nba roundup Friday’s games

Celtics 112, Hornets 92

BOSTON — Paul Pierce scored 27 points, Kevin Garnett added 21, and the Boston Celtics moved closer to wrapping up the top record overall by avenging last weekend’s loss in New Orleans. Eastern-conference leading Boston (57-15) opened its advantage to six games over the idle Detroit Pistons with 10 games left. The Hornets (49-22) had a five-game winning streak halted. New Orleans, which leads a strongly contested Western Conference, beat Boston 113-106 last Saturday night. Rajon Rondo added 17 points and Ray Allen had 12. Chris Paul paced the Hornets with 22 points and 10 assists. Peja Stojakovic had 17 points and David West 14. Garnett appeared to want his teammates to pick up the intensity defensively midway into the third quarter, and he showed them when he dropped to his knees setting up to cover David West at the top of the key. West did drive by for a basket after Garnett squared up defensively, cutting it to 72-68, but the Celtics scored 19 of the next 24 points over the ensuing 5:56 to move ahead 88-73. Rondo keyed the decisive spree with consecutive jumpers that ignited a 12-0 run. Boston shot 68 percent in the third, hitting 13 of 19 attempts. Eddie House nailed back-to-back 3s to push it to 96-78 early in the final quarter.

Suns 107, 76ers 93

PHILADELPHIA — Amare Stoudemire scored 22 points, Raja Bell had 20 and the Phoenix Suns avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season. The Suns lost consecutive road games at Detroit and Boston, yet had little problem thrashing the 76ers. Shaquille O’Neal had 15 points and 13 rebounds, Leandro Barbosa scored 17 points and Steve Nash had 10 assists. Andre Miller had 16 points and 10 assists, Lou Williams scored 15 points and Andre Iguodala had 13 for Philadelphia.

Hawks 106, Bulls 103

ATLANTA — Mike Bibby scored 30 points and the Atlanta Hawks held on after nearly blowing a 22-point lead, giving themselves some breathing room in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Hawks were up 31-12 before some late-arriving fans had even settled in their seats, and they appeared headed for a laugher when Al Horford’s dunk made it 72-50 with 7 minutes left in the third quarter. Not so fast. Led by Ben Gordon, the Bulls twice closed within a point in the final minutes and had a chance to force overtime in the frenetic closing seconds. Gordon, who scored 16 of his 18 points in the fourth, got off a long 3-pointer that rimmed out as the horn sounded.

Raptors 103, Knicks 95

TORONTO — Chris Bosh had 29 points and 10 rebounds, Rasho Nesterovic added 18 points, and the Raptors beat the Knicks. Rasho Nesterovic had 18 points and Anthony Parker added 15 for the Raptors, who won their second in a row after losing 11 of their previous 14. Starting for the second straight game, Toronto guard T.J. Ford had 10 points and nine assists. Jamal Crawford scored 26 and Jared Jeffries had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who have won just two of their past 15 games.

Pacers 123, Nets 115

INDIANAPOLIS — Danny Granger scored 26 points and the Pacers beat the Nets to halt a two-game losing skid and boost their playoff hopes. Troy Murphy had 21 points and 17 rebounds for Indiana after missing the previous game with strep throat. Mike Dunleavy added 19 points for the Pacers, who avenged a loss to the Nets on Wednesday. Vince Carter scored 33 points, Devin Harris scored a career-high 27 and Josh Boone had 15 points and 16 rebounds for the Nets, who are just a game ahead of the Pacers after the loss. Both teams are chasing Atlanta for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Indiana held New Jersey to 8-for-24 shooting in the fourth quarter.

Associated Press