Boston Celtics vs. Washington Wizards: Ray Allen Shines in Win

The Celtics won their third straight game and improved to 3-3 on the season last night, beating the Wizards 100-92. This win is a very good sign for the Celtics, who do not play well in the second of back-to-back games. Doc handled the back-to-back games well by limiting minutes in the first game for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jermaine O'Neal.

But just winning the second of a back-to-back is not the only good thing to take away from this game. Perhaps the biggest bright spot in the game was 36-year-old Ray Allen. Allen has excelled thus far in the season, where his conditioning and shooting seem better than ever.

But this game was his best by far. He scored 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and an incredible 6-for-7 from three. He scored 11 of his points in the fourth quarter, where he was a perfect 3-for-3 from deep.

Allen is one of the oldest players in the league, but he has shown very few signs of age. He continues running around screens all game long and hitting big shots.

Allen wasn't the only player on the Celtics to have their best game of the young season, though. Pierce also played his best game of the season. He finally looked like Paul Pierce again in his third game back from injury. It was a rounded attack for Pierce, who scored 21 points, pulled down eight rebounds and dished out four assists.

Pierce also had one steal in the game, and it was a timely one. With a minute and a half left in the game and the Celtics up by five, Pierce stole a John Wall pass and took it down to the other end, but instead of going up and potentially drawing a foul, he found Allen for a three. Allen sank the three and the Celtics went up by eight, and effectively put the game away.

But the final nail in the coffin was a three by Pierce himself to put the Celtics up by seven with 30 seconds left.

Since Pierce's return, the Celtics have yet to lose, and although these wins were not exactly against cream-of-the-crop of opponents (as a matter of fact, the Pistons and Wizards may be the two worst teams in the NBA), they are wins, and a win is a win.

The Celtics can't control their opponents, but they can control how they play in those games, and in this three-game winning streak they have played very well. And with two more easier games coming up on the schedule, they should be able to extend he winning streak to five before the defending champion Mavs come to town.