Around the NBA: Celtics’ defence slips during slump

The all-star break and a chance to regroup can’t have come at a better time for the reeling Celtics. Boston has lost three games in a row and four of five and, while all teams go through rough stretches in a long season, there are troubling aspects to the slump. The Celtics’ once-vaunted defence has been shredded of late: 129 points by the Clippers, 121 by Cleveland, 111 by the Raptors. In the 54 games before those, they had surrendered 111 or more only six times — and one of those games went into overtime. The Celtics still have the best defensive rating going into games of Thursday, but cracks are appearing.

TAKING IT ON THE CHIN: Lost amid the discussion of Steve Kerr letting the Golden State Warriors coach themselves during a game in Phoenix earlier this week was the drubbing the Suns took. The Warriors won by 46 points, the fourth time this season that Phoenix had lost by 40 or more. There have been only four other games in the league this season decided by 40 or more points. Two of Phoenix’s other 40-point losses came in the first week of the season — on opening night at home to Portland and at the Los Angeles Clippers three nights later — just before thencoach Earl Watson was fired.

IMMEDIATE IMPACT: When Marco Belinelli, waived by the Hawks, signed with the 76ers, he said there was one main reason: “Because I trust the process.” Seems he made a solid choice, given his Sixers debut. Belinelli, who many thought would be a nice piece for the Raptors to pursue in the buyout market, had 17 points as Philadelphia rallied from 24 points down to beat Miami on Wednesday. Belinelli said he had several other suitors. Sixers coach Brett Brown said the decision suggests his team is moving up the NBA pecking order: “I think it’s a reflection of (how) the marketplace might view us in this day and age,” he told reporters. Doug Smith