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Celtics shoot for Texas sweep

Mar 20, 2008 - 1:11 PM Boston (54-13) at Dallas (44-24) 8:00 pm EDT

DALLAS (Ticker) - Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics aim to make it a clean sweep of "Lone Star State" on Thursday when they visit the Dallas Mavericks.

Boston, which has won 13 of its last 14 games, carried the momentum from Monday's win over San Antonio into Tuesday's game at Houston and ended the the second longest winning streak in NBA history.

Garnett recorded 22 points and 11 rebounds as Boston put an emphatic end to the Rockets' 22-game winning streak with a 94-74 victory.

The Rockets' winning streak was the longest since the Los Angeles Lakers won 33 straight in 1971-72.

"Someone had to (beat them), eventually," Celtics coach Doc Rivers told the Boston Globe. "We happened to do it."

The wins over San Antonio and Houston are made even more impressive when you consider the Celtics have been missing Ray Allen's 18.3 points per game. Allen, who suffered a jammed ankle on Friday, has missed three straight games.

Boston hopes to have Allen back on the court Thursday, which would help considering that his replacement - Tony Allen - suffered a back injury on Tuesday.

Dallas has won five of six, but is looking to bounce back from a 102-100 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. Dirk Nowitzki scored 35 points, but missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The Mavericks are currently two games back of Houston (46-22) for the top spot in the Southwest.