Paul Pierce drops in 27 points as Boston marches off with a 104-95 victory over Cleveland.
BOSTON (AP) – Paul Pierce had 27 points and nine rebounds and Eric Williams scored 17 as the Boston Celtics snapped a six-game losing streak with a 104-95 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.
Ricky Davis had 31 points, 10 assists six rebounds for Cleveland (14-58), which has the worst record in the NBA, just behind Denver (16-56). Carlos Boozer added 10 rebounds for the Cavs, who need two more victories to avoid posting the worst record in franchise history.
Boston moved into a tie with Orlando for sixth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Celtics had been as high as fourth before enduring their longest losing streak since the slump that led coach Rick Pitino to resign.
Antoine Walker scored 13 points on just 4-of-12 shooting, but he hit a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left after the Cavs had cut the deficit to 96-93. Smush Parker hit a jumper at the other end before the Celtics made a series of free throws to ice it.
The Celtics scored 10 consecutive points to take a 15-6 lead in the first quarter.
They led by 16 early in the second before Cleveland scored the next 11 points and then cut it the deficit to 50-47 at the half.
Boston led 75-73 before the Cavaliers scored the first basket of the fourth quarter to tie it.
Notes: Celtics C Tony Battie missed his third consecutive game with swelling in his knee. … Boston G Tony Delk was available but didn’t play, having missed practice all week because of the sudden death of his father. … The teams play again in Cleveland on Saturday. … Cleveland has lost to the Celtics nine consecutive times.
Union, Celtics agree to postpone
Baker grievance deadline
The NBA players’ union and the Boston Celtics have agreed to extend a deadline for filing a grievance over the team’s suspension of Vin Baker, a union attorney said Friday.
“We’ve reached an agreement to extend the deadline, and the parties will continue to talk,” union attorney Ron Klempner said, adding that he expects a resolution in the next few weeks.
Although the team would not specify the reason for the suspension, The Boston Globe reported that Baker would seek counseling for a drinking problem. Baker, who has three more years and about $44 million remaining on his deal, is not being paid during his suspension.
The original deadline to file a grievance would have been Saturday.
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