One dominating stretch in the second quarter turned out to be enough to carry the Boston Celtics to a win in their first West Coast game this season.

Coach Doc Rivers knows his team will need to play more complete games to beat some of the elite Western Conference teams on the road.

The NBA-leading Celtics (23-3) started slowly, scoring just 18 points in the opening quarter and trailing by four early in the second. That's when they found their groove by closing the half on the big run to go up 53-29.

The 2007-08 Celtics became the fourth team in franchise history to start 23-3 with the win.