Marco Belinelli scored seven points and Jarrett Jack added seven points in his return to action as the New Orleans Hornets took a 24-18 lead over the Boston Celtics after one quarter at New Orleans Arena.
Boston opened the game on a 9-2 run courtesy of a Ray Allen three, a Jermaine O'Neal dunk and two baskets from Sasha Pavlovic. New Orleans answered with an 8-0 run via four points from Belinelli, a Chris kaman 14-foot jumper and a Jarrett Jack steal and layup to take a 10-9 lead with 5:58 to go in the quarter. The Hornets closed the quarter out on an 11-2 run to take a lead into the second quarter.
Greg Stiemsma, playing in place of an injured Chris Wilcox, made his presence felt midway through the quarter. In -- minutes, Stiemsma had two blocks and took a charge.
Pavlovic leads the Celtics with four points. Two Celtics players have three points.
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