• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Revitalized Celtics trample Portland

Mar 10, 2012 - 6:24 AM Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Paul Pierce and Ray Allen scored 22 points apiece as a motivated Celtics team bounced back from a humiliating loss to Philadelphia with a 104-86 rout of the Trail Blazers on Friday.

Boston fell 103-71 to the 76ers on Wednesday, but led by as many as 43 against Portland, getting 12 points from Avery Bradley and 10 from Sasha Pavlovic. The Celts have won six of their last seven games.

"I mean, obviously we don't want to lose the way we lost the other night," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "I just thought we played extremely well, and (Portland) struggled. You could see they missed shots early and they got frustrated. There was a stretch for us (where) our ball movement was absolutely sensational."

LaMarcus Aldridge paced the Trail Blazers, losers in five of six, with 22 points.

The Celtics, who have won five straight over Portland, took control in the second quarter. They had used an 8-0 run to break a 10-10 tie early in the first and were up 27-17 after one before pushing the advantage to 37 in the second.

Pavlovic started the quarter with a three-pointer, part of a 16-0 opening run which staked Boston to a comfortable 43-17 lead. In fact, Pavlovic had all eight of his second-quarter points during the surge, which saw the Trail Blazers go without a field go for nearly five minutes. Pierce had 12 points in the dominant frame, which saw the Celtics take a 65-30 lead into the break.

The advantage reached 43 in the third behind 10 points from Allen and both coaches emptied their benches for the entire fourth quarter.

Boston shot 47.7 percent for the game, made 8-of-18 three-pointers and registered 27 assists.

"That's an unprofessional approach," said Portland coach Nate McMillan. "There was no basketball being played out there tonight."

Game Notes

Pierce played his 1,000th career game as a member of the Celtics...The Celtics have won five in a row at home and improved to 16-8 in Boston this season...The Trail Blazers have lost four straight on the road and are 5-14 away from Portland on the season. They have lost their last eight trips to Boston.