Recap: Boston vs. Milwaukee
Sports Network | November 07, 2008
Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Paul Pierce finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to lead the streaking Boston Celtics to a 101-89 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Kevin Garnett added 16 points and nine boards for the Celtics, who have won three in a row and are 3-0 at home this season. Kendrick Perkins added seven blocks, along with eight boards and six points for Boston.
Three Celtics players came off the bench to reach double figures -- Tony Allen had 13 points, Eddie House 11 and Leon Powe 10.
Richard Jefferson led Milwaukee with 20 points, but the Bucks had their two- game win streak snapped. Charlie Villanueva added 13 points and 12 rebounds for Milwaukee, which played without guard Michael Redd, who suffered a sprained ankle in Sunday's game against the Knicks.
He also did not play in Wednesday's win over Washington.
The Celtics dominated the second quarter. Luke Ridnour hit a short jumper to put the Bucks up 42-38 with 5:50 remaining, but then Boston went on a 15-1 run.
Pierce had seven points, and Garnett's bucket with under a minute left handed Boston a 53-43 lead. Rajon Rondo's pair from the free throw line gave the Celtics a 55-47 advantage at the break.
The teams traded baskets throughout the third quarter as the Celtics held a slim lead, and Glen Davis' jumper with under 10 seconds left in the stanza gave Boston a 75-70 lead going into the fourth.
The Celtics started to pull away in the final quarter. A Powe free throw, followed by a dunk from Allen and Rondo layup boosted Boston's lead to 82-72 less than two minutes in.
About two minutes later, Powe had a layup and Allen followed with two free throws to make it 92-77. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute had a dunk with 7:54 left in the game, but the Bucks didn't score for the next four-plus minutes as the Celtics cruised to the finish.
Milwaukee opened up a double-digit lead after Jefferson hit a jumper, then followed it up quickly with a three-pointer to make it 16-6 a little under five minutes into the game.
Boston rattled off eight straight points later in the first, but the Bucks maintained a lead and two free throws from Ramon Sessions gave them a 30-23 edge going into the second.
Boston has won five straight against Milwaukee, having swept the Bucks in a four-game series last season...Ridnour finished with 12 points, while Sessions had 11...The Bucks had 23 turnovers to Boston's 18...The Celtics shot 48.1 percent (38-for-79) from the field, while Milwaukee made only 39.7 percent (31-of-78) of its shots.
