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Suddenly stumbling Celtics look to bounce back

Jan 2, 2009 - 11:09 AM Washington (6-24) at Boston (28-5) 7:30 p.m. EST

BOSTON (Ticker) -- The Boston Celtics have hit their first rough patch of the season. Lucky for them, they get to ring in 2009 with the Washington Wizards.

The Celtics look to start a new roll when they host the lowly Wizards on Friday.

After reeling off a franchise-record 19-game winning streak and getting off to the best 29-game start in NBA history at 27-2, Boston has dropped three of its last four games. The offense has been the biggest concern, as the Celtics have failed to top 89 points in any of the three setbacks.

They fell to the Blazers, 91-86, on Tuesday, despite Portland being without All-Star guard Brandon Roy. Boston shot just 40 percent (27-of-67) from the floor and was dominated on the glass, 44-29.

While the Celtics rank second in the NBA in scoring defense, yielding 90.8 points per game, their recent play has slipped them to eight in scoring offense at 101 points.

Another problem has been Boston's propensity to turn the ball over. The team leads the NBA in miscues, surrendering the ball 15.9 times per game, including a total of 53 in the last three losses.

Washington would seem to be an easy target for a struggling superpower, however.

The Wizards had a season-high two-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday at New Orleans and own the worst record in the Eastern Conference. Adding injury to insult, All-Star Caron Butler has a sprained ankle and has missed the past three games.

The Celtics dominated the the first meeting between the teams, 122-88, on December 11. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce scored 22 points apiece as Boston shot 56 percent (44-of-79) from the floor en route to the easy win.