A lot of Basketball needs to be played before we find out if today's Celtics could run with the Chicago Bulls' 72-win team of 13 seasons ago. But by running past the Bulls last night, today's Celtics did something that Michael Jordan's old squad didn't do - move one win shy 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. With a win over New York tomorrow night, the Celtics 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, matching the 1959-60 squad. They are one win from tying the 1981-82 squad for the longest winning streak in franchise history.

Kendrick Perkins scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds as the Celtics scored a season high in points. The Celtics had season highs in field goals (50) and assists (40), but only shot 17 free throws, making 14. Rajon Rondo had 15 assists and 5 points in 30 minutes and Ray Allen added 27 points in 33 minutes. No Celtics starter played more than 33 minutes.

Kevin Garnett had 17 points (and just one rebound) and Paul Pierce added 16 points and six assists. Derrick Rose scored 14 points and had five assists for the Bulls.

Despite a snowstorm, the Celtics announced a sold-out crowd of 18,624 that included the world's fastest man, Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt.