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Celtics target 60-win mark for first time in 22 years

Apr 2, 2008 - 2:07 PM Indiana (31-43) at Boston (59-15) 7:00 pm EDT

BOSTON (Ticker) - During the 1980s, the Boston Celtics were expected to win at least 60 games every season. However, that kind of success has been hard to come by since.

The Celtics target the 60-win mark for the first time in 22 years when they host the Pacers on Wednesday.

Overall, Boston has eleven 60-win seasons in franchise history, but none since the "Big Three" of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish collected the last of the Celtics' 16 NBA titles in 1985-86.

The 1986-87 team finished at 59-23, but only five Celtics' teams since - including the 2007-08 edition - have hit the 50-win mark.

Boston posted win No. 59 in Tuesday's 106-92 victory at Chicago. This season's version of the "Big Three" once again fueled the victory as Ray Allen scored 22 points, Kevin Garnett added 20 and Paul Pierce 17 as the Celtics posted their fourth straight win.

For Indiana, the sight of Boston represents a 46-game upgrade in the standings over its last opponent - the Miami Heat (13-61).

The Pacers routed the woeful Heat, 105-85, on Monday for their sixth win in eight games. Danny Granger scored 23 points for Indiana, which also welcomed the return of center Jermaine O'Neal after he missed 33 games with a bone bruise on his left knee.

The six-time All-Star finished with nine points and two rebounds in 18 minutes of action.