Paul Pierce scored 26 of his 37 points in the second half, and the Boston Celtics moved back into playoff position with a 111-102 victory over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.
The victory broke a two-game losing streak and moved the Celtics from ninth to seventh place in the Eastern Conference, percentage points ahead of idle New York and Miami.
"This is a test week for us to say: `Hey, what are we going to do? Are we going to make the playoffs, or are we going to lay down the rest of the year?' And this was that week," Pierce said. "For us to go out here and get three out of five against some quality teams, it's a great feeling going into next week."
Pierce scored 13 of Boston's last 25 points, including a jumper, a steal and layup and a free throw in a solo 5-0 run that tied the score at 102 with 1:48 left.
The Celtics finished the game with a 14-0 run over the last 3:45. Jerry Stackhouse, playing his second game after missing six to rehabilitate his knee, scored 19 in 41 minutes. He has played in just 14 games all season.
"I had a lot of opportunities to try to help win this game, and just didn't have it," said Stackhouse, who also played 41 minutes Friday against Atlanta.
Hornets 102, Warriors 84
In New Orleans, Baron Davis had 24 points and 11 assists as New Orleans extended Golden State's losing streak to nine games.
Stacey Augmon, making his 12th start of the season, scored a season-high 21 points, while Jamaal Magloire added 18 points and 10 rebounds.
New Orleans took an 18-point lead when Davis found Augmon for consecutive fast-break layups, once off a steal and once on a long pass after a rebound to make it 72-54. Davis finished with four steals.
SuperSonics 115, Magic 101
In Orlando, Florida, Brent Barry went 6-for-6 from 3-point range and scored a season-high 25 points with 10 assists as Seattle beat Orlando to snap a six-game losing streak, overcoming 40 points from Tracy McGrady in his first game since scoring 62.
Barry shot 9-for-10 overall, while Ray Allen scored 26 and made four 3-pointers, and Vladimir Radmanovic had three 3s among his 21 points. The Sonics made 14 3-point shots.
Tyronn Lue had 19 points for Orlando.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Radmanovic and Allen and a three-point play by Radmanovic allowed Seattle to withstand a fourth-quarter rally and win for just the fourth time since the All-Star break.
Rockets 88, Grizzlies 80
In Houston, Jim Jackson scored 20 points and hit a crucial running jumper with 50 seconds to play as Houston won its fifth straight game and snapped Memphis' seven-game win streak.
The Rockets' streak is the longest current winning streak in the Western Conference, and they worked hard to get it.
Lakers 88, Bulls 81
In Chicago, Kobe Bryant scored 35 points, including 12 in the final five minutes as the Los Angeles Lakers downed Chicago.
Shaquille O'Neal added 16 points and 15 rebounds, passing Hal Greer for 21st place on the career scoring list with 21,591 points.
Mavericks 113, Suns 90
In Phoenix, Michael Finley matched his season-high with 38 points as Dallas handed the skidding Phoenix its fourth consecutive loss.
The victory moved the Mavericks a half-game ahead of Memphis in the NBA's Western Conference standings.
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