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Sixers and Celtics battle for first place in Atlantic

Mar 7, 2012 - 3:53 PM (Sports Network) - A battle between the top teams in the Atlantic Division is on tap tonight in south Philadelphia, as the surging Boston Celtics head down to Wells Fargo Center to take on the 76ers for the first time this season.

The Celtics are riding a five-game winning streak and completed a perfect four-game homestand with last night's 97-92 overtime victory versus the Houston Rockets. Paul Pierce scored seven of his 30 points in the extra session and Ray Allen added 21 points for the Celtics, who matched their longest winning of the season and sit one game behind struggling Philadelphia in the division standings.

Kevin Garnett recorded a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

"Well we understand the urgency, especially at this point in the season, after the All-Star break," said Pierce. "Right now it's that stretch run and we understand it. We understand that we need to take care of it at home and we understand that we have a big road trip coming up that's not going to be easy, so we can't just give away games right now."

Boston will return home to host Portland after tonight's game before embarking on an eight-game road swing against the Lakers, Clippers, Warriors, Kings, Nuggets, Hawks, Bucks and Sixers.

Philadelphia will play two in a row at home versus Boston and Utah, and has lost eight of its last 10 games, including Monday's 97-93 setback at Milwaukee. Brandon Jennings had a game-high 33 points to lead the Bucks.

Lou Williams paced the Sixers with a season-high 26 points and Andre Iguodala added 16 points and five assists. Thaddeus Young finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Jodie Meeks contributed 13 points off the bench.

"I thought we played fatigued," Sixers head coach Doug Collins said. "I thought the turning point was the beginning of the third quarter. We had a chance to go up 12, 13, 15 points on them, but we couldn't make a shot."

The 76ers have lost six of their past eight home games after winning 12 of their first 14 at Wells Fargo Center (14-8 overall). They have lost their last four games by combined 19 points.

Philadelphia has not given up 100-plus points in any of the past nine games and is 22-11 when holding opponents below the century mark this season. It is 0-6 when giving up that many points in 2011-12.

Boston took three of four meetings from the 76ers last season and has won 13 of the previous 16 matchups between the teams. The Celtics have prevailed in nine of their past 11 games at Wells Fargo Center.