The Boston Celtics finished their grueling stretch in December seriously concerned about the stability of their spot on top of the Eastern Conference. The Toronto Raptors briefly stole the spot from them, and both the Raptors and the Cleveland Cavaliers had plenty of games in hand to make up that ground.
The Celtics did a great job of solidifying their position by following that stretch up with seven street wins. That being said, those other two teams still had the games in hand, and still were in a great position to gain ground on the Celtics.