Paul Pierce (15 points), Ray Allen (13 points) and the Boston Celtics cam out flat, but a solid second quarter brought them within one point of the Sacramento Kings, 52-51, at halftime late Friday night at Power Balance Pavlion in Sacramento.

The Celtics trailed by nine early in the game, only to close out the second quarter on a 9-2 run to get themselves back into the game. Sacramento jumped out to a 26-20 lead after one, holding Boston to 33 percent shooting while taking a 14-5 edge on the boards. The Celtics outscored the Kings, 31-26, in the second.

Sacramento, playing without its leading scorer in Tyreke Evans, shot a respectable 46 percent and was shooting 60 percent at one points in the first. Marcus Thornton scored 10 and Jason Thompson had nine points and eight rebounds to lead the Kings.

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