MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The best road trip in Boston history has given the Celtics a chance at grabbing a piece of NBA history.
The Celtics finished off the franchise's first 6-0 road trip on Monday night with a 117-103 win at Memphis. That win — Boston's eighth straight on the road overall — pushed the Celtics' away record to 32-7, two wins shy of tying Golden State for NBA's record single-season road mark.
The Warriors were 34-7 away from home in the 2015-16 season. Boston's two remaining road games are April 8 at New York and April 9 at Orlando.
It led to Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla being asked a simple question after the Memphis win: “Why are you guys so good on the road?”
Mazzulla did not hesitate before answering. “I would venture to say that our guys are good everywhere,” he said.
The Celtics now have 23 double-digit wins on the road, one away from tying the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers for the most in NBA history. They've outscored opponents by 404 points on the road, 26 away from the mark set by those same Lakers in 1971-72.
“It’s more about just playing consistent basketball," Mazzulla said. "But I think each year you develop different kind of strengths, especially with the same team. And this year it just happened to be kind of our road mentality.”
It should be noted that Oklahoma City also still has a chance of tying Golden State's record for fewest road losses in a season. The Thunder are 29-7 with four games left away from home; technically, Oklahoma City will finish the season with 41 home games, 40 road games and one neutral-site game in Las Vegas — an NBA Cup semifinal win in Las Vegas over Houston.
The Thunder are 11-0 on the road since the All-Star break, on their way to the NBA's best record and role — according to BetMGM Sportsbook — as the favorite to win the NBA Finals. The Celtics, even though they trail Cleveland in the Eastern Conference, are the BetMGM favorite to win the East and are the second choice behind the Thunder to win the title.
The Celtics' 32nd road win of the season Monday also tied the 1972-73 team (32-8 on the road) and the 1974-75 team (32-9) for the most away victories in Boston history.
“We’ve been very focused and I feel like even last year, we were good — but especially in the playoffs I felt like we did a really good job on the road controlling the tempo and being able to play a certain way,” Celtics forward Al Horford said. “It’s pretty special, the way that we’re playing and some of the things we’re doing here.”
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The Associated Press
