Crowd gets into LA game early

By Frank Dell'Apa, Globe Staff  |  December 24, 2008

Most of the Celtics will not be home for Christmas. Paul Pierce is the exception, as he returns to Los Angeles with his teammates for tomorrow's game against the Lakers.

"It's my daughter's first Christmas, so she gets to be around her family," Pierce said after the Celtics' 110-91 victory over Philadelphia last night. "Just enjoy the small amount of time I get to be around my family, but I understand I have a job at hand and that's to play basketball and try to win the game. I get to go and be around people who are close to me."

Garden spectators created a pre-playoff feel, despite the blowout nature of the game, by chanting "Beat LA" in the final quarter.

"This is for the fans," Pierce said. "That's why they put it on the commercials. That's why they put it in the newspapers and that's why they make it on Christmas Day.

"If we beat the Lakers, do we get anything for it? Do we win another championship? Do we get another ring? No. It's just another game on the schedule we have to play."

Doc Rivers said he was surprised when he learned before the season that the Celtics were scheduled to play an away game on Christmas.

"They told me we were playing on Christmas Day and I didn't really look at it, I just assumed it was at home," he said. "Then I saw it was on the road, and I said, 'What's that?'

"I'm sure arena availability probably had something to do with it. It's not just they wanted to play it in LA, but as a coach, I'll make it that way.

"One of the things I did before the season, the league has the coaches send in rules suggestions, I said one of the packages of winning the title is you should get the ring, the trophy, and a guaranteed home date on Christmas Day. So let's hope that gets through."

When he played for the Atlanta Hawks, Rivers said, a Christmas game was scheduled annually because of TBS programming. Since retiring as a player, Rivers has mostly been able to be with his family in Orlando, Fla., for Christmas.

"Because I've been in the league 20-whatever years, the kids get used to it," Rivers said. "The young one said yesterday, 'You're not coming home for Christmas?'

"This will be the first time for him; we played one in Orlando but we played at home. We get both sides of the family together and we actually contemplated doing it in LA, but that would have been impossible."

The Lakers' Kobe Bryant has been impressed with the Celtics. "They look tough. I think they're better, to be honest with you," Bryant said. "They have a great system and a great structure where they can continue to bring in guys who play hard, play within the system, and play within themselves. [Rajon] Rondo seems more confident, seems more relaxed, he's worked on his shot a lot. He's gotten better, and because he's gotten better, he's made them better." . . . There was some symmetry to the Celtics setting the franchise record for a winning streak (19 games) against the Sixers. It was Philadelphia that snapped the 1981-82 Celtics' 18-game streak with a 116-98 win March 22, 1982. That Philadelphia team then went on to eliminate the Celtics in a seven-game playoff series.

It took Glen Davis's GMC Yukon sliding on an icy road and his resulting concussion to reveal the Celtics' frontcourt vulnerability. Davis was injured on the Massachusetts Turnpike Sunday, missing that night's win over New York and last night's victory. Davis traveled with the team to Los Angeles but is doubtful for tomorrow's contest.

P.J. Brown has not officially retired but he did not return after last season, leaving the Celtics short up front. Leon Powe and Brian Scalabrine were first off the bench in relief of Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins the last two games. Powe scored 15 points in 16 minutes and Scalabrine had 1 point against the Sixers.

"We don't have enough size to begin with, with P.J. gone," Rivers said. "And now you take Baby [Davis] away and we're down to Scal or Patrick O'Bryant, who hasn't played. We can't afford to lose a 'big,' and we just lost one.

"What I won't do is extend Kevin's minutes, no matter what happens. He's going to play his minutes, because we have to look at the whole picture."

The Sixers' bus required 55 minutes for the trip from the Four Seasons Hotel to the Garden, and a second bus, with several players aboard, had not arrived 45 minutes before the start. The Sixers made their way in less than 15 minutes for a shootaround yesterday morning.

Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at f_dellapa@globe.com.