NBA Game Summary - Boston at Charlotte

Charlotte, NC (Basketball News) - Ricky Davis scored 27 points on 12-of-15 shooting to lead the Boston Celtics to a 119-110 win over the Charlotte Bobcats at Charlotte Arena.

Antoine Walker added 25 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the Celtics, who shot 58 percent as a team for the game. Paul Pierce hit only 2- of-9 shots from the floor, but ended with 15 points, six rebounds and nine assists to help Boston to its fourth straight victory.

Raef LaFrentz also had 15 points, Gary Payton ended with 12 and Tony Allen tallied 11 for the Celtics, who have won eight of nine.

Matt Carroll had a career-high 18 points for the Bobcats, who have dropped seven in a row. Jason Kapono added 17 points for Charlotte, which has dropped 10 of 11 and 18 of its last 21.

Emeka Okafor, fresh off his franchise-record 30-point performance on Saturday in a one-point loss to the Lakers, had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Bobcats. Brevin Knight and Keith Bogans also had 16 points apiece for Charlotte, which overcame a 13-point first quarter deficit only to fall short in the end.

Leading by just one point, 90-89, after three quarters, the Celtics opened the fourth with a 10-0 burst to build themselves a comfortable cushion. Davis had six points during the run, which was capped by his jumper with 7:43 remaining.

"Ricky is one of those guys, when he gets it going he’s hard to stop," said Boston head coach Doc Rivers. "He also shut down their guys on defense."

Charlotte head coach Bernie Bickerstaff picked up a double technical during the spurt and was ejected as a result.

Boston later extended to a 106-93 cushion on a Mark Blount free throw with 5:18 left.

The Bobcats would respond and drew within 110-105 on a Knight layup with 1:47 on the clock. However, LaFrentz nailed a three-pointer on Boston’s ensuing possession, and after Kapono drained a three to keep the Bobcats within striking distance, Walker knocked down a jumper from behind the arc to give Boston a 116-108 lead with just under a minute left and secure the win.

"Both teams were on fire in the first half," said Kapono. "In the second half they just made more shots and forced us to take tougher shots."

Boston led 41-28 after one quarter courtesy of 68 percent shooting in the stanza, but went into halftime tied at 68-68.

"We shot 70 percent in the first half and were tied," said Rivers. "That scared the heck out of me. It wasn’t a pleasant speech at halftime."