by By Kate Fagan; Inquirer Staff Writer , The Philadelphia Inquirer

Inside the Wachovia Center last night, the sparse crowd observed Wallace's gesture a half dozen times - although it probably felt like at least twice that.

Wallace and his Celtics embarrassed the 76ers, 105-74.

The Sixers dropped to 2-2; Boston improved to 5-0.

The Celtics shot three-pointers as efficiently as free throws, making 14 of 20. The Sixers made only 1 of 16.

Other on-court differences - Boston had far superior bench play, rebounding, and defense - contributed to the blowout, but none seemed as obvious as those numbers from outside.

And no one was more effective than Wallace, who made 6 of 8 attempts. Wallace finished with 20 points and teammate Paul Pierce scored a game-high 21. The other two players making up Boston's "Big Three" with Pierce - Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen - combined for eight points, none of which was needed.

In the Sixers' two losses, the first of which was a 120-106 defeat in Orlando, they have allowed 30 three-pointers on 49 attempts.

Guarding the three-point line has become a years-old unsolved mystery for the Sixers : They can't figure it out.

It plagued them two years ago, it plagued them last year, and through four games, it has haunted them again.

Sixers swingman Andre Iguodala, who scored a team-high 17 points, said it wasn't an understanding of principles or a lack of effort, but rather a breakdown in "communication."

"When teams start making shots, it seems to dictate our offense," Iguodala said. "We kind of get in a soggy mood all over, on both ends."

For the night, Boston's bench outscored the Sixers , 62-24. The Celtics outrebounded them, 39-34. The Sixers shot 36.3 percent from the floor, compared with 56.9 percent for Boston.

The game did not start badly for the Sixers . More than midway through the first quarter, they were ahead, 12-4.

Nothing more accurately represented the first quarter than Thaddeus Young's errant three-point try, which grazed the left side of the rim midway through the quarter and inspired groans from the crowd.

Folks weren't so much reacting solely to Young's miss as to the game's collection of misses: With two minutes remaining in the first quarter, the teams had combined to make only 5 of 16 shots.

From there, the Celtics made 6 of 7, including three from beyond the arc. The Sixers made 1 of 7, including none from beyond the arc.

"Like most teams do - most good teams - they got their swagger up and started talking about their defense," said Sixers coach Eddie Jordan. "They put it to us and they took a front seat and we took a backseat. . . . It was certainly a stinker after that."

Added Jordan: "I have great patience. It's the fourth game of the season. I'll have patience in the 40th game as well."

Contact staff writer Kate Fagan at 856-779-3844 or kfagan@phillynews.com.

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