Paul Pierce scored 30 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a 93-79 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
Ray Allen added 23 points for the Celtics, who welcomed back Rajon Rondo after the starting point guard had missed seven consecutive games with an ankle injury.
Rondo, who entered the game as the NBA leader in assists average with 13.8, finished with four points and eight assists in 34 minutes, as Boston ended a run of two defeats.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“With him, he knows everything we run, so we were back into running stuff that was in hibernation while he was out,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers told reporters.
Eastern Conference-leading Boston (25-7) played their second game without All Star Kevin Garnett, who is expected to be out for two weeks while he recovers from a calf injury sustained on Wednesday.
DeMar DeRozan recorded a team-high 27 points for the Raptors, who are dealing with their own rash of injuries and have been without leading scorer Andrea Bargnani for the last four contests.
The Raptors, losers of 11 of their last 14, are also playing without a bunch of injured players — Sonny Weems (back), Reggie Evans (foot), Jerryd Bayless (ankle) and Peja Stojakovic (knee).
Despite being shorthanded, Toronto (11-22) held a one-point lead in the third quarter, before Boston surged ahead by nine by the start of the fourth quarter.
Glen Davis. starting in place of Garnett, had 15 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for Boston.
Davis had struggled in Friday’s loss to New Orleans.
“No matter what you do, he’s still going to be there behind you,” Davis said of his coach.
HAWKS 107, CLIPPERS 98
In Los Angeles, Joe Johnson scored 11 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, while Josh Smith added 22 as Atlanta rallied for the win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Johnson, who returned to the lineup on Dec. 17 after missing nine games following right elbow surgery, was 7 for 20 from the field after going 18 of 51 during his previous three games.
Clippers rookie Blake Griffin scored 19 of his 31 points in the first half and pulled down 15 rebounds for his 27th double-double and 21st in a row. Baron Davis had 15 points and five assists.
GRIZZLIES 104, LAKERS 85
In Los Angeles, Rudy Gay scored 27 points, while Zach Randolph added 21 points and eight rebounds as Memphis pulled away in the second half.
O.J. Mayo scored 15 points for the Grizzlies, who bounced back from two losses to wrap up their three-game road trip with a stunningly easy blowout of the two-time defending champions.
Kobe Bryant scored 28 points for the Lakers, who have lost three of their last four home games — all three by at least 16 points — and four of six overall.
MAVERICKS 104, CAVALIERS 95
In Cleveland, Ohio, Shawn Marion scored 22 points and DeShawn Stevenson added 21 to help Dallas end a three-game losing streak.
The Mavericks, playing without starting forwards Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler, used a balanced attack. Jason Terry scored 18 points, Tyson Chandler added 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Jason Kidd had 10 points and eight assists.
Antawn Jamison led Cleveland with a season-high 35 points and Ramon Sessions added 19.
KNICKS 98, PACERS 92
In New York, Amare Stoudemire scored 26 points, including six of New York’s last seven points, while Danilo Gallinari had 19 to lead New York over Indiana.
Danny Granger had 25 points and 17 rebounds, while Darren Collison had 22 points, six assists and five rebounds for the Pacers, who lost for the fourth time in their last five games.
TRAIL BLAZERS 100, ROCKETS 85
In Portland, Oregon, LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and 11 rebounds, while Nicolas Batum added a season-high 21 points as Portland won their eighth straight home game.
Patrick Mills had a career-high 14 points, five assists and five steals for Portland. Wesley Matthews added 14, while Marcus Camby had 13 rebounds and season-high eight assists.
Kevin Martin had 15 points to lead the Rockets, who were held well below their season average of 106 points per game. Courtney Lee added 12 points. Luis Scola, Aaron Brooks and Chase Budinger each had 10.
In Sunday’s other action, it was:
‧ Kings 94, Suns 89
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