Boston Celtics Team Report - December 12

(Basketball News) - Paul Pierce netted 22 points and Gary Payton had 21 as the Boston Celtics handed the Seattle SuperSonics their first home loss of the season, 98-84, at KeyArena.

Payton, making his first Seattle appearance in a Celtics uniform, shot 10- of-16 from the field and dished out five assists. Tony Allen added 12 points in 23 minutes off the bench to help Boston snap a three-game slide.

The Celtics saw an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter shrink to four, 81-77, when Seattle ran off seven straight points.

The difference was down to three at 87-84 after a Danny Fortson layup with three minutes left, but things quickly fell apart for the Sonics.

Allen’s dunk putback ignited Boston’s rally of 11 unanswered points. He had five of the team’s points in the final two-plus minutes while Seattle went scoreless on the way to a dismal 5-for-24 shooting clip in the fourth quarter.

Boston returns to action on Wednesday against the Denver Nuggets.