During a press conference in Phoenix this afternoon, the NBA unveiled the 2009 NBA All-Star Game Ballot presented by T-Mobile.

For the Boston Celtics, all 5 of their starters, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins, were named to the ballot. In last year’s game that was held in New Orleans, Pierce, Garnett and Allen all participated in the game.

You will be able to cast your ballot online starting Thursday at NBA.com.

Remember to vote an all-Green ticket in this year’s NBA All-Star balloting.

In the first three quarters Boston Celtics captain Paul Pierce was awful.  He was 3 for 13 from the field and the Toronto Raptors were running the Celtics out of the TD Banknorth Garden leading by as many as 16 points in the third. 

But Dr. James Naismith made basketball four quarters and it was a good thing he did.  Not only did Pierce redeem himself but the Celtics did as well.  Behind Pierce’s 27 points in the last 16 minutes (22 in the final quarter) and 36 for the game Boston (7-1) came back and beat Toronto 94-87 in a devastating loss for the Canadian Dinosaurs (4-3). 

Pierce was absolutely magical.  The Garden was rocking.  It was truly something to watch.  At one point 9 guys on the floor were watching Pierce as he took over.

In addition to Pierce, Kevin Garnett had a double-double with 21 points and 10 boards while Ray Allen added 19 points for the Green.

The Raptors were paced by Jermaine O’Neal who had a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds, Anthony Parker (Candace’s big brother) had 15 points and Jason Kopono added 14 points in the collapse.

The Celtics are back on Wednesday night when they face Atlanta at home.

The Boston Celtics are going to raffle off an authentic 2008 NBA Championship Ring from last season and you have a chance to win the personalized ring along with 4 loge seats and a cash prize to cover the taxes on the value of the ring. 

Tickets for the Ring Raffle are just $2.00 each, with a minimum purchase of 5 tickets.  So for $10 dollars, or the cost of two $5 Foot Longs, you could be sporting some serious bling.

In addition to being engraved with the winner’s name, the 14-karat white gold championship ring features a total of 83 diamonds and emeralds (3.30 carats combined).

The raffle is for the benefit of the Shamrock Foundation and the winner will be presented the ring at the February 5th game.

You can get your tickets at celtics.com.

Tony Allen had a huge second quarter for the Boston Celtics as they went on to an 88-76 win and spoiled Allen Iverson’s home debut for the Detroit Pistons.

(Tony) Allen was the man in the second quarter as he scored 12 of the points by the Celtics who were playing with the 4 members of the 2nd team in the quarter. Their defense was solid as well as they held the Pistons to just 10 points.

Allen had 23 points for the Green while Ray Allen had 17 points. Rajon Rondo added 13 points and a game-high 5 assists. Kevin Garnett scored only 8 points but pulled down 12 rebounds. Kendrick Perkins was held scoreless but added 10 rebounds as the Celtics moved to 6-1.

Tayshaun Prince led the Pistons with 23 points. Will Bynum came off the bench for Detroit to score 11 points and Rasheed Wallace had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Iverson’s home debut was a rough one as he was just 4-of-11 from the floor scoring 10 points and adding 4 assists and 4 rebounds. Former UConn Husky standout Richard Hamilton had an awful shooting night as he was 0-for-8 and ended up with just 3 points.

This was by far the best defensive effort the Celtics have had this season and they’ll need another one as they are back in action tomorrow night against the Toronto Raptors at the T.D. Banknorth Garden. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM.

The Celtics also have games this week on Wednesday night against the surging Atlanta Hawks and on Friday night against Iverson’s former team the Denver Nuggets at home. They then head to Milwaukee for a matchup against the Bucks on Saturday night.

It was the Boston Celtics first appearance in Oklahoma City as the recently relocated Seattle Super Sonics have morphed into the Oklahoma City Thunder complete with new colors and logo and everything.  The trip into OKC was a good one for the Green as they improved to 4-1 on the young season with a 96-83 win over the Thunder.

The team named after loud noises jumped out to an early first quarter lead taking a 29-21 lead into the second stanza but that didn’t last long as Boston  went on a second quarter tear outscoring Oklahoma City 30-15 in the quarter to take a 51-44 lead at the half.

Boston increased their lead with a strong third quarter, which was a team trademark last year and entered the last quarter of the game sporting a 70-55 lead as they cruised on the way to another road win over a Western Conference foe.

The Green were led by it’s captain Paul Pierce who had 20 points, former Sonic Ray Allen added 18 in his second strong game in a row and Kevin Garnett chipped in with 17 in the win.

