NBA Roundup: Celtics Win! (Not A Joke This Time)

Notes from Wednesday's games in the National Basketball Association ...

• Green Day. In the future their names will go down in Celtics lore, right alongside Bird, McHale, Havlicek and Russell. All New England schoolchildren will know the names of Gerald Green, Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak.* For it was on Valentine's Day 2007 that the Celtics ended their record losing streak at 18 games, 117-97 over the Milwaukee Bucks. And Al Jefferson of course could not contain himself. And who could blame him for whooping it up a little? "We have nothing to celebrate. We should feel good about it. But don't run off the court like we won the championship." Paul Pierce scored 32 points and Green had 21 as the Celtics won for only the second time this year. Of course, leave it to Boston's own Ron Borges to piss all over everything. • Of Course, Our Radar Is WWII Surplus. We'll admit that Francisco Elson has been flying beneath our radar all season. But his 18 rebounds got our attention — and the the Pistons' — in San Antonio's 90-81 win on Wednesday. Tim Duncan scored 23 points and Elson had 12 as the Spurs ended Detroit's seven-game win streak. The Tempest That Is Manu Ginobili had 20 points for the Spurs, and the soon-to-be-Mr.-Eva Longoria had 16.

• Gordan Giricek Will End You! If ever a young man needed a break, it's LeBron James, apparently. On Wednesday he was shut down by the defensive stylings of Gordan Giricek, as James scored only four points in the fourth quarter of Utah's 99-98 win over Cleveland. Utah has won six straight entering the All-Star break. Deron Williams scored a career-high 33 points for Utah. • By The Time I Get To Phoenix. Once virtually invincible, the Suns are now playing so poorly that even Nick Collison looks like Oscar Robertson. Collison had 22 points and 15 rebounds, and Ray Allen had 31 points in Seattle's 114-90 win over Nash-less Phoenix. * = Not really.