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Celtics shut down Clippers

Mar 13, 2012 - 6:48 AM Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Paul Pierce scored 25 points and made some clutch shots down the stretch, helping the Boston Celtics defeat the Los Angeles Clippers, 94-85.

Kevin Garnett added 21 points and eight rebounds for the Celtics, who bounced back from a 97-94 loss to the Lakers on Sunday. Ray Allen tallied 15 points and Rajon Rondo donated 12 points and 10 assists.

Blake Griffin ended with 24 points and nine boards for the Clippers, who have lost two in a row and four of five. Mo Williams and Chris Paul had 21 and 14 points, respectively.

"Another difficult game for us," Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro said.

The Celtics started the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run to take a 71-61 lead. But Los Angeles scored the next seven points to make it a three-point contest with over 6 1/2 minutes to play.

Griffin made two free throws and Bobby Simmons was good from beyond the arc to give the Clippers a 78-74 lead with 4:24 remaining.

But Pierce tallied seven points during an ensuing 13-2 Boston surge. Pierce made two free throws and a three-pointer to give the Celtics an 83-78 edge. Paul made it a one-possession game with a pair of foul shots, and Boston had the ball back after each team missed a shot.

While in transition, Pierce split a pair of defenders and put in a layup for an 85-80 lead. Following a turnover by Paul, Mickael Pietrus made an easy layup at the other end with 1:33 to play.

Paul and Williams both missed three-pointers, but the former would make two free throws to cut the gap to five. Rondo's missed layup led to a Griffin putback slam, which made it an 87-84 game with 59.3 seconds left.

Garnett responded with a 21-foot jumper and the Celtics went 5-of-6 from the charity stripe in the final 22.4 seconds to seal the victory.

"The last six minutes was huge for us," Boston head coach Doc Rivers said. "We needed this game."

Boston controlled play in the first quarter and took a 25-21 edge into the second.

The Clippers used a 12-0 run late in the second to grab a 42-33 lead. They held a 48-39 margin at the break.

Boston opened the third period on a 23-6 run to take a 62-54 lead. However, LA kept the back-and-forth battle going by scoring the final seven points of the frame, cutting the gap to 62-61.

Game Notes

Allen twisted his right ankle in the final minute of the game after slipping on a wet spot on the court. He limped off to the locker room, before returning to action for the final seconds...Boston shot 49.3 percent from the field and went 23-of-27 from the foul line, while the Clippers shot 37.3 percent and went 18-of-21 from the charity stripe...The Clippers won the rebounding battle by a 45-31 margin.