Paul Pierce scored 27 points, and Kevin Garnett added 18 to lead the Boston Celtics to a 108-100 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday night in Boston.
Thunder vs. Celtics final score: Boston turns away Oklahoma City 108-100
Boston rode strong performances in the middle quarters to overcome Kevin Durant and the Thunder on Friday night.
The Thunder were the hot team early in this one, and a balanced OKC attack gave them a 28-21 lead at the end of the first quarter. Boston quickly responded, outscoring the Thunder by 19 points over the next two quarters. Oklahoma City made a run in the fourth quarter and pulled to within three with 1:22 left in the game. However, Garnett hit a pair of free throws, and Jason Terry buried a three-pointer to cement a 5-0 Celtics run and put the game away. The victory lifts the Celtics to 7-6, while the Thunder drop to 9-4.
Jeff Green scored 17 to compliment Pierce and Garnett while Jason Terry added 16. Rajon Rondo dished out 16 assists. Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 29 points while Russell Westbrook had a nice all-around game with 26 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Serge Ibaka added 17 points and 13 rebounds. The Thunder shot 25 percent from behind the three-point line (6-24) while Boston shot 53 percent (9-17) from downtown.
Boston travels to Orlando to play the Magic on Sunday, while Oklahoma City finishes their back-to-back Saturday night in Philadelphia.
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