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Holiday, Sixers take down Celtics

Nov 10, 2012 - 6:22 AM Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Jrue Holiday netted 21 points and handed out a career-high 14 assists as the Philadelphia 76ers knocked off the Boston Celtics, 106-100, on Friday at TD Garden.

Evan Turner scored a game-high 25 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, while Thaddeus Young laced 15 points and grabbed five boards for the Sixers, who have won two straight. Dorrell Wright added 15 points in the triumph.

Paul Pierce scored a team-high 24 points to go with five assists and Kevin Garnett contributed 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who had their two-game winning streak snapped.

Rajon Rondo scored 14 points and dished out 20 assists in the setback. It was Rondo's 27th consecutive game with 11 or more assists, which tied an NBA record set by John Stockton.

Boston got out to a quick 8-3 lead as the Sixers struggled from the floor, missing nine of their first 10 shots.

"You know we started out, missed probably the first five or six of our first shots. And then Dorell hit that three to take the lid off," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. " We were very aggressive, pushing the ball. Our screens were good tonight."

But, Philadelphia roared back with a 14-3 run, finished off by an 18-foot hook shot by Young, putting the Sixers up 17-11 with 3:33 left in the quarter.

"This is probably one of our best games scoring wise," Holiday said. "Those guys got out there and ran the floor and knocked down shots, big shots. I guess that just happens at the TD Garden."

A technical free throw by Jason Terry following a defensive 3-second violation pulled Boston within 17-14, but the Sixers held a 23-20 advantage heading to the second stanza.

The Sixers scored the first nine points of the second quarter, expanding the lead to 31-20.

Jeff Green drained a free throw to cut the deficit to seven, but again the Sixers had an answer as they ripped off an 11-4 run to widen the lead to 14 with four minutes to play before halftime.

Philadelphia maxed out its first-half lead at 16 and led 57-45 at the break.

Wright led the offensive charge in the third quarter for the Sixers, scoring 12 of his points in the frame as Philadelphia kept the Celtics at arm's length.

A Chris Wilcox slam pulled Boston within seven, but the Sixers led by nine heading into the final 12 minutes.

Boston made it interesting in the fourth quarter as a Terry trey early in the frame cut the deficit to four, but the Sixers responded with a 10-0 run to push the lead back to 14 with 6:21 left.

The C's answered the Philadelphia run with seven straight of their own, cutting the lead to 95-88.

"I just kept telling our guys that if they make a run or whatever, just to try to keep it in perspective," Collins added. "So, when they went on those runs, it doesn't seem like the house is falling down on top of us."

A Pierce layup made it a four-point game with 27 seconds left, but Turner iced it for Philadelphia with a pair of free throws and a fast break slam off a turnover.

"Well, they beat us in transition. I think it's pretty simple," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "They got a lot of secondary early breaks and just beat us down the floor and they attacked."

Game Notes

This marked the first regular season meeting between the teams since Boston eliminated Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference semifinals in seven games last season ... The Sixers improved to 3-0 when wearing their blue alternate road uniforms ... Sixers guard Jason Richardson missed his third straight game with an ankle sprain ... Terry donated 13 points in the loss ... Philadelphia center Spencer Hawes finished with eight points and six rebounds.