(My Sportsbook) - When you talk about legendary sports franchises the Boston Celtics are in the same rarified air reserved for teams like the New York Yankees and Montreal Canadiens.

So, with 17 NBA championships already under their belt and retired numbers hanging from the TD Banknorth Garden rafters representing names like Russell, Cousy, Havlicek, Bird and McHale, you really should take notice when the C's make history.

And they did it Thursday in our nation's capital when Paul Pierce and Ray Allen each finished with 22 points as Boston won their 13th straight game, 122-88, over the Wizards to continue their best winning streak in over two decades.

The Celtics improved their NBA-best record to 21-2. Meanwhile, the 13-game winning streak is the longest for Boston since a 14-game run in 1985-86, a championship season. The Celtics have also won nine straight road games and their 34-point margin of victory was the most lopsided triumph of the season for the club. Perhaps most impressively, however, is that the win means Boston is off to its best start in history.

About the only negative thing following the Celtics these days is the remnants from a visit to the Big Easy last week where star forward Kevin Garnett was caught screaming at a few of the reserves after a lackluster effort and Glen "Big Baby" Davis was seen shedding a few tears.

"It was no big deal to me," coach Doc Rivers said. "I think it was made big by the way it looked, but I didn't mind what K.G. was doing at all. I thought what he was saying was absolutely right. And it should have been a quicker conversation, but emotionally at the time Baby (Davis) wanted to debate it, so he got emotional."

The spat certainly hasn't proven to be a distraction for a Celtics team that continues to use the rest of the NBA as nothing more than sparring partners.

SIXERS FINALLY MAKE A CHANGE

The noose is tightening around Maurice Cheeks in Philadelphia and the head coach finally made a move to shake up his underachieving bunch.

Cheeks moved Andre Iguodala back to the three spot and inserted Willie Green into the starting lineup against the Cavaliers on Wednesday. In turn, second year man Thaddeus Young returned to the bench in hopes of giving the moribund second unit a lift.

Iguodala has been an absolute flop as a two guard thanks to the lack of a consistent jumper. Green isn't much of a shooter himself but he does offer energy at the defensive end and can be a streak scorer.

The results were the same as Cleveland coasted to a 101-93 win, the club's 10th straight triumph but at least Cheeks tried something different.

At the end of the day the changes are merely cosmetic, however. The Sixers have no real shooters, at lease ones that get consistent minutes, and can't open up any space for Elton Brand to operate on the low blocks.

Despite getting a pair of one-year extensions since Ed Stefanski took over as head as basketball operations, a lukewarm vote of confidence at best, it will be hard for Cheeks to last the season in the City of Brotherly Love.

HARRIS IS NBA'S MOST IMPROVED

The New Jersey Nets were not only supposed to be batting with the New York Knicks for Lebron James in 2010, they were also supposed to be fighting the Knicks for the right to be the worst team in the Atlantic Division this season.

Instead, the Nets are clearly the second best team in the lot and a possible playoff team thanks to the continued development of point guard Devin Harris,

Harris, who was acquired from Dallas last season in the Jason Kidd trade, scored 32 points against the Knicks on Wednesday, his seventh career game of 30-plus points, all garnered this season.

Only Miami Heat superstar Dwyane Wade has more 30-point games this year with 10. James and Toronto's Chris Bosh also have seven apiece.

The dynamic Harris can beat anyone off the dribble and has a nice mid-range jumper that is virtually extinct in the NBA.

CLASSY MOBLEY CALLS IT QUITS

New York Knicks guard Cuttino Mobley announced his retirement Thursday after visiting several specialists regarding his recently revealed heart condition. Mobley, who never suited up with the Knicks after being traded from the Clippers on November 21, was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is a significant cause of cardiac death in young athletes.

"The specialists I have seen made it clear that my heart condition has gotten worse, and I cannot continue to play professional basketball without putting my health and life in serious danger," Mobley said. "As much as I want to keep playing in the NBA, I have no choice but to follow the advice of my doctors and step away from the league. I have had the privilege of playing in the NBA for 11 years, but my health and family must come first, and it is time to move on to the next stage in my life."

The 33-year-old Mobley averaged 13.7 points in 11 games this year with the Clippers before his condition temporarily held up the trade that sent Zach Randolph and Mardy Collins to Los Angeles and brought Mobley and Tim Thomas to New York.

The Knicks, looking to clear salary cap space, eventually approved the trade, which very well could have saved Mobley's life. If he were still in LA, the Philadelphia native may have never been checked out, inviting a possible tragedy.

"This has definitely been a shocking situation for me, but I want my fans, friends and loved ones to know that I will be fine," Mobley added. "My career has been a blessing and I am grateful to have had this experience."

Mobley's best seasons came with Houston, which drafted him in the second round of the 1998 draft. In the 2000-01 campaign, the sharpshooter logged career high averages of 19.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in 79 games.

COACHING CHANGE WON'T HELP TORONTO

The Raptors were supposed to be much improved this season but were off to a sluggish start, so general manager Bryan Colangelo fired coach Sam Mitchell, a day after one of the most embarrassing losses in franchise history, a 132-93 drubbing at the hands of Denver on December 2 in the Rocky Mountains.

"Obviously, (the Denver) game was just an absolute kick to the gut," Colangelo said after he made the move. "When you look back, it's a culmination of things. Expectations are high. We want to win."

The addition of six-time All-Star Jermaine O'Neal and the continued development of one of the NBA's most underrated point guards, Jose Calderon, had many thinking the Raptors should be a 50-win team that would make things tougher on the Boston Celtics in the Atlantic Division.

Toronto won its first three games but then went just 5-9 over the next 14 games before Mitchell, who led the Raptors to the playoffs in each of the last two seasons and was the NBA's coach of the year for 2006-07, was sent to the unemployment line.

He was replaced with assistant Jay Triano and the result was three straight losses before finally getting over the hump in Toronto against the Pacers on Wednesday.

"I knew the first three games were tough ones," Triano said when asked about his first win as head coach. "I think we've been taking steps in the right direction; we had good intensity throughout the game, and we got a lot of performance from different guys. I'm happy to get the win for the guys in the locker room who have had to put up with the change over the past week."

The Raptors have too much talent to stay under .500 for the long run but does anybody think Mitchell went from being the league's best coach to one of the worst inside of two years?