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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 4:16 p.m., Friday, January 2, 2009

NBA: Nearly perfect Pierce leads Celtics over Wizards

By HOWARD ULMAN
AP Sports Writer

BOSTON — Paul Pierce scored 26 points on nearly perfect shooting and the Boston Celtics roared back from a rough road trip to beat the Washington Wizards 108-103 on Friday night.

The Celtics went 1-3 on their West Coast swing after the best 29-game start in NBA history, 27-2. They were in charge from the start Friday on their homecourt where they're 18-1. Boston's lead reached 10 points with 4:15 left in the first quarter and stayed in double digits the rest of the way.

Pierce made his first nine shots and all five 3-point attempts before missing his final shot, a 3-pointer, but Kendrick Perkins converted the offensive rebound with 1:20 remaining in the third quarter. Pierce left the game with 48 seconds left in the period with the Celtics ahead 81-55 and never returned.

Nick Young led the Wizards with 15 points, and Antawn Jamison had 14.