Celtics shut down Chris Paul, rally past Hornets

The Boston Celtics shut down Chris Paul and shut up the sellout crowd at New Orleans Arena.

   Glen "Big Baby" Davis scored 20 points to lead a strong bench effort and the Celtics held Paul without a basket as they rallied for an 89-85 road victory over the Hornets on Saturday night.

   Ray Allen also scored 20 points for the Celtics (49-19), who stormed back from a 15-point third-quarter deficit and pulled into a tie with Chicago for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

   "It meant a lot to the guys to come back," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers, who collected his 500th career victory. "They wanted this win."

   Boston's struggles on offence continued as it was held below 100 points for the sixth straight game. But the Celtics relied on their league-leading defence, holding the Hornets to 34 second-half points and forcing Paul to shoot 0-of-9 from the field.

   "It's going to be hard for us to win if I play like that," said Paul, an All-Star point guard who had 15 assists but just four points. "I don't have a stat guy on my shoulder during the game telling me what I'm shooting. I'm just going to keep shooting."

   The Celtics trailed, 56-41, early in the third quarter but rallied behind Allen and Davis to take a 67-64 lead into the final period. As they did, a good portion of the crowd of 18,018 cheered them on.

   "It felt like a road game tonight," Paul said. "I'm not saying the refs. There was just a lot of energy (for Boston) in there."

   "The energy level changed," said Davis, who made 8-of-11 shots and grabbed eight rebounds. "We started doing the things we know how to do best."

   New Orleans was 1-of-10 from the field with three turnovers over the last six minutes of the third quarter.

   "We had too many possessions where we weren't helping each other enough," said Hornets forward David West, who scored 32 points. "We started letting (Boston) dictate the pace of the game and we got stagnant on the offensive end."

   The Hornets tied it at 74-74 on a three-pointer by Trevor Ariza with 7:30 to play, but Davis responded with a layup and jumper.

   New Orleans cut the deficit to 82-81 before Davis sank a free throw that preceded a key sequence. Paul missed a runner and Emeka Okafor's follow shot was blocked by Kevin Garnett.

   After the Hornets won a jump ball, Allen stripped Italy's Marco Belinelli and Kevin Garnett drained a 19-footer for an 85-81 advantage with 57 seconds to play.

   Davis and Allen each answered baskets by the Hornets with two free throws, sealing the win.

   Davis was among just three reserves used by Rivers who outscored the Hornets' bench, 39-6. They overcame a poor shooting game by All-Star Paul Pierce, who was just 1-of-9 for nine points.

   Garnett had 12 points and nine rebounds and Jeff Green scored 10 points for the Celtics, who shot 51.5 per cent (35-of-68). Davis, Green and fellow reserve Delonte West combined to make 17-of-23 shots.

   Belinelli scored 23 points and Emeka Okafor added 10 and 11 rebounds for the Hornets (40-31), who fell one game behind Portland into seventh place in the Western Conference.

   "I thought we played well enough in spots, but not well enough to beat a team like that," West said.

Elsewhere:

Miami 103, Denver 98

   LeBron James scored 33 points and Dwyane Wade added 32 for the Heat, who have won five of six. JR Smith scored 27 points for the Nuggets, who completed a 2-2 road trip.

   San Antonio 109, Charlotte 98

   Steve Novak scored 19 points for the league-leading Spurs, who rested All-Star Tim Duncan and made 17 three-pointers as they won for the fifth time in six games. The visiting Bobcats were without injured leading scorer Stephen Jackson and dropped their third straight game.

   Portland 110, Philadelphia 101

   Wesley Matthews scored 28 points and Gerald Wallace added 25 and eight assists for the Trail Blazers, who have won seven of nine. Lou Williams scored 24 points for the 76ers, who fell percentage points behind sixth-place New York in the East as they completed a 2-3 road trip.

   LA Clippers 100, Cleveland 92

   Blake Griffin scored 30 points and Eric Gordon added 29 in his return from a wrist injury for the host Clippers. About 90 minutes before the game, police subdued a man holding a knife in front of the Cavaliers' bench.

   Memphis 99, Indiana 78

   Tony Allen had 19 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and six steals for the host Grizzlies, who moved 1 1/2 games ahead of Utah for the final playoff spot in the West. The Pacers (30-40) have lost eight of 11 but remained 1 1/2 games ahead of Charlotte for the East's final playoff spot.