Pierce, teammates make their points

Following last night's 114-111 victory over Toronto, a win that pushed the Celtics unbeaten streak to four games, Pierce believes his teammates have gotten the message.

"Other guys are just really stepping up, gaining confidence night in and night out," said Pierce, who led the way last night with 33 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists. "That's my job as a leader of this team -- to try to instill confidence in everybody. Guys are responding. Guys responded to my challenge a couple weeks ago and things are starting to come together."

The Celtics broke the 100-point plateau for the fifth straight game.

As has become routine throughout the current winning streak, more players contributed to the victory. Mike James, who has averaged 18 points the last four games, chipped in with 21. Mark Blount added 13, Vin Baker had 10, and Kedrick Brown and Raef Lafrentz each came off the bench to score 9 points.

Boston also took care of the ball, not committing a single turnover in the first half.

"We're having fun out there," said Pierce, who hit for over 30 points for a second game in a row. "We're passing to one another and look, we can share the ball with everybody if we're going to score 100 points a game. Everybody is going to have their opportunities."

That was evident in the final minutes as James and Jiri Welsch (8 points) hit crucial threes that helped maintain the lead.

Pierce likes the way the Celtics are playing lately but he knows there is still a nightly test.

"We are just understanding each other a little better now," he said. "It's taken a little while but I think now we are understanding each other a little better -- our strengths and weaknesses -- and things are starting to jell. We are moving the ball, playing unselfishly, piling up assists and when you play that kind of basketball, where nobody cares who gets the credit, you're having fun and you're winning. "

Piece added while the offense is coming around, there's still work to be done on the other end.

"We're playing good basketball right now, especially on the offensive end," he said. "We still got a ways to go with the defense though, but we're excited. We're playing with a lot of confidence and this was a big win for us against a Toronto team who won [five in a row]."

The win was still in question until the final play, however, as Toronto refused to fade away.

After Pierce made one of two free throws, Vince Carter, who finished with a game-high 35 points, had a chance to tie it with a three but Pierce got a hand in his face and the shot clanged off the rim as the buzzer sounded.

"I just wanted to get up on him and make him shoot over the top of me, I didn't want to foul him," Pierce said. "And hey, we walked away with a win."