BOSTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Paul Pierce was 8-for-12 from 3-point range and scored 35 points with eight rebounds Friday night for the Boston Celtics who beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 104-94, to win back-to-back games for the first time this season.
The forward hit his sixth 3-pointer with 8:10 remaining to give Boston the lead for good at 82-80. The basket started a 20-7 run that put the game out of reach.
Antoine Walker added 19 points for the Celtics (4-2), though he was held scoreless in the second and third quarters. Rookie Joe Johnson contributed 12 points and seven rebounds.
Seattle (2-5) lost its third straight game after opening its five-game road trip with a double-overtime win over Orlando.
The Sonics took their first lead, 68-67, with 2:47 to go in the third quarter on reserve Earl Watson's 3-pointer that capped a 9-0 run. Seattle ended the quarter on a 14-5 run to take a 73-72 edge into the fourth.
Gary Payton paced Seattle with 30 points and 10 assists. Vin Baker added 23 points and eight rebounds.
Seattle, looking like a team that was playing its fourth game in five nights, fell behind, 26-15, after one quarter. Walker had 11 points and Pierce nine for the Celtics while Payton scored 10 for the Sonics.
The Sonics scored the first six points of the second quarter but got no closer than three points the rest of the half. Boston led at the break, 50-44, after Milt Palacio hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer from well beyond the top of the arc.
Boston won both meetings with Seattle last season. The Sonics have not won in Boston since January 1998.
