Paul Pierce turned back the clock, putting forth a vintage performance in which he scored a game-high 34 points and had 10 assists, eight rebounds and three steals as the Boston Celtics put away the Washington Wizards, 100-94, on Sunday afternoon.
Pierce and Kevin Garnett, who finished with 17 points and five rebounds, were forced to carry the load for Boston, which played the entire second half without Ray Allen (seven points), who jammed his left ankle in the second quarter and did not return. Also, the Celtics were without All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo (sore right wrist) for the second straight game.
Boston trailed by one point after 12 minutes, 21-20, but outscored Washington by ten points in the second quarter and closed out the first half on a 7-0 run to take a 49-40 lead into the intermission. The third and fourth quarters were tightly contested, with Washington outscoring Boston 29-24 in the third but the C's prevailing 27-25 in the closing quarter.
John Wall led his team with 27 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and Nick Young scored 19 points for Washington, which finished 37-of-77 from the field to shoot 48.1 percent. JaVale McGee scored 13 and Jordan Crawford added 12 points off the bench.
Boston returns home to host Glen Davis and the Orlando Magic on Monday at TD Garden.
For more Celtics and Wizards coverage, visit our blogs, CelticsBlog and Bullets Forever.