Two nights after barely escaping with a victory over the Cavaliers, they thoroughly whipped the resurgent Boston Celtics last night, 99-83, shooting a season-best 53 percent from the floor, building a 46-31 advantage off the glass and leaving the visitors misfiring at a rate of 38.8 percent.

A glimpse of the caliber of play last season's Sixers showed en route to 56 victories and a berth in the NBA Finals? "It's kind of premature to say that," Aaron McKie said after scoring 15 of his 17 points in the second half. "It's only one game. We need some consistency around here. If we continue to do that, I'll have a better answer."

With every player of consequence other than backup point guard Speedy Claxton in uniform, the Sixers stuck to their defensive schemes, forcing the Celtics' big men away from the basket and denying the ball inside. Offensively, they made extra passes, made better use of the 24-second shot clock and searched for open teammates. That resulted in Allen Iverson shooting 14-for-24 and scoring 37 points, Dikembe Mutombo shooting 5-for-7 and drawing enough fouls to finish with 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Derrick Coleman completing a solid floor game with nine points and nine rebounds.