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Friday, Mar. 9 7:30pm ET
Boston one game behind Pacers in race for playoffs

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

BOSTON (AP) -- The Boston Celtics played like a team fighting a playoff spot.

"I think we're a better team than them" said Celtics forward Paul Pierce, who had 21 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists in the Celtics 104-72 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

"We were just trying to dominate them and we kept our focus. This is what we're supposed to do. We're fighting for our playoff lives."

Antoine Walker scored a game-high 24 points and had eight assists as the Celtics remained one game behind the Indiana Pacers in the hunt for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-84 on Friday night.

"Antoine and Paul had workmanlike games tonight. It was a very big victory for us," Celtics coach Jim O'Brien said. "We played 11 straight games prior to Washington against teams that had over .500 records."

Boston had lost its last two games -- both at home -- after winning seven in a row at home, their longest streak since the FleetCenter opened in 1995.

Pierce scored 19 points and Walker 16 as the Celtics built a 58-38 lead by halftime. The Celtics face the Philadelphia 76ers at home Sunday, before embarking on a three-game road trip. Boston is 9-20 on the road this season.

Vitaly Potapenko added 11 points and nine rebounds for Boston.

Washington closed to 15 points, 71-56, in the third quarter. But Eric Williams hit a 3-pointer and extended the Celtics' lead back to 18 points.

The closest the Wizards came was 30-25, following Richard Hamilton's 3-pointer at the 8:48 in the second quarter. The Celtics outscored the Wizards 28-13 the rest of the way, including a 9-0 run, highlighted by Pierce's six points.

"We just had an awful shooting night. They just seemed to be knocking them down. We had the same looks on the other end, but they just didn't fall for us," said Wizards guard Richard Hamilton, who led the team in scoring with 12 points.

Christian Laettner added 11 points for the Wizards, losers of seven of their past eight.

The Wizards, whose only inter-division victory in 19 tries this season came against Boston on Nov. 18, trailed 12-2 early. Walker scored eight points in the run -- and 11 in the first quarter -- punctuated by two 3-pointers.

The Wizards fell to 1-3 since waiving Rod Strickland on March 1. With starting point guard Chris Whitney on the injured list with a sprained left knee, shooting guard Hubert Davis played the majority of the game at point guard. Mitch Richmond led the Wizards with seven assists, but was 1-for-13 from the field.

Game notes
After a season-high five-game winning streak in late January, the Wizards have won two of their last 15 games. ... In their previous two meetings, the teams shot better than 50 percent from the field. On Friday, the Celtics shot 46 percent, the Wizards 28. ... After going scoreless in the last game, Celtic starters Randy Brown, Mark Blount, and Bryant Stith combined for 19 points. ... The loudest applause of the night was for Celtics legend Bill Russell, who left the FleetCenter with three minutes remaining and the Celtics leading 99-68.

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NBA Scoreboard

Washington Clubhouse

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RECAPS
Indiana 99
Cleveland 84

Philadelphia 108
Atlanta 103

Boston 104
Washington 72

Miami 86
Minnesota 79

New Jersey 96
New York 83

Detroit 108
Chicago 75

Dallas 102
Golden State 73

Utah 107
Phoenix 95

Toronto 110
Seattle 99

Vancouver 95
Portland 85

San Antonio 93
LA Lakers 89

Sacramento 110
Denver 104


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