The Boston Celtics entered the All-Star break with the NBA’s best record at 41-9. Only once in the past 10 seasons has the team with the league’s best record at the break gone on to win the title -- the 2004-05 San Antonio Spurs.

Shaquille O’Neal may make his Suns’ debut on Wednesday against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. In the four meetings between the two since O’Neal’s departure from Los Angeles, Shaq has averaged 21.3 points and 12.5 rebounds in leading his team to three victories, while Kobe and the Lakers managed just a single win despite Bryant’s 35.5 point scoring average.

Manu Ginobili averaged 40.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game in the Spurs’ two games last week. Ginobili hit six three pointers while grabbing 15 rebounds in San Antonio’s 93-88 win at Toronto on Monday, joining Dirk Nowitzki, Vince Carter and Rasheed Wallace as the only active players to have at least 15 rebounds and six threes in a single contest.

With 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, Carlos Boozer led Utah to a 112-93 win over the Sonics on Wednesday. Boozer joined Karl Malone and Andrei Kirilenko as the only Jazz players to record a triple-double over the past 20 years.

With the signing of Damon Stoudamire, the San Antonio Spurs now have 11 players on their active roster that are at least 30 years old. No other team in the league has more than seven such players.

The Golden State Warriors closed out their first half of the season with a 120-118 win over Phoenix on Wednesday, improving their overall record to 32-20. They are one of just three teams since 1991-92 to be at least 10 games over .500 at the All-Star break despite not having a single player make the All-Star team. The other two clubs were the 2002-03 Portland Trail Blazers (32-16) and the 2004-05 Sacramento Kings (33-20).

Larry Hughes scored 40 points against the Magic on Monday in leading the Cavaliers to a 118-111 victory. He became the first Cavalier not named LeBron James to score 40+ points in a game since the beginning of the 2003-04 season, James’ first year in the league.

The Philadelphia 76ers entered the All-Star break on a five-game winning streak and are currently in position the make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers lead the NBA with 277 dunks so far this season, while limiting their opponents to 169 dunks. The +108 differential in slam dunks is also the largest in the league.