It was kind of adorable, the way the Celtics were quipping on Friday night. After defeating the Bucks, 104-82, and tying the franchise record for the best start on the ol' Boston parquet, the Celts tried to demur. Which, in turn, reminded us all of how awesome the team is.

We could remark on the fact that Kevin Garnett (15 points), like, totally sounded like a Valley Girl when he tried to explain that he wasn't focused on the idea of breaking records. We ought to mention how nice it is to hear Paul Pierce (32 points) sounding happy in post-game interviews this season - especially given the fact that the guy at Circuit City finally has something good to say. We'd even give Kendrick "Bedframe" Perkins a shoutout for reminding everyone that the bench steps up, especially when Ray Allen (sore ankle) has to sit down.

But we're going to stick with the Doc. Mister Rivers. The guy steering this basketball team on a journey that now finds itself at a record of 19-2. The Globe asked Rivers what it is that gets the Celtics routinely fired up for the third quarter of ballgames. Big speech? Crazy inspirational gestures?

"We remind them who we are, every halftime," said Rivers. "That’s basically what we do. And usually wee start defense and then we work to offense. We remind our team just who we are, how we play."

Like winners.

Image by Flickr user waitingtoderail