PHILADELPHIA, (Reuters) – Paul Pierce scored 31 points to help the Boston Celtics edge the Philadelphia 76ers 100-98 on the penultimate day of the NBA regular season on Tuesday.
The Celtics’ victory denied the 76ers (40-41) a chance to tie Chicago (41-40) for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. The loss was the sixth in a row for Philadelphia, who could face Boston in the playoffs.
Pierce’s jumper with 2:44 remaining broke a 97-97 tie and Boston (61-20) never trailed again.
“Pierce was great, he was just great,” 76ers coach Tony DiLeo told reporters.
Philadelphia kept the heat on, pulling within one on Thaddeus Young’s free throw with 1:21 to play. Boston’s Eddie House scored the last point on a free throw with two seconds remaining.
The 76ers tried to get the ball inside to Andre Iguodala with 1.3 seconds to go, but Pierce’s solid defense disrupted the attempt, DiLeo said.
“I thought through the whole game we played hard,” he said. “It was disappointing we didn’t execute some of the things down-the-stretch offensively.”
Tony Allen added 18 points for the Celtics with Glen Davis scoring 15.
“I thought our bench was fantastic,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said. “That’s the group that’s going to win you games in the playoffs.”
Boston, already assured of second place in the conference, played without two of its starters. Kevin Garnett rested a strained knee and Ray Allen served a one-game suspension.
Iguodala, who led Philadelphia with 25 points, said it did not matter who the 76ers played in the opening round of the playoffs.
“We just have to be ready to play no matter who we play,” he said. “If we don’t play at a high level we’ll be going home.”
