IT'S OVER --- And not too soon. The Sonics lose 111-82. The losing streak stretches to six games.

THIRD QUARTER --- Sonics trail 92-60. They are shooting just 38.2 percent from the field. Durant (16 points) and Watson 11 are the only Sonics in double digit scoring. Pierce (14 points) hasn't scored since the first quarter, but he hasn't had to. Allen and Garnett, who both have 18 points, have picked up the slack.

CELTICS STARTERS ARE OUT --- P.J. Brown replaces Perkins with about two minutes left and Seattle has a chance to dig a little bit out of its hole now that it is going against the reserves. Not sure if Rivers will need to use his starters any more.

IT'S 30 AND GROWING --- It's getting embarassiing for the Sonics, who trail 88-58 with 2:07 left in the third quarter. Rondo just completed a 360-degree fastbreak dunk and Allen cut a swath through the defense for a nifty reverse layup. Seatlte is providing no resistance.

WHERE'S WILCOX --- These are types of games that his critics point to. When he's matched against an equally athletic and quick power forward, Wilcox often disappears. Against Garnett, Wilcox hasn't taken a shot and he has just four rebounds in six minutes. He's been limited because of three fouls, which goes to show he has a hard time staying on the floor against the upper echelon PFs.

DEEPLY ROOTED --- Boston has six players on its bench who would compete for starting jobs in Seattle. Coach Doc Rivers is using an 11-man rotation tonight. Cassell took Rondo's minutes in the second and Cassell has four points. Eddie House is the top Celtics reserve with 9 and Leon Powe and Glen Davis each have 6.

THE ROUT IS ON --- It's halftime and Boston has a 20-point lead. The Sonics trail 64-44. The Celtics are just loaded. They have an embarrasment of riches. Case in point, Pierce didn't score in the second quarter and Rondo didn't play in the period and they managed to increase their first quarter lead by 10 points.

TRASH TALKIN' --- After Durant fouled Garnett, the rookie gave an earful to ref Jim Clark. Garnett chimed in and he and Durant had a brief, intense verbal exchange that included a couple of F-bombs and hard glances. Afterward a fan yelled: "KG lay off the kid."

NO COHESION --- Teh Sonics committed their second 24-second shot clock violation. Granted, the Celtics are one of the top defensive teams in the league, but what's killing Seattle is a lack of familiarity between the players. In the first quarter, Elson set a pick for Durant who dropped a pass near the rim because the Sonics rookie thought Elson was going to roll to the basket.

CASSELL CHECKS IN --- With 6:45 left in the second quarter, newly acquired guard Sam Cassell makes his Celtics debut and on Boston's first possession, he sank a mid-range jumper along the baseline.

FIRST QUARTER --- Boston leads 34-24 and it could be worse for the Sonics. Pierce leads all scorers with 14 points and Allen has 6. Durant is pacing the Sonics with 9.

HOT BUILDING --- It seems like every seat was filled for the tip off, which is unusual in the NBA. Maybe they arrived early for the bobbleheads or maybe the Celtics have finally reconnected with their fans.

STARTING LINEUPS

SONICS
F -- Chris Wilcox
F -- Jeff Green
C -- Johan Petro
G -- Kevin Durant
G -- Earl Watson

BOSTON
F -- Kevin Garnett
F -- Paul Pierce
C -- Keindrick Perkins
G -- Ray Allen
G -- Rajon Rondo

PRE-GAME NOTES

Nick Collison is out tonight because of a right hip bruise, lower back bruise and right elbow bruise. Francisco Elson and Donyell Marshall will likely take the bulk of his minutes and seldom used Adrian Griffin will move to the active list.

It's Kevin Garnett bobblehead night at TD Banknorth Garden. The first 5,000 fans received one. Damien Wilkins spoke with Garnett before the game and Garnett said he had to have a good game because it's his bobblehead night. Wilkins asked what does "good game" mean? Said Wilkins: "Can you just settle for 15 (points) and five (rebounds) rather than 20, 10 and 5."

Ray Allen held court with Seattle media and others inside the Celtics locker room. He spoke about what a shame it would be if the Sonics were to leave and his rematch against Kevin Durant.