BOSTON 122, WASHINGTON 88

WASHINGTON Paul Pierce and Ray Allen scored 22 points apiece to lead seven players in double figures as the Boston Celtics won their 13th game in a row with a 122-88 victory over the Washington Wizards on Thursday.

Eddie House had 14 points as the Celtics (21-2) secured the best 23-game start in franchise history. Kendrick Perkins had 12 points and Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo added 11 apiece. Reserve guard Tony Allen had 10 points.

The Celtics shot 55 percent and improved to 17-0 when they shoot a higher percentage than their opponents. The Wizards shot 43 percent.

Although Bostons second squad played the final eight minutes, the Celtics 122 points matched their season-high.

Pierce scored the Celtics first six points of the fourth quarter and Eddie House followed with back-to-back 3-pointers from opposite sides of the court for a 98-77 lead with 8:29 remaining.

House and Pierce combined for 18 points during a 21-3 run bridging the third and fourth quarters that put the game away.

Caron Butler led the Wizards with 19 points while Antawn Jamison and Juan Dixon added 17 apiece.

Butlers jumper from the left wing pulled the Wizards to within 84-74 with 1:01 remaining in the third, but that was as close as Washington got in the second half.

Perkins slam off Garnetts backcourt steal gave Boston a 63-39 lead at the break as the Celtics posted a season-high for points in the first half.

The Wizards were the only team in the league that defeated the Celtics three times last season and they held Boston to an average of 89.8 points in four games. This one, however, was never in doubt.

Ray Allen scored 13 points and Pierce added 10 to lead the Celtics to a 36-21 lead after one.

Perkins followed Allens third 3-pointer with a monster slam over Wizards rookie center JaVale McGee to give Boston a 30-17 lead with 2:50 remaining in the first quarter.

DALLAS 95, CHARLOTTE 90

DALLAS Jason Terry scored 26 points off the bench as the Dallas Mavericks survived a valiant effort by the undermanned Charlotte Bobcats and posted a 95-90 victory.

Dirk Nowitzki sank a 3-pointer after a steal by Jason Kidd to give the Mavericks a 93-89 lead with 28 seconds left. Nowitzki finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds.

After Raymond Felton hit 1-of-2 foul shots to close the gap to 93-90, Terry canned a pair of free throws to bump the lead to five.

The Bobcats were without Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Sean Singletary, who were acquired in a trade with the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.

Emeka Okafor had 27 points and 17 rebounds to lead Charlotte.

UTAH 97, PORTLAND 88

SALT LAKE CITY Mehmet Okur collected 27 points and 10 rebounds and Paul Millsap did his best Carlos Boozer impression with 17 and 12 to lead the Utah Jazz to a 97-88 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Deron Williams scored 14 points and dished out 11 assists for the Jazz. They have won three of four and improved to 7-5 without All-Star Boozer, who has been out since November 21 with a strained left quadriceps.

Okur did most of his damage in the first half, collecting 21 points in the opening 24 minutes as Utah took a 57-46 lead into the break. Role players Ronnie Brewer and C.J. Miles picked up some of the offensive slack in the second half, combining for 15 of their 19 points after the break.

Brandon Roy led the Blazers with 33 points.

Posted on December 12th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: NBA basketball news