Tonight at the Wachovia Center, the Boston Celtics shot three-pointers as efficiently as free throws, the 76ers as inefficiently as halfcourt heaves.

Other on-court differences - Boston had far superior bench play, rebounding, and defense - contributed to a 105-74 Celtics rout, but none seemed as obvious as the Sixers' shooting from beyond the arc.

They made 1 of 16 shots. Boston made 14 of 20 three-pointers.

No one was more effective for the Celtics from long range than big man Rasheed Wallace, who capped most of his six three-pointers with a raised fist, then a quick pump of the elbow. Wallace finished with 20 points, second on the team to Paul Pierce's 21.

Swingman Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 17 points. The only other Sixer in double figures was forward Thaddeus Young, who scored 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting.

For the night, Boston's bench outscored the Sixers, 62-24. The Celtics outrebounded them, 39-34; and limited the Sixers to 36.2 percent shooting from the floor.

The Sixers dropped to 2-2; the Celtics improved to 5-0.

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

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

The Sixers struggled to put the ball in the basket, clanging drives and thudding long-range looks, but the Celtics matched them miss for miss.

With a couple of minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Sixers were ahead, 15-10. Then the Celtics made 6 of 7, including three from beyond the arc. The Sixers made 1 of 7, including none from beyond the arc.

The momentum shifted as Boston went ahead, 25-17.

The Sixers spent the entire second quarter trying to catch up and failed to do so. They went to the locker room trailing by 44-36.

The difference in the first half was from the three-point line. The Sixers were 0 for 7, the Celtics 5 for 8.

Wallace, the Celtics' off-the-bench weapon, made 3 of 4 three-pointers and was the game's leading scorer at the half with 11 points. The last of Wallace's trio of treys, when he rolled to the right wing off a pick-and-roll, gave the Celtics a 31-21 lead with 7:45 left in the half. After the ball rolled through the hoop, Wallace gave a small fist pump.

Wallace was the game's only double-figure scorer at halftime. Young led the Sixers with eight points on 3-for-10 shooting.

The Celtics made their first four shots of the second half, the Sixers missed their first three, and Boston's lead ballooned from eight points to 15.

Contact staff writer Kate Fagan

at 856-779-3844 or kfagan@phillynews.com.