But there's no avoiding history now, both locally and within the NBA.

Their 110-91 win over Philadelphia last night set a team record for consecutive victories (19) and produced the best start (27-2) in league history, breaking a three-way tie with the 1966-67 76ers and 1969-70 Knicks.

Ear plugs won't work. With tomorrow's NBA Finals rematch in Los Angeles now throwing heat like a wood-burning stove, the streak is a national phenomenon.

But here's how much it matters to the team that flew to LA last night following a brief postgame Christmas party, thrown by the Celtics wives and girlfriends in the locker room.

``What do we get for that?'' Paul Pierce said, falling back on his oft-used comment about the streak.

``A car?'' asked Kevin Garnett.

``We get nothing,'' said Pierce.

Then there's the Lakers game.

``Do we get a car for that?'' asked Garnett.

So lights, cameras and a national television audience aside, numbers like 19 and 27-2 don't count as much as 29, the number of Celtics points off Philadelphia turnovers, and six, the number of Celtics in double figures.

Despite some game moments from the 76ers - the same franchise that halted the 1981-82 team's streak at 18 - the Celtics were hot enough that their bench carried No. 19 home over the last 12 minutes.

Rajon Rondo (18 points), Garnett (18) and Ray Allen (16) shot a combined 19-of-33, but their stretch fury was unleashed by Leon Powe.

The power forward scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth, and was so un-guardable out of the post, he made six trips to the line for a 9-of-10 free throw performance.

The crowd started chanting ``Beat LA'' early in the fourth quarter, and all Doc Rivers could worry about was a loss of concentration from his bench.

``When they started it was still a 14-point game with five minutes left,'' said the Celtics coach. ``I was like, wait two or three more minutes, please. And then it was nice. Our crowd is a very smart Basketball crowd, so they're looking forward to it.

``Before the game and during the game it'll be fun and it will mean a lot,'' he said. ``So I'm glad it's here.''

The third quarter has typically been the time each night when the Celtics carve out a margin that they can carry home. But not even an early quarter 14-2 burst, paced by treys from Pierce and Ray Allen, was enough to discourage Philadelphia.

Trailing by 22 points (74-52), the Sixers came back with a 10-0 run and, courtesy of three hoops from Maurice Speights in the last 1:38, cut the Celtics lead to 78-66 by the end of the quarter.

Enter the bench, with Powe leading the procession. Powe, combining with Brian Scalabrine to fill the reserve spot left by Glen Davis' absence, scored on the Celtics' first three possessions of the fourth, the first two on dunks, with the second a three-point play set up by Tony Allen.

The Celtics were now attacking, and heading to the line as a result. Powe, Eddie House and Scalabrine combined to hit eight straight free throws, and Gabe Pruitt followed up with a tightly guarded trey for an 11-1 run that gave the Celtics an impenetrable 94-71 lead with 6:55 left.

Again, numbers pivotal to building the longest streak in franchise history and the best start in the history of the league.

- mrmurphy@bostonherald.com