Pass The 40 'Cause My Mother's Not Looking

Any Native Tongues fans out there? Regardless, tonight the Celtics won their 40th game of the season, snatching a deceptively close one from the Pacers, 104-97. I realize it's getting played out to do the whole, "last season, could you imagine..." thing, but seriously, last season, if someone had told me that the C's would win 40 before their 10th loss I wouldn't have known whether to kiss them or slap them. Anyways, tonight's game was fun in a ramshackle sort of way. Paul Pierce played great once again, putting together a 28-12-5 line while seemingly coming up with big plays whenever they were necessary. Ray Allen poured in a quietly effective 23, and then it was left to the youngsters, who once again came up strong: Rondo had a sweet 12-7-7, and the increasingly indispensable Leon Powe added 16 points and 9 boards. For the Pacers, well, no one cracked 20, but seriously who gives a shit. The C's play the Knicks tomorrow night back at the Gahden (TD Banknorth, not Madison Square), which should be good one. For those with regrettably short memories, the last time the Knicks showed their faces in Boston they lost by a nail-biting 45-point margin. Since then, their coach has been fired and they've undergone a transformative personnel overhaul. Oh wait. For those following at home, the latest serial of this poorly-penned melodrama has the Knicks shopping both Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph before the trading deadline, which will undoubtedly do wonders for their chemistry over the next few weeks. Anyways, tomorrow night, Knicks vs. C's, 7:30pm: let's make it like it was.