Kudos to Rick Carlisle in Dallas, Tom Thibodeau in Chicago and Gregg Popovich in San Antonio for their success this season. But Doug Collins is the NBA Coach of the Year.

Collins' young Philadelphia 76ers continued to open eyes around the league by holding off the Boston Celtics, 89-86, last night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly.

The Sixers are now 34-31 and are a half game behind the New York Knicks for the No. 6 playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after Friday night's win.

Image by Rhys's Piece Is via Flickr

Big men, Spencer Hawes and Elton Brand, were the stars for the Sixers. Hawes scored 14 points and collected 10 rebounds, and Brand had 14 points, also, and added five boards. Andre Iguodala continued his brillant play after the All-Star break, putting in 13 points, pulling down nine rebounds and handing out eight assists. 

The Celtics (46-17) were led by Nenad Krstic, who had 16 points and 15 rebounds, in a losing effort.  

Next game: On road against the Milwaukee Bucks (25-38) at 8 p.m. Saturday. 

Dwayne C. Nelson is an arts & entertainment and sports blogger whose content is also featured on various Web sites, including Associated Content, Yahoo! Sports and News One. Follow him on twitter to stay abreast of his latest posts.