Rajon Rondo made Celtics history less than five minutes into the game when he broke Bob Cousy’s 50-year-old single season assist record. Rondo dished his 716th dime of the season, an alley-oop to Kevin Garnett, to set the mark. (Earlier in the season, Rondo passed Rick Fox for the franchise mark in single-season steals.)

But back to the game. The Celtics gave up an early 11-point lead to trail the Rockets 32-30 after the first quarter. The Rockets closed the quarter on a 19-6 run, led by eight points in less than six minutes from Kyle Lowry. Paul Pierce, Kendrick Perkins, and Aaron Brooks also scored eight in the quarter. The Celtics outshot the Rockets, 59 percent to 50 percent, but were outrebounded, 12-7.

The C’s trailed in the second quarter before Rondo sparked a comeback. Rondo leapt for a defensive rebound and threw an outlet pass as he lost his balance, which Pierce connected for a lay-in. On the next possession, he set Perkins up for a bucket. The C’s took the lead back on a dunk by Tony Allen. The Rockets fought back, though, and are up 57-53 at halftime.

Brooks leads all players with 17 points. Pierce has 14 for the Celtics. Rondo has a game-high seven assists.

The Big Three came together to help the Celtics beat the Rockets, 94-87, on Friday night in Houston.

Paul Pierce led all players with 26 points (15 in the fourth quarter); Ray Allen shot 5-for-8 from 3-point range (19 points), and Kevin Garnett scored 15. Allen and Garnett’s contributions were so significant because they kept the Celtics ahead when Pierce was benched early on with foul trouble. The trio didn’t have to be on the court at the same time to be effective.

The Celtics actually trailed 13-6 early in the first before going on an 8-0 run to erase their deficit. The comeback was a team effort. The C’s first 10 points came off of baskets from each of the five starters. They led 28-24 after the first 12 minutes.

The Celtics held the Rockets scoreless for the first 3:38 of the second quarter. During that stretch, they went on a 5-0 run and built a nine-point lead, which they carried into halftime.

When the Rockets made a push in the third, the Celtics fended off the threat with long-range shooting. Ray Allen and Nate Robinson nailed 3-pointers that kept the Rockets at bay.

Then the fourth belonged to Pierce. He scored 15 of his 26 points in the final quarter to ice the Celtics third straight win.

Turning Point: The Rockets had closed in, 57-55, with 5:28 left in the third. Kendrick Perkins blocked a driving layup attempt by Aaron Brooks and Rajon Rondo grabbed the rebound. He dished it to Ray Allen, who nailed a trey and pushed the Celtics back up, 62-57. It set the Celtics up for a series of 3′s that would maintain their lead.

Player of the Game: It’s tough to give the award to just one player when the Celtics won the game with a combined effort by Pierce, Allen, and Garnett. Each player did their part to lead the C’s to victory and picked up the slack when the other was off the court.

- Rasheed Wallace had one of his best performances in a Celtics uniform. He scored seven points off a combination of inside and outside shots, and grabbed nine rebounds.

- Glen Davis also had a solid contribution off the bench. He posted seven points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes. Nate Robinson scored eight in 13 minutes.

- Rajon Rondo led the Celtics with 10 assists. The Rockets as a team dished just 15.

The Rockets jumped out to an quick lead but lost control over it just five minutes into the game. The Celtics trailed 13-6 early in the first before going on an 8-0 run to erase their deficit. The comeback was a team effort. The C’s first 10 points came off of baskets from each of the five starters. They led 28-24 after the first 12 minutes.

The Celtics held the Rockets scoreless for the first 3:38 of the second quarter. During that stretch, they went on a 5-0 run and built a nine-point lead. They still lead by nine at halftime, 50-41.

Paul Pierce is the Celtics high scorer with 11 points. Rasheed Wallace is having one of his best showings all season, driving the lane and hitting his outside shots. He had added seven points, four rebounds, and two blocks off the bench. Luis Scola leads all players with 13 points.

Dikembe Mutombo wanted to play for the Boston Celtics. The problem is, he wasn’t sure how much the Celtics wanted him to play for them. Mutombo was on the list of rumored possible mid-season acquisitions and the big man was on board to play with the champs. But the Celtics weren’t ready to commit and Mutombo, 42, didn’t feel like waiting around any longer.

Prior to Tuesday’s Celtics-Rockets game, he explained why he went back to Houston on New Year’s Eve:

“In the last minutes, especially on the 24th and 25th, I was feeling like I was not the only one in the picture no more that they were looking at,” he said. “It kind of discouraged me a little bit. I said ok, I have about seven organizations here that want me and this organization that I want to go to, I thought they wanted me but they’re looking at somebody else. Should I be on the waiting list or should I just go take another offer that was there on the table? And I think by having a talk that night with Yao and T-Mac and calling me on the phone saying, please come on man. We want you here. I was like ok. Let me just go be with guys who are talking to me who want me to be part of their family than wait for the organization who are waiting on their decision making. I think they were in between. They were looking at, I heard about Alonzo (Mourning), then I heard about Joe Smith, then I heard about P.J. Brown. I was like ok, I’m not going to be in the middle of this. I just have to walk away the way I want to walk. I wanted to come to your cold city, but they did not want me.”

This is Mutombo’s 18th season in the NBA. He has a career average of 9.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.

The Celtics beat the Houston Rockets, 90-89, when Gabe Pruitt banked in a jumper with 6.6 seconds remaining to improve to 2-1 in the preseason. But that was hardly the story of a game that featured Ron Artest driving Paul Pierce the floor on a drive to the basket in the first quarter, a Tracy McGrady elbow to the ribs of rookie Bill Walker and McGrady and Eddie House almost going at it after exchanging words in the second quarter.

Here’s what some of the Celtics had to say about not backing down afterward.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said they can’t back down.

Rivers said there are lessons to be learned from Bill Walker’s toughness.

Bill Walker said his confrontation with Tracy McGrady could have escalated.

Kevin Garnett was impressed with Walker’s composure.

Paul Pierce said Celtics must maintain composure.

There is still a minute to go in the first quarter and more tension is ensuing.

As Bill Walker drove on Tracy McGrady, T-Mac appeared to push off on the rookie. Down at the basket, words were exchanged between Walker, McGrady, and Rafer Alston after McGrady gave Walker a one-handed shove that sent him to the ground. The players were separated and order seemed to be restored. Seconds later, McGrady and Eddie House became engaged in a heated conversation. Just as Pierce, who had recently returned to the game, separated the players, Walker came back to get in a few last words, only to be held back by Luis Scola. McGrady and House were charged with technical fouls.

Looks like J.R. Giddens was right when he said there are two sides to Bill Walker.

Paul Pierce asked for the match up and he got it.

With just under 7:30 to go in the first quarter, Pierce drove the lane against Ron Artest. Artest welcomed him at the basket with a blow to the shoulder. No foul was called and the Rockets scored on the fastbreak. Artest pumped his chest as Eddie House and Kendrick Perkins rose to their feet on the Celtics bench to vocalize their disagreement with the no-call.

Moments later, Garnett blocked a Rockets shot that sent the crowd into a frenzy. The noise escalated when Artest dealt a hard foul to Ray Allen that sent the Celtics guard sliding into the front row.

Pierce has left the game with a bruised right shoulder but is expected to return.

All this tension and there is still five minutes to go in the first quarter.