Boston's Incredible 16-game streak: Top 5 Wins

Boston's incredible 16-game winning streak ended at the hands of Miami Heat on the road. When teams like the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers had bumpy starts to their regular season campaign, Celtics was the team that took the league by storm when nobody was expecting anything big from them. All of this after the horrific injury that sidelined their (arguably) best player Gordon Hayward for the rest of the season.

The Boston Celtics were touted as the weakest first seed ever last season. This season, they are the best team in both conferences so far. They have given us everything in those 16 games. They've beaten the reigning NBA champions Golden State Warriors. They've been in tough late-game situations and came out victorious every single time. They are the number one defense in the league, restricting their opponents to just 94 points per game. They are not to be doubted anymore.

Here are the five best wins from their long streak:

#5 Celtics beat Spurs 108 - 94

The San Antonio Spurs were Boston's fifth kill in a row. These were two teams with similar playstyles. The game was fairly even until the third quarter when the Celtics completely shut down the Spurs offense and restricted them to just 18 points. The lead which was just 5 points at half-time ballooned to 13 points and San Antonio couldn't recover from that even after a hard-fought fourth quarter. Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 24 points to go along with 6 assists and Al Horford had a 14 point, 13 rebound double-double. Jaylen Brown, who's had a breakout season so far added 18 more points.

The defense the Cs are playing this season can be summed up in one word: "Lockdown." They have been able to shut down the best player on the opposite team. LaMarcus Aldridge who is averaging 21.9 points and 8.3 rebounds for the season could only come up with 11 points and 5 rebounds. In fact, Brandon Paul who is averaging 3.8 points coming off the bench scored a team-high 18 points for the Spurs.

#4 Celtics beat Raptors 95 - 94

The Boston Celtics were going in for their 12th straight win and were able to get the better of Toronto Raptors in a closely contested game. This win really speaks volumes about the status of the eastern conference. The Celtics matched up with the Raptors on every possession down the stretch without Kyrie Irving. Marcus Smart started at the point and ended the game with 14 points and 9 assists. Jaylen Brown added 18 and Al Horford dropped in another 21 points.

Only three Toronto players were able to score in double digits. DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry had 24 and 19 points respectively. This might be very early to say but the Celtics might be the deepest team in the NBA. If they can beat top teams in the east without their two best players, they might very well able to take over the reins from LeBron James' Cavs.

#3 Celtics beat Thunder 101 - 94

This was another high octane encounter between two giants. Both teams were very different from the previous season. The Celtics needed to turn the heat up in the second half to take this one home. They trailed by 18 points at half-time but scored 64 points in the second half while restricting OKC to just 39 second-half points.

Thunder had a rough shooting night as Carmelo Anthony scored just 10 points but pulled down 14 rebounds. Paul George had a 25 pt-10 reb game. Russell Westbrook had his usual double-double with 19 points and 11 assists.

Kyrie Irving led the charge in the second half as he had 25 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds for the game. Al Horford had his usual 20 points, 4 assists, and 8 rebounds. Both teams saw significant bench scoring. This was the first time in NBA history that a team won seven straight after starting the season 0-2.

#2 Celtics beat Mavericks 110 - 102 (OT)

Boston's 16th and final win came against the Dallas Mavericks and it was a blast towards the end of the game. The Celtics came out swinging, scoring 34 in the first period and raced off to a 12 point lead but the Mavs were quick to answer back and the lead stood at just 4 points at halftime. The Mavericks carried this momentum deep into the second half and were leading the game by 13 midway in the final period and that's when Kyrie Irving switched into Mamba mode. He carried the Cs in the final minutes and somehow they were able to force overtime.

Kyrie Irving scored 10 of the 14 Celtic points in OT and finished the game with 47 points on 16/22 shooting and 5/7 from three. The two Js finished the game with a combined 37 points and 18 rebounds. This game once again proved Brad Stevens' endgame prowess and the players' ability to bring out Stevens' plays onto the court when most needed.

#1 Celtics beat Warriors 92-88

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If the other 15 games were about all-around team play, this game was all about downright grit-n-grind basketball. Their assist numbers and shooting efficiency were down. Every made basket was twice as precious as it would've been in any other game. This was true for the Warriors also. The splash bros were 8/32 from the field and combined for just 22 points. The defensive intensity of this game was very Playoff-like.

The Warriors won the battle of the benches as the Warriors bench scored 25 points as compared to 12 points coming from the Celtics bench. However, all Celtic starters scored in double digits. The MVP of the game was Jaylen Brown who scored 22 points and 7 rebounds. Most of those 22 points came when the Cs needed a bucket just to stay in the game. Celtics were trailing by double digits most of the second half and Brown was the offensive and defensive anchor for the Celtics. Kyrie Irving had an off night with just 16 points. However, he knocked down 2 clutch free throws in the death to take Boston all the way.

It's time we rewrite the power equations in the NBA. Although it is still very early, it looks like the Cleveland Cavaliers will need to do a lot of work to get past the Celtics this year.