Celtics 99, Clippers 92
Paul Pierce scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half as the Boston Celtics ruined the Los Angeles Clippers’ return home with a 99-92 victory on Saturday.
Ray Allen scored 22 points and Kevin Garnett had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics (42-15), who are tied with Miami for the Eastern Conference lead.
Randy Foye had a season-high 32 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, for the Clippers (21-39), who have lost four straight and were playing their first home game since Feb. 2.
Blake Griffin added 21 points and 11 rebounds for Los Angeles.
The Celtics, who trailed by as many as 13 in the second quarter, took the lead for good at 52-51 on Nenad Krstic’s 20-foot jumper with 7:45 left in the third.
After Foye’s three-point play cut the Celtics lead to 78-75 with 9:06 to go, Boston went on a 11-2 run, including a Pierce 3-pointer, to put the game away.
Krstic and Jeff Green, acquired Thursday from Oklahoma City, made their Celtics debuts. Krstic had nine points and six rebounds, while Green had seven points.