07 March,2009 12:48 PM IST | | AFP
Paul Pierce poured in 21 of his 29 points in the second half yesterday as Boston defeated Cleveland 105-94 in a battle of the National Basketball Association Eastern Conference elite.
Leon Powe chipped in 20 points off the bench and Ray Allen added 17 for the Celtics, who shot 54 percent against the best defensive team in the league.
The Celtics improved to 49-14, while the Cavaliers fell to 48-13 and had their four-game winning streak halted.
Pierce outdueled Cavs superstar LeBron James, who was held to 21 points on 5-of-15 shooting.
The Cavaliers cut the deficit to 90-83 with 5:58 to play but Pierce answered with a driving layup to spark an 8-0 scoring run and put the game away.
The All-Star guard scored 10 points in the final period.
The Celtics won despite the absence of Kevin Garnett, who sat out his seventh straight game and will miss at least another week with a strained right knee.