Oklahoma City put three players in double figured led by second year player Kevin Durant who had 17 points, Jeff Green hit for 14 points and Russell Westbrook added 13 points in the loss.  The Thunder are just 1-3 in the first season playing in the Ford Center.

Boston returns to the court Friday night at the TD BankNorth Garden when they play another former Ray Allen team the Milwaukee Bucks.

Boston Celtics guard Ray Allen who was among the missing in the first three games came to life on Tuesday night as he jacked up 29 points to lead the Celtics to a 103-99 win over the Rockets at the Toyota Center in Houston TX. 

In the first half it was a game of runs as the Celtics ripped off a 15-5 run only to have it answered by Houston with a 25-4 run.  The game ended up settling down and was closely played throughout as the Celtics went into the break with a 58-53 lead.  The second half was more back and forth and the trading of baskets as Allen picked it up late in the game to lead the Green to a big road win against a Western Conference foe.

In addition to Allen’s 29 points, Boston was paced by Kendrick Perkins who added 15 points, Kevin Garnett had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, Paul Pierce chipped in 13 points and Rajon Rondo rounded out the starters all in double figures with 10 points in the win.

Houston was led by Tracy McGrady who had 26 points, Luis Scola had 21 points and Carl Everett’s Crazy Hall of Fame member Ron Artest added 15 points in the loss. 

Boston is back on the court tomorrow in Oklahoma City as they face the Thunder, the relocated and renamed Seattle franchise.

The defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics improved to 2-0 on the young season with a 96-80 win over the Chicago Bulls at the TD Banknorth Garden on Friday night.

The Celtics pretty much led wire to wire as they jumped out to an early 11 point lead and expanded it to 18 at half time 49-31.  They eased off abit in the second half as the Bulls outscored them in the third quarter, which last seasonm on the way to the franchises 17th title, was on most nights the teams strongest period.

Boston’s Kevin Garnett became the youngest player in NBA history to play 1,000 games doing so at age 32 and 165 days.  He notched a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards.  Three other Boston starters, captain Paul Pierce, former UConn standout Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo, each had 14 points in the win.

Chicago rookie Derek Rose led the Bulls with 18 points, Tyrus Thomas and another former UConn player, Ben Gordon both added 11 points in the loss as Chicago drops to 1-1.

The Celtics are back in action tomorrow night on the road against the Indiana Pacers.

Before last night’s game with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Boston Celtics received their 2008 NBA Championship rings. After receiving their rings, they raised Banner 17 into the rafters at the TD Banknorth Garden.

Here is the Boston Celtics ring ceremony again for you to enjoy.

Unfortunately TNT did not show the video montage of the Celtics playoff run as well as Paul Pierce addressing the crowd before the game. Still a great moment nonetheless.

After trailing the entire first half, the Boston Celtics defense stepped up it’s game in similar fashion to last season as they outscored the Cleveland Cavaliers 24-13 in the 3rd quarter on their way to a 90-85 win in front of a sold out crowd at the TD BankNorth Garden.

The win for the Celtics capped off a perfect night as they received their 2008 NBA Championship rings and then raised Banner 17.

Paul Pierce, who was very emotional during the ceremonies, led all scorers in the game with 27 points and added 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal. Rajon Rondo added 14 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals while Kevin Garnett had 11 points and 6 rebounds.  Leon Powe and Tony Allen added 13 points and 11 points respectively for the Celtics off of the bench.

LeBron James paced the Cavs with 22 points on 9-of-21 shooting. Zydruna Illgauskas had 15 points and 12 rebounds while the newest Cavalier Mo Williams added 12 points.

Cleveland definitely came into the TD BankNorth Garden with a chip on their shoulder since the Celtics eliminated them from the playoffs last season in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. It was a physical game as well as the two teams were whistled for a combined 54 fouls (28 Bos, 26 Cle) plus two sets of double technical fouls.

Next up for the Celtics is Halloween night matchup with the Chicago Bulls at 8 PM at the TD BankNorth Garden.

Tonight at the TD Banknorth Garden, the Boston Celtics will receive their championship rings and raise Banner 17 into the rafters when they open up the season against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Danny Ainge will do that tonight with a new job title and contract. Ainge was promoted to President of Basketball Operations. His former title was General Manager and Executive Director of Basketball Operations.

The terms of his new contract were not announced.

This will be the 3rd banner raising ceremony that Ainge has been a part of with the Celtics as he was a member of the 1984 and 1986 NBA Championship teams.

He was also named the 2007-08 NBA Executive of the Year for his role in turning the Celtics around from a last place team to a first place team.