Paul Pierce led all scorers with 23 points while Rajon Rondo added 12 points and 13 assists as the Boston Celtics improved to 9-2 by defeating the short handed Washington Wizards 114-83 to increase there lead a top the Eastern Conference standings.
The Wizards, who remain win-less on the road did not have rookie standout John Wall, who was out with a sprained foot as well as forward Yi Jianlian for the second straight game. The thin roster allowed the Celtics to pull away late in the game as all five Celtic starters sat out the entire fourth quarter.
All Celtics starters were in double figures as Kevin Garnett scored 18 points and added seven rebounds in 23 minutes of play while Ray Allen had 11 points over 27 minutes. Shaquille O’Neal returned strong as he scored 13 points and added six rebounds.
In his first game as a Celtic this season since serving a 10-game suspension, Delonte West came off the bench and led all bench players with 12 points which was a good sign to come for Celtic fans.
Nick Young led the Wizards with 20 points off the bench as split time with Gilbert Arenas who only had 9 points as he started in place of the injured Wall. JaVale McGee crashed the boards for the Wizards as he recorded 10 rebounds.