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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
BOSTON (AP) -- The Cleveland Cavaliers wish Paul Pierce had called in sick.
Battling strep throat, Pierce scored 23 of his 30 points in the
second half as the Boston Celtics rallied to beat the Cavaliers
114-103 Wednesday night.
|  | | Eric Williams, right, and Antoine Walker apply some defensive pressure to the Cavs' Mark Bryant. |
"Monday morning, my throat was hurting and I was feeling kind
of weak," said Pierce, who also had 11 rebounds and four assists.
"I relaxed and stayed off my feet and felt a lot better. I
practiced well on Tuesday and told the coach I was ready to go."
The Celtics trailed by 15 points in the first half and seven at the end of the third quarter, but outscored the Cavaliers 38-20 in the fourth quarter. Pierce's 3-pointer with 9:39 remaining gave the
Celtics a 85-84 lead, their first lead since 2-0.
"We came out in the second half and allowed them to get right
back into it," Cavaliers coach Randy Wittman said. " We were
standing around, not going to the boards, and they had guys tipping
it in. We allowed easy baskets."
All five starters scored in double figures for the Celtics.
Adrian Griffin scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Kenny Anderson added 21 points, Antoine Walker 11 and Vitaly Potapenko 12 for Boston.
"This is one of my favorite victories as the Celtics coach
because we really did not play well," Rick Pitino said. "Last
year at this time, we would have lost this game by 25 or 30.
"Our press gave us a big lift in the second half and we
executed some outstanding passes in the second half. We had to come
and play with great tenacity in the second half and we did."
The Celtics used a 9-2 run early in the second half to cut the
Cavaliers lead to 59-56. Pierce scored six during the run while
Walker, who shot only 5-for-17, hit a 3-pointer.
The Cavaliers built their lead to 83-76 at the end of the third
quarter.
Shawn Kemp scored 27 points and had eight rebounds to lead
Cleveland. Bob Sura had 14 points, Andre Miller added 13 and Danny
Ferry 10 for the Cavaliers.
"At the start of the game, we played hard and executed well,"
Sura said. "In the third quarter, we came out sluggish and had
stretches where we seemed to coast. Unfortunately, tonight it
caught up with us."
Sura scored seven points during a 13-0 run in the first quarter
that helped Cleveland take a 21-6 lead.
Kemp scored 16 first-half points as the Cavaliers took a 57-47
lead at the break.
Game notes
The Celtics were 2-2 against the Cavaliers last year,
winning both games at the Fleet Center. ... Pierce has 21 straight
double-doubles dating back to last season. ... Celtics G-F Calbert Cheaney missed his fourth consecutive game with a sprained right ankle. ... The Cavaliers have scored 100 or more points in five straight games.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Cleveland Clubhouse
Boston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 114
Cleveland 103
Miami 98
Philadelphia 93
Charlotte 104
Dallas 99
Detroit 109
New Jersey 107
Portland 81
Orlando 79
LA Clippers 89
Minnesota 85
Utah 98
New York 90
Phoenix 105
Chicago 81
Seattle 111
Golden State 108
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