Key Moment

Kevin Garnett was having a quiet night as of 9:30 p.m. on Friday. By 10 p.m., he had taken over.

Garnett powered the Celtics to a victory with 11 clutch points in the fourth quarter of Friday night's win over Houston. Two of those points arrived in emphatic fashion, as KG caught a pass from Rajon Rondo at the left elbow, took a jump step toward the basket and flew in the air for a highlight-reel dunk with 3:07 remaining in the game.

The loud slam sent TD Garden into hysteria, put Boston ahead by 14 points and sent both teams into a timeout. As Kevin McHale tried to rally his troops at one end, Boston’s players celebrated Garnett’s slam at the other end. Jason Terry and Paul Pierce spent about a minute giving Garnett tons of love for his sweet flush. Pierce wafted a towel at KG in an attempt to cool the big man down.

Meanwhile, the Rockets were wishing that they had cooled Garnett down just a few minutes earlier. Boston’s starting center, who is on pace to start for the Eastern Conference in the All-Star game, put Houston on its heels and the Celtics ran away with a 103-91 win.

Box Score Nuggets

• James Harden's 24 points ended his streak of 14 consecutive games with at least 25 points.
• None of Boston's starters played more than 33 minutes.
• Jared Sullinger and Courtney Lee each scored 14 points off of the bench.
• Houston shot just 41.4 percent from the free-throw line.
• Harden attempted a game-high 19 shots.
• The Rockets outscored the Celtics 24-6 in fast break points.
• The Celtics outrebounded the Rockets 43-38.
• Boston was whistled for 29 personal fouls.
• Kevin Garnett blocked a game-high four shots to go along with 17 points, 11 of which were scored in the fourth quarter.
• The Celtics scored at least 24 points in each of the four quarters.
• Sullinger logged his second consecutive double-double by scoring 14 points and tying for the game high in boards with 11.
• Sullinger shot 7-of-8 from the field.