On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise set a record for the ages by holding their opponent on the night to the fourth-lowest score in their ball club’s seven-plus decades of existence.
That record would be set in the ball club’s very first season of existence (1946-47) — incidentally, also the first season of the Basketball Association of America (BAA, a precursor league to the NBA). The game was played just two days after Boston set a record for the second-lowest score an opponent was held to in franchise history, a 48-43 win over the (now defunct) Pittsburgh Ironmen.
The Celtics nearly duplicated the feat in a 52-46 win over the New York Knicks on Jan. 25, 1947.
Boston was led by 17 points from forward Al Brightman, with big man Connie Simmons chipping in 16 more.
Only one player on New York’s roster broke double digits with a dozen points, that being forward Bud Palmer.
It is also the date of a 38-point performance from Celtic point guard Isaiah Thomas on this date in 2017.
IT also pulled down 5 rebounds and dished out 9 assists in the 120-109 home win over the Houston Rockets for one of the best all-around regular-season games of his career.
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