Boston Garden Is No Place for Clippers

It’s tough enough trying to beat the Boston Celtics when they’re on the road. When they come back home, it’s almost impossible.

The Los Angeles Clippers were the latest team to discover the magnitude of that task when they became the Celtics’ 16th consecutive home victim in a 124-108 loss Friday night.

Boston scored the first seven points and never trailed in cruising to its 25th victory in 26 home games this season behind 26 points each from Kevin McHale and Robert Parish.

“We really like to come in here and feel nobody can beat us,” Celtic guard Dennis Johnson said. “We like to feel confident.”

“The (Boston) Garden is a very hard place to play for a visiting team,” added Boston guard Jerry Sichting. “We have a very good team, which has a lot to do with it. They (opponents) come in here and find that the floor is dead and the crowd really behind us, especially in a close game.”

Friday night’s game wasn’t close as the Celtics jumped into a 62-51 halftime advantage and led by from eight to 19 points the rest of the way.

“They’re like a well-oiled machine,” Clipper Coach Don Chaney said. “They just keep coming at you. They have great basketball sense. They find the open man. If you’re open, you get the ball quick. And when someone comes out he’s replaced with an equally good player.”

Boston outshot and outrebounded the Clippers, who couldn’t cope with the Celtics’ inside game. Boston made 58.6% of its shots to 47.2% for the Clippers, and held a 51-41 rebounding advantage.

It was the fourth victory in a row for Boston and the Clippers’ third consecutive setback.