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.”
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 3-pointer with 6.9 seconds left and the Suns held on for a 107-102 victory.
In the only other games Monday night it was: Portland 106, Orlando 99; and Indiana 107, Oklahoma City 99.
At Miami, Wade entered the game 0-for-9 from 3-point range this season but hit four 3-pointers against the Nets, including three from beyond the arc during the frantic comeback.
“I didn’t need to use them yet,” Wade said. “But tonight, I brought them out.”
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.
5:48 left, but was outscored 26-11 the rest of the way.
At 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 3-pointer of the game to give Phoenix a 103-102 lead. After a pair of Steve Nash free throws, Mayo missed a straightaway 3-pointer with 6.9 seconds to allow Phoenix to escape with its ninth straight win over Memphis.
Trail Blazers 106, Magic 99
At Orlando, Fla., 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.
Trailing 73-72 entering the final period, Portland scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter, fueled by two 3-pointers by Rudy Fernandez, who finished with 16 points.
Pacers 107, Thunder 99
At Indianapolis, T.J. Ford had 24 points and 10 assists to lift the Pacers.
Ford scored 11 points in the fourth quarter. Danny Granger added 20 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who won their second straight.
consecutive loss.
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