No one could stop Paul Pierce in the fourth quarter.
Pierce was one of three stars with a huge final period that helped their teams pull out victories on Monday night. Dwyane Wade rallied Miami over New Jersey, and Leandro Barbosa helped Phoenix hold off Memphis.
Pierce had 22 of his 36 points in the fourth to help the Boston Celtics beat Toronto 94-87. Not too shabby for the Boston star, who's been nursing a hand injury.
"I've had a sprained hand for about a week, so we're just icing it down," Pierce said. "I try not to think about it. It's been bothering me."
It certainly didn't look that way.
Pierce made 7-of-9 shots in the final quarter?-- including a pair of 3s just 40 seconds apart midway into the period?-- and the Celtics overcame an eight-point deficit to win their fifth straight.
"I love when Superman goes in the booth and transforms," teammate Kevin Garnett said of Pierce's performance. "I love it. I got the best seat in the house."
Toronto got 23 points and 11 rebounds from Jermaine O'Neal, who failed to make a field goal and had just five points against Charlotte on Sunday.
"In the fourth quarter they did a good job of making shots," O'Neal said. "We've got to figure a way to keep those guys down, especially when we're up 15 or 16 points in a game."
Wade scored 19 of his 33 points in the fourth, 14 of those in the final 4 1/2 minutes, to help the Heat rally from a 10-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter to beat the Nets 99-94.
Barbosa and Grizzlies rookie O.J. Mayo went shot-for-shot in the final period, with Mayo scoring 19 points and Barbosa putting up 16. Mayo did all he could to try and lead Memphis to a remarkable comeback, but he missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with 6.9 seconds left and the Suns held on for a 107-102 victory.
In the?other National Basketball Association games on Monday night, it was: Trail Blazers 106, Magic 99 and Pacers 107, Thunder 99.
In Miami, Wade entered the game 0-for-9 from three-point range this season but hit four 3s against the Nets, including three from beyond the arc during the frantic comeback.
Michael Beasley scored 19 points and Daequan Cook added 15 for the Heat, who are 3-0 at home for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. Miami had to dig deep to get there after the Nets maintained control for much of the second half.
Yi Jianlian made a career-best five 3s and finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets, who got 22 points from Vince Carter. New Jersey led by 10 after Carter connected on a three-pointer?-- one of 13 by the Nets?-- with 5:48 left, but was outscored 26-11 the rest of the way.
In Phoenix, the Grizzlies rallied from a 17-point third-quarter deficit and led 102-100 on Rudy Gay's dunk off an offensive rebound with 1:30 remaining.
Then Barbosa sank his second three-pointer of the game to give Phoenix a 103-102 lead. After a pair of Steve Nash free throws, Mayo missed a 3 with 6.9 seconds to allow Phoenix to escape with its ninth straight win over Memphis.
In Orlando, Florida, Brandon Roy scored 27 points to lead the Trail Blazers to their first road victory this season.
Dwight Howard had 29 points and a season-high 19 rebounds, and Hedo Turkoglu scored 35 points for the Magic, who finished their homestand 4-1.
In Indianapolis, T.J. Ford had 24 points and 10 assists to lift the Pacers.
Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 37 points and eight rebounds.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily November 12, 2008)