The rivalry was reborn in the new millennium. The first time, the Allen Iverson-led defending-Eastern Conference champions 76ers were defeated in the first round of the 2002 playoffs by the Paul Pierce-led Celtics 3–2. The second time, exactly ten years later, the Big Three Celtics (Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen) defeated the valiant eight seed 76ers team 4–3. In the ten years in between, the Sixers would experience limited success whereas the Celtics won a championship and contended for most of that span. In a memorable 2006 regular-season meeting between the two, the 76ers defeated the Celtics 125–124 in triple overtime, with Iverson leading the way with 33 points and 10 assists.