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Allen, Celtics aim for back-to-back wins

Jan 12, 2009 - 3:17 PM Toronto (16-22) at Boston (30-9) 7:30 p.m. EST

BOSTON (Ticker) -- The Boston Celtics were the first team in the NBA to reach 30 wins on Sunday, but they have not won back-to-back games since December 23.

The Celtics will look to get back to their pattern of long winning streaks when they return home to face the Toronto Raptors in the back end of a home-and-home on Monday.

Boston took a 19-game winning streak and an NBA-record 27-2 mark into Los Angeles on December 25 an dropped a tough one to the Lakers, sending them on a 2-7 skid. All but one of the losses came on the road, where the Celtics are a mere 12-7.

But they pulled out a road win for the first time since December 28 at Sacramento on Sunday, downing the Raptors, 94-88, to snap a four-game losing streak. Ray Allen was the catalyst for the victory, pouring in a season-high 36 points.

The Celtics also got their defense back in order against the Raptors, limiting them to 38 percent (28-of-74) shooting.

The defense was the calling card of the team when Boston was making its championship run last season and getting off to a quick start in the current campaign. But Boston allowed an average of 98 points in its last seven losses, up from the 90 they had allowed per game previously.

Toronto's 88 points on Sunday was its lowest total since December 19 and gave the club its second loss in the last six games.

Andrea Bargnani continued his hot play in the setback, pouring in a team-high 17 points. The former No. 1 overall pick is averaging 21 points over the past seven games to bump his season average to 11.7.