Some players walking back to the Celtics bench asked for Heat packs. Remarkably, both sides spent most of the night shooting over 50 percent - in the Celtics' case, a game-ending 59.5 percentage.

When the shots come this easily, no opponent - let alone one as young as the Bulls - can disrupt the NBA's preeminent win streak.

The Celtics extended their run to 17 straight with last night's 126-108 win against Chicago and are now within one win of tying the franchise record set by the 1981-82 team. The C's currently are tied with the 1959-60 club.

At 25-2, they also are one game away from tying the 1966-67 76ers and 1969-70 Knicks for the best start in league history by a team with only two losses.

Coincidentally, the Knicks come to town tomorrow. Perhaps, they will be stingier than a Bulls team that simply left the defensive end unattended last night.

The Celtics' numbers were too overwhelming - season-highs in points (126), assists (40) and 3-point shooting (82.4 percent, 14 of 17), a career-high 25 points from Kendrick Perkins and a routine 27 from Ray Allen that included 5-of-9 shooting from downtown.

Rajon Rondo sat out the fourth quarter, and thus fell two shy of matching the career-high 17-assist performance he set Dec. 3 against Indiana. Not that 15 assists, a good portion of them dishes to Perkins, is anything to sniff at.

But coach Doc Rivers isn't one to rub it in. Kevin Garnett was downright humbled.

``(Darn), I only had one rebound,'' he said. ``Trying to stay with Rondo and Perk you can't even get a rebound. They're gonna trade me.''

He was joking. Not every night will flow as freely as this one.

The Celtics scored on their first four possessions of the third quarter, with each hoop coming off a Chicago turnover. The 9-0 run, which included a Pierce three-point play, was good for a 66-55 lead, and the points continued to come in bunches.

Though the Bulls briefly talked back with back-to-back treys from Luol Deng and Andres Nocioni, Pierce and Ray Allen ended that discussion with bombs of their own. By the end of the quarter, the Celtics had combined for five treys - three of them from Allen - and two three-point plays.

Overall, the Celtics shot 75 percent in the third - the result a scorching 98-82 lead. The Bulls had little to add.

Brian Scalabrine, at his crowd-pleasing best, joined the trey parade with 10:14 left in the game for the C's first 20-point lead (106-86). He buried a baseline hook a minute later.

Tony Allen followed with a windmill dunk off a steal.

That supplied all the Heat the building needed.

The 40-assist performance set a record in the new Garden, and fell just six shy of the franchise record, set Dec. 18, 1985, against the Mavericks.

``I thought a couple of times we overpassed, but that's a problem I'd like to have all the time,'' Rivers said.

In that respect Garnett, should have gone easy on himself. The one rebound aside, he also had 17 points, four assists and four steals.

``When we get 40 assists that says a lot,'' he said. ``That means everybody is touching the ball. The ball is moving - not sticking to one guy's hand. It means you are moving the ball, first and second teams.''

- mrmurphy@bostonherald.com