A lot of Basketball needs to be played before we learn if today's Celtics could run with the Chicago Bulls' 72-win team of 1995-96. But by running past the Bulls last night, today's Celtics did something that Michael Jordan's old squad didn't do - move within one win of tying the best start in NBA history.

The Celtics' 126-108 rout at TD Banknorth Garden pushed their record to a franchise-best 25-2 start.

With a win over New York tomorrow night, Boston will tie the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers and the 1969-70 New York Knicks for the best start in league history.

The Celtics also tied the second-longest winning streak in franchise history with 17 straight victories, matching the 1959-60 squad. A win tomorrow will also tie the Celtics with the 1981-82 squad for the longest winning streak in franchise history.

With the Bulls in town, talk about whether the Celtics could challenge the 72-win NBA record was inevitable.

"It's still early," said former Bulls center Bill Wennington, who played on that 1995-96 team. "You have to wait until after the All-Star break. It's a long season. If you look at our 72-10 season, nobody got hurt.

"Going into the All-Star break we only lost 2-3 games. After the All-Star break it got harder."

When asked about the Bulls' record, Celtics forward Kevin Garnett said: "Our mentality has always been since last year to take it one game at a time."

Last night, the Celtics had several marks of note.

Center Kendrick Perkins scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds. The Celtics scored a season high in points, eclipsing the 122 they hit twice. The Celtics also hit season highs in field goals (50) and assists (40) while shooting only 17 free throws. Boston also tied the 1985-86 Celtics (41-1 at home) with the best home start at 15-1.

Guard Rajon Rondo had 15 assists in 30 minutes, coming within two of a career high, and guard Ray Allen added a game-high 27 points in 33 minutes. No Celtics starter played more than 34 minutes.

Perkins credited the coaching staff for the Celtics' success.

"Coach Doc Rivers has been doing a great job keeping us focused," Perkins said. "Our whole coaching staff is [working] at 8 in the morning and they leave at 8 at night, all day, every day, even on offdays. So you know they're putting us in the best position to get there and play."

On playing the Celtics, Bulls rookie guard Derrick Rose, who had 14 points and five assists, said, "Great team, great shooters, great big men. That's what they're supposed to do."

The Bulls allowed 34 points off 21 turnovers and allowed 41 points in the third quarter, a season high for the Celtics. Chicago forward Drew Gooden played only 5 minutes 50 seconds because of a sprained right ankle he suffered in the first quarter. Guard Luol Deng scored a team-high 19 points.

The Bulls did not have a lead after 41-40, and were down as many as 22 points. The Bulls, however, shot 50.6 percent from the field and nailed 11 of 22 3-pointers.

"The defense could have been better, but I liked the way our offense carried us," said forward Paul Pierce, who had 16 points in 28 minutes. "Most nights it's going to be our defense, but tonight it was our offense."

Bulls guard Ben Gordon said, "[The Celtics are] a great team. They have a 17-game winning streak for a reason. They're the defending champs."

Despite last night's snowstorm, the Celtics announced a sold-out crowd of 18,624 fans that included just 2,661 no-shows and the world's fastest man, Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt.

"As much as we want fans out here, we want them to be safe," Allen said. "It's pretty tough conditions."

When asked if he was surprised about the packed house, Pierce said: "This is Boston. This is not going to stop them. I've seen worse snowstorms and they come out. I saw a guy jogging today in shorts."