Pierce gives it a good shot

Led by Paul Pierce and his 34 points, the Celtics turned what could have been a monumental embarrassment into a respectable defeat last night when the Pacific Division-leading Suns took a 128-119 decision at the FleetCenter.

Phoenix blew away the Celtics in the first half, outscoring the Green, 40-31, in the first quarter and 34-17 in the second. The 74 points were the most the Celtics have surrendered in a half this season.

That was the bad news. The good news was that the Celtics played hard in the second half, led by Pierce, who scored 14 points in the third quarter, when Boston outscored Phoenix, 36-22, and added 6 in the final period, when Boston held a 35-32 advantage.

It was simply a case of being down by too many points to a team that is as explosive as you will find.

Phoenix was unstoppable in the opening 24 minutes, while the Celtics didn't help their cause. The Suns made 9 of 17 shots from beyond the 3-point arc in the first half; the Celtics connected on just 2 of 13.

"It's tough when you've got guys who can penetrate and you have to help, and they've got four other guys who can knock down shots. It's the beauty of their team," said Pierce, who in 38 minutes hit 14 of 22 shots, but just 1 of 6 from beyond the 3-point arc. Pierce was 5 for 6 from the foul line with nine rebounds and four assists.

But it was the other things Pierce did that impressed his coach.

"I think he's more comfortable in what we're trying to get him to do," said Doc Rivers. "He's doing a lot, too. It's not just the scoring numbers. I think you see his scoring numbers go up, we see other parts of his game going up for us, and I think that's really important. I think he's getting comfortable, I really do."

It has been a season of adjustments for Pierce, who has had to deal with rumors he is unhappy in Boston, as well as talk of potential trades.

"It's an adjustment to a new coach, new teammates," he said. "I think that's pretty much it. That's what happens. It's like if you go to a new job. You're not used to the new workers and new desk and a new boss. It takes time. I think as the season goes on, I'm just going to get better." Pierce was impressed with the Suns, especially in the opening half. "I think we kind of put our heads down when they made tough threes," he said. "I think that kind of discouraged our defense and it took us until halftime for us to really say, `Forget the scoreboard, forget what is going on and getting booed, it doesn't matter. We've got to go out there as a team and fight back. We can't just take a hit and lay down.' "

While the first half, with its 26-point deficit, was forgettable, Pierce said the second half had the emotion of playoff basketball.

"First half, we let it get away," he said. "In the second half, we started playing defense. That's how we've got to always play. We've got to do that all the time, not just when we go down by 30." It doesn't get easier for the Celtics, who play the hottest team in the NBA, Chicago, tonight. "Chicago is playing better than anybody in their last 14 or 15 games," Pierce said. "So we have out work cut out for us."