Of course, opponents such as the Indiana Pacers have helped keep the Celtics grounded.

The Pacers pushed the Celtics to the limit Sunday night before falling, 122-117, in overtime. In fact, the Pacers came within an Eddie House offensive rebound of winning; they had forced Ray Allen into a contested 3-point attempt and needed only to control the miss to preserve a 105-102 lead. But House anticipated the carom - only his fourth offensive rebound of the season - and flipped the ball to an open Paul Pierce, who tied the game with 7.4 seconds remaining in regulation.

The Celtics then put on their game faces and finished things off with intense defending, no-nonsense boxing out and rebounding, plus clutch shooting.

So the Celtics have equaled their start of last year, which was a better start than any previous Celtic team except the 1963-64 version, which also won 20 of its first 22 contests on the way to a 59-21 record. A win in Washington Thursday would set a franchise standard and keep the team on a 74-victory pace.

Only 11 NBA teams have started a season 20-2. The 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers were 6-3, then went on a 33-game winning streak and finished with a 69-13 mark. The Celtics' 1972-73 team (franchise-best 68-14) and 1985-86 team (67-15) were 19-3 after 22 games.

Raising another banner to the Garden ceiling is the goal. But whatever happens, this group is leaving a statistical legacy.

Allen in the lead

Last season, Allen was third among Celtics in scoring (17.4 points per game) and shot attempts (986). After a 35-point output against the Pacers, he leads the team in scoring (19.2) and field goal attempts (298). Allen has averaged 23.4 points in the last eight games.

"I'm just the recipient right now," Allen said. "It definitely goes in cycles. Most importantly, I think my body is in a good place. Regardless of whether I score points or not, I like to keep my body in a good place and do whatever I can to help the team."

Allen and guard Rajon Rondo received votes for Eastern Conference Player of the Week, though Miami's Dwyane Wade won the award.

Kevin Garnett scored 17 points against the Pacers, giving him 20,723 career points, passing George Gervin for 29th place on the all-time list.

Jewelry in store

The Celtics' next home game will be against New Orleans Friday, and in a pregame ceremony, the Hornets' James Posey will be given his championship ring. There are no plans for P.J. Brown to be presented with his. Brown, a free agent, and Posey both missed the Celtics' ring ceremony on opening night Nov. 28.

Looking in

The Lakers were among the television viewers of the Pacers-Celtics game, according to the Orange County Register.

"Groans and profanities" were heard from the Staples Center training room after a late call by referee Jim Clark that favored the Celtics.

"Quite honestly, if we're the best we can be, we'll beat them," Derek Fisher said of a possible NBA Finals rematch.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson pointed out the odds are against a Celtics-Lakers final.

"It's so hard to come back to that same level," Jackson said. "Having been through a number of these situations and seasons, only one time did repeat teams come back in the championship - that was Utah and the Bulls [in 1996-97 and '97-98]. And, before that, Seattle and Washington came back in the late '70s."