East meets West in Boston

Boston comes into tonight’s contest having lost three of its last four at home.

The Celtics fell to the Toronto Raptors, 105-95, Wednesday at Air Canada Centre.

Boston’s Paul Pierce nearly recorded a triple-double against Toronto, as he finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Vin Baker chipped in 17 points and eight rebounds for the Celtics, who have dropped seven of their last nine contests.

Boston is 4-5 on its homecourt this season.

The Suns start a four-game road trip tonight. They will also meet New Jersey, Orlando and Miami on the swing.

Phoenix fell for the third straight game, losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 92-79, on Wednesday in front of its home crowd.

Marbury had a game-high 32 points Wednesday for Phoenix, which fell to just 6-6 at home this season. Marbury also dished out six assists and pulled down four boards.

Anfernee Hardaway scored only eight points on 4-of-11 shooting for the Suns, while Shawn Marion and Jake Voskuhl managed just eight points each in the loss to the T-Wolves.

The Suns are just 1-4 on the road.

In 2002-03, Phoenix won both contests with the Celtics. These two teams have split the last eight games.

Phoenix, which has won eight of the last 13 meetings with the Celtics, has lost five of its last seven at Boston.