Going streaking: Celtics 100, Bobcats 89

Rajon Rondo had himself quite the day.

Hey, it doesn't matter how they come; they all look the same in the "W" column.

In a fair-weather performance, the Celtics (20-17) extended their winning streak to six games after defeating the Bobcats, 100-89.

Boston has now won six straight for the first time since December 2010.

The Celtics relied on their young guns to take this one home with the veterans (Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry) struggling mightily.

Charlotte made things interesting after a 13-2 run to open the third quarter, but the Celtics put their foot back on the gas and took care of business.

Here's a recap:

The good:

* Of course, I must start with Rajon Rondo. The point guard nearly had a triple-double after the first quarter, as he had 9 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. He finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists for his 26th career triple-double. After letting down in the second and third quarters, Rondo turned it up in the final frame to lead the Celtics to victory. Rondo had himself a big day off the court as well. Today, ESPN aired his "This Is Sportscenter" commercial for the first time.

* Courtney Lee did a solid job off the bench. His on-ball pressure was fantastic. He had 9 points on 4-of-7 shooting and ran around like a chicken with its head cut off on the defensive end. His highlight of the night came at the 4:08 mark of the fourth quarter. Bismack Biyombo rebounded a missed layup by Leandro Barbosa and passed it up ahead to Hakeem Warrick on the fast break. Just when Warrick thought he was alone and had an easy basket, Lee glided down the court and slapped the ball off Warrick's leg. That's what Courtney Lee can do, and if that wasn't a Tommy point, then I don't know what is.

* Avery Bradley had himself a nice ball game. He was 6-of-10 from the floor for 16 points, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. He hit two threes from each corner and provided his usual suffocating defense.

The bad:

* Letting big leads slip away has been a very bad habit for this team all season, and it happened again today. Rajon Rondo spoke on this subject after the game on WEEI radio in a postgame interview, and he referred to it as "the basketball gods punishing us."The Celtics built a big lead, then they took their foot off the gas. Over the past few seasons, Boston has had a problem of playing down to competition and letting their guard down. Championship teams don't let them happen.

* Although he led the Celtics with 19 points, Paul Pierce was very inefficient. He was 2-of-3 in the first, 1-of-6 and 0-of-3 from beyond the arc in the second, 2-of-6 in the third, and 1-of-1 in the fourth. He got a little three-pointer happy at one point, firing away from long range like he was actually knocking them down with consistency. I understand that he's the Celtics' leading scorer and leading three-point shooter, but if you don't have it, you don't have it.

Miscellaneous:

* I know Michael Jordan is one of the greatest athletes of all time, but that success doesn't translate into the front office. I still shake my head at the fact that arguably the greatest basketball player ever decided to hire a guy who was an assistant college coach and had never been a head coach anywhere let alone the NBA. I question whether Jordan has it in him to turn this franchise around. Maybe their luck will change when they get their old name (the Hornets) back.

* The projected score of tonight's game -- as the betting crew of Las Vegas predicted -- was a Celtics' victory by the final of 100-89. Eerie.

Boston will return to the court Wednesday night for the much-anticipated visit of Austin Rivers and the New Orleans Hornets.