star team. “I think he’s an All-Star,” Doc Rivers told the AP“If they make an injury substitution, I think those shots clinched it.” Glen Davis continues to make a huge impact as KG’s replacement. Big Baby had a  doubl-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) and managed to stay out of foul trouble for most of the game. Boston Celtics tickets are available now!