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Thursday, Mar. 15 9:00pm ET
Captain says team has to step it up, and he does

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

PHOENIX (AP) -- Paul Pierce is willing to do whatever it takes to get the Boston Celtics into the playoffs.

Pierce delivered at the offensive end Thursday night, scoring 42 points as the Celtics beat the Phoenix Suns 105-101.

"These are big games for us," said Pierce, who went 13-for-25 from the field and was perfect on 13 free throws. "I'm feeling good. I've got to step up as the captain of this team, do whatever I've got to do. If it's score points, I've got to score points.

"My team was finding me, and I felt that the whole game, every shot I took would fall in."

Boston led by three points with 21 seconds left before Milt Palacio hit two free throws and Bryant Stith hit one to seal the victory.

Antoine Walker added 20 points and Stith had 15 for the Celtics, who snapped a two-game losing streak and beat Phoenix for the second time this season.

Jason Kidd scored 31, Shawn Marion 18 and Tony Delk 15 for Phoenix.

Suns coach Scott Skiles was upset with his team's defensive effort.

"We let a team that normally shoots 42 percent shoot 50 percent (actually 49 percent)," Skiles said. "Pierce, I thought that was pretty much a clinic from a guy who knows how to play."

Defense was the key to the victory, according to Boston coach Jim O'Brien.

"We turned them over 25 times, which is a big number for us," O'Brien said. "As a whole, our team shot the basketball very well tonight."

Boston scored 13 consecutive points at the start of the second half and built its lead to 66-50. Pierce hits two 3-pointers in the run and the Suns missed their first 11 shots of the third quarter.

"We relied too much on the jumper and didn't hit it," Marion said. "We should have taken it to the hole. It's very disheartening."

Kidd scored 18 points in the first quarter, hitting eight of nine shots from the field, including two 3-pointers, as the Suns charged to a 32-26 lead.

Phoenix built its lead to 13 points, 44-31, five minutes into the second quarter before Boston countered with a 14-point run.

Pierce scored 10 points in the run, which ended with Boston leading 45-44 with 3:18 left in the first half. Pierce finished the half with 23 points and the Celtics led 53-50 at intermission.

Game notes
Boston snapped a four-game losing streak in Phoenix. ... The Suns, who played Wednesday in Portland, are 7-10 in the second of back-to-back games. ... Phoenix is 15-8 against Eastern Conference teams. ... Pierce had a four-point play, the first against Phoenix in three seasons.

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RECAPS
LA Lakers 125
Detroit 119

New York 88
Toronto 72

Seattle 108
Milwaukee 102

Dallas 103
Minnesota 83

Houston 108
New Jersey 106

Boston 105
Phoenix 101


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