Pierce leads Celtics past Jazz 103-99
Pierce leads Celtics past Jazz 103-99
BOSTON, Massachusetts (Reuters): The Celtics got 30 points from Paul Pierce -- 22 in the second half -- to beat the Utah Jazz 103-99 on Friday.
Antoine Walker added 26 points for Boston, which moved within 1 1/2 games of Indiana for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot with 23 games left.
"This is a big win for us," Walker said. "We're keeping right in the playoff race. We can hope for teams to lose, but we really have to take control of our own destiny."
"They wanted the ballgame more than we did and we couldn't handle their traps or double-team," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said.
In Atlanta, Baron Davis pumped in four 3-pointers in his 28- point night to lead the Charlotte Hornets to their sixth-straight victory, 105-99 over the Atlanta Hawks.
David Wesley scored 17 points and P.J. Brown added 11 and 13 rebounds for Charlotte, which defeated Atlanta for the sixth time in the last seven meetings.
Toni Kukoc scored a season-high 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting while Jason Terry had 26 and seven assists for the Hawks, who have lost six straight.
In Chicago, The New York Knicks stumbled again on the road, losing their sixth consecutive out-of-town game when the Chicago Bulls beat them 81-72.
Elton Brand scored 21 points and had 11 rebounds for the Bulls.
Brad Miller scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Fred Hoiberg added a career-high 12 assists for the Bulls, who shot 42.5 percent (31-of-73).
Allan Houston scored 23 points and Latrell Sprewell added 16 for New York.
In Denver, Kevin Garnett had 24 points and 12 rebounds and Dean Garrett scored 10 points off the bench as the Minnesota Timberwolves cruised to an 89-71 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Garnett made 9-of-14 shots and Garrett 5-of-6 as Minnesota halted a three-game road losing streak and moved three games ahead of Houston for the final Western Conference playoff spot.
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Eddie Jones scored 18 points in the fourth quarter and Tim Hardaway had six in overtime, taking the Miami Heat to a 97-93 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
In overtime, Anthony Mason converted a three-point play with 62 seconds left to put Miami ahead for good, 93-91.
"Eddie Jones just took over the game," Hardaway said.
In Indianapolis, Rashard Lewis hit back-to-back baskets down the stretch as the Seattle SuperSonics blew a 23-point lead before pulling out an 86-83 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Shammond Williams made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 19.4 seconds to seal Seattle's win.
Gary Payton scored 26 points and Lewis had 18 for the Sonics.
In Los Angeles, Corey Maggette scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, when the Los Angeles Clippers used their bench and energy to post an 88-81 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Maggette hit 7-of-14 shots from the floor and made 8-of-9 free throws as the Clippers ended a three-game losing streak.
Eric Piatkowski and Lamar Odom each scored 11 points for Los Angeles.
Peja Stojakovic scored 31 points and Scot Pollard added 15 for Sacramento.
In Philadelphia, Allen Iverson collected 41 points as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Washington Wizards 107-102.
In a strange play, Christian Laettner was whistled for an offensive foul for running into a Sixer at midcourt without the ball with 1:05 left.
Dikembe Mutombo made 3-of-4 free throws for a 105-100 advantage with 35.8 seconds to go.
Results (home team in bold): Seattle 86 Indiana 83 Philadelphia 107 Washington 102 Charlotte 105 Atlanta 99 Boston 103 Utah 99 Orlando 120 Cleveland 94 Toronto 107 New Jersey 90 Miami 97 Detroit 93 (OT) Chicago 81 New York 72 Minnesota 89 Denver 71 LA Clippers 88 Sacramento 81