Charlotte, NC (My Sportsbook) - Ray Allen led the way with 27 points, as the Boston Celtics defeated the Charlotte Bobcats, 108-90.

Kendrick Perkins posted 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Celtics, who have won five straight games. Boston will continue its current four-game road trip in San Antonio on Thursday. Kevin Garnett added 16 points with seven rebounds while Eddie House added 12 points off the bench in the win.

Nazr Mohammed poured in 16 points for the Bobcats, who saw their four-game winning streak halted. Raymond Felton scored 14 points, Boris Diaw added 13 and Stephen Graham totaled 12 points in the losing effort. Charlotte has now lost eight of its last 12 games overall.

"Everything we talked about before the game slipped away early on," said Bobcats head coach Larry Brown. "We didn't compete at all. I don't want to take anything away from Boston, but that was embarrassing. We had a few guys playing like they were scared to death."

The Celtics took control of the game early. After a Graham bucket with over five minutes to go in the first quarter brought the hosts within 18-10, Boston went on a 9-2 run. Four points from Garnett, a layup by Perkins and a three- pointer by Paul Pierce gave the Celtics a 27-12 lead and they were ahead 29-18 after 12 minutes of action.

In the second quarter, Boston continued to lead by double digits. Two free throws by Rasheed Wallace made it 39-22 at the midpoint of the stanza before a Perkins layup with over three minutes to go in the half increased the advantage to 51-31. At the buzzer, a triple by Allen pushed the teams into the locker room with Boston holding a 62-39 lead.

"We use each other and play simple basketball," said Allen. "We have a lot of talent in a lot of positions, so we don't need to recreate the wheel or make the big play."

The second half was more of the same, as the Bobcats were never able to cut their deficit to a reasonable distance and the Celtics simply cruised. A jumper by Garnett made it 74-53 over four minutes into the third period, and a Wallace bucket near the two-minute mark pushed the margin to 85-64. Moments later, Wallace connected from beyond the arc as Boston remained in total control.

The Bobcats won the mostly meaningless fourth quarter, 24-20.

Game Notes

The Celtics have won 15 of the last 20 games between these teams and improved to 7-3 all-time as the visitor in this series...Boston won the battle on the glass, 38-34...The Celtics shot 10-of-17 from three-point range, while the hosts finished an awful 2-of-11 from beyond the arc...Pierce scored eight points.