Paul Pierce scored 26 points on nearly perfect shooting as the Boston Celtics roared back from a rough road trip to beat the Washington Wizards 108-103 in the NBA on Friday.
The Celtics went 1-3 on their West Coast swing after the best 29-game start in NBA history, 27-2. With the victory, they improved to 18-1 at home.
Pierce made his first nine shots and all five 3-point attempts before missing his final shot, a 3-pointer, but Kendrick Perkins converted the offensive rebound with 1:20 remaining in the third quarter. Pierce left the game with 48 seconds left in the period with the Celtics ahead 81-55 and never returned.
PHOTO: AP
Nick Young led the Wizards with 15 points.
HORNETS 92, TRAIL BLAZERS 77
At Portland, Oregon, New Orleans won its fourth straight by sinking Portland. David West had 25 points to top the Hornets’ scoring.
CAVALIERS 117, BULLS 92
At Cleveland, Anderson Varejao scored a career-high 26 points for Cleveland and LeBron James had 16 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his first triple-double of the season and the 18th of his career.
Cleveland, 17-0 at home this season, learned before the game that Lithuanian center Zydrunas Ilgauskas will miss a month because of a fractured bone in his left ankle. Ben Gordon scored 22 points for Chicago.
NETS 93, HAWKS 91, OT
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Vince Carter hit a long 3-pointer at the buzzer in overtime and New Jersey overcame a 20-point halftime deficit to end Atlanta’s winning streak at six games.
Devin Harris added 26 points and 11 assists and Carter finished with 18 points. Mike Bibby led Atlanta with 22 points.
PACERS 105, KNICKS 103
At New York, Jarrett Jack made a jumper with 0.9 seconds left and scored a season-high 29 points as Indiana snapped a four-game losing streak.
New York’s Al Harrington scored 22 of his 27 points in the second half of the game against his former teammates.
David Lee added 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks.
MAGIC 86, HEAT 76
At Orlando, Florida, Rashard Lewis scored 17 points, Jameer Nelson added 16 and Dwight Howard had 15 points and 15 rebounds in Orlando’s 10th straight win over Miami. Dwyane Wade scored 33 points for the Heat, but was shut out in the fourth quarter.
RAPTORS 94, ROCKETS 73
At Toronto, Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani each scored 19 points to help Toronto snap a three-game losing streak.
Toronto, which had lost 13 of its last 17 games and four straight at home, held Houston to a season low in points. Von Wafer led the Rockets with 18 points.
LAKERS 113, JAZZ 100
At Los Angeles, the Lakers made it five straight NBA wins by beating Utah on Saturday, with Kobe Bryant scoring 40 points.
It was a 17th win from 18 home games for the Lakers, who remain one-and-one-half games behind Boston for bragging rights over the league’s best record.
Pau Gasol was good for 21 points, giving him 10,001 for his career.
MAVERICKS 96, 76ERS 86
At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points to lead Dallas over Philadelphia. Jason Terry added 21 in Dallas’ sixth victory in its past seven games.
SPURS 91, GRIZZLIES 80
At Memphis, Tennessee, Tim Duncan had 20 points and 10 rebounds to spark San Antonio’s win over Memphis.
Tony Parker added 19 points for the Spurs.
PISTONS 98, KINGS 92
At Auburn Hills, Michigan, Detroit notched its sixth successive win by downing Sacramento.
Rodney Stuckey scored 13 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter to steer the Pistons home.
SUNS 106, CLIPPERS 98
At Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire scored 23 points to help Phoenix inflict Los Angeles’ sixth consecutive defeat.
The Suns have won three in succession.
BUCKS 103, BOBCATS 75
At Milwaukee, the home team continued its sudden renaissance, thrashing Charlotte to notch a fifth consecutive victory.
Michael Redd scored 31 points and Charlie Villanueva had 27 for the Bucks.
In other games, it was:
• Nuggets 122, Thunder 120
• T-wolves 115, Warriors 108
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