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Pierce pushes Celtics past Warriors

Mar 2, 2013 - 3:47 AM Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Paul Pierce paced Boston with 26 points and Jeff Green added 18 off the bench as the Celtics stayed hot at home with a 94-86 victory over the road-weary Golden State Warriors on Friday at TD Garden.

Kevin Garnett chipped in with seven points and took sole possession of 11th place on the all-time rebounding list by hauling in 13 boards in Boston's eighth straight home victory.

Stephen Curry wasn't nearly as deadly with his shooting on Friday in following his 54-point performance against the Knicks two days earlier. He scored 25 points, but shot just 6-for-22 from the field in the Warriors' third straight setback of a four-game East Coast road trip.

"Give them credit," said Golden State coach Mark Jackson. "They defended, but we missed shots."

David Lee returned from a one-game suspension and totaled 10 points and 19 rebounds in the loss.

Pierce carried the Celtics through much of the first three quarters, tallying 23 of his points by the midway point of the third to keep the contest squared at 60-60.

However, his supporting cast broke the tie with a 9-0 run, as Jason Terry contributed a triple to the surge before Green capped it with a pair of buckets to send Boston into the fourth with comfortable seven-point edge.

Green added 10 more points in the final quarter, as he and Jordan Crawford each added two scores apiece early in final frame to expand the hosts' advantage to 11 points at 77-66.

The Celtics ran away with it from there, as the margin soon swelled to 91-78 and the Warriors only came within single-digits in the final minute and a half of play.

"We played a quality club; it's good to get that first win at home because it's like another road game," said Pierce, whose team returned to TD Garden after finishing a five-game trek with a victory in Utah. "Green was awesome tonight."

The Celtics went on 13-2 run in the first to take a 26-15 lead and they held a steady lead through most of the second quarter until a spurt from Warriors reduced their deficit to one.

Harrison Barnes followed a pair of Curry free throws with consecutive dunks to make it a 39-38 game, but Avery Bradley pushed Boston's edge back up to four by knocking down a triple and it went on to carry a 50-46 lead into halftime.

Game Notes

Boston has won five straight at home in the series with Golden State ... Garnett has now amassed 13,758 rebounds over his 18-year career and passed Hakeem Olajuwon on the all-time list. He is just 11 shy of tying Wes Unseld for 10th most in NBA history ... Lee was suspended for Tuesday's altercation with Roy Hibbert, who was also suspended a game ... The Warriors will conclude their road trip against Philadelphia on Saturday.