NBA Game Summary - Portland at Boston

Boston, MA (Basketball News) - Paul Pierce poured in 35 points, dished out four assists and recorded six steals as Boston destroyed Portland, 115-83, at TD Banknorth Garden to end a six-game skid.

Wally Szczerbiak added 21 points for the Celtics, who won for the first time since a January 27th outing against Sacramento. Raef LaFrentz tallied 18 points and Orien Greene had 10 points in the win .

Zach Randolph paced the Blazers, who lost their third straight game, with 14 points and six boards. Jarrett Jack added 12 points off the bench while Travis Outlaw chipped in with 10 points in the loss.

After a solid first half, the Celtics blew the game open in a dominant third quarter. Pierce scored 20 points in the frame as Boston outscored the hapless Blazers 39-19 and coasted the rest of the way.

The Celts came out of the locker room with a 16-6 burst capped by Pierce’s turnaround jumper to make it 68-48 with a little over eight minutes left in the quarter.

Less than five minutes later, Delonte West’s driving layup gave Boston an 80-52 edge.

Pierce then buried a jumper as time expired in the quarter to give the Celts their first 30-point lead, 91-61.

The Blazers failed to make any kind of a run in the final frame. The closest Portland got was 26 points, 100-74, when Jack hit a pair of free throws with 6:02 left.

Boston grabbed its biggest lead when Greene nailed a jumper with 1:09 left to make the score 113-79.

The Celts raced out to a 30-20 advantage after the first 12 minutes and managed to keep the same 10-point lead, 52-42, going into the half.

Szczerbiak and Pierce both notched 15 points for Boston while Randolph led the Blazers with 12 heading into intermission.