The Celtics reached the halfway mark of the regular season two games behind last season's pace, their third successive victory helping to erase memories of a four-game losing streak.
Pierce (22 points) matched a team record for perfect 3-point shooting in a quarter, most recently accomplished by Ray Allen in the opening frame of a 94-88 win at Toronto last Sunday. But Pierce showed few signs he was going to have the hot hand as he went 2 for 9 (0 for 3 on threes) in the first half.
"You know, I don't get discouraged by misses," Pierce said. "I just took advantage of the ball movement. When we swung the ball, I was wide open, and I stayed aggressive. I thought I was a little tentative in the first half."
Such decisive victories have been rare for the Celtics this season, even during their 19-game winning streak from Nov. 15 until a Christmas Day loss to the Lakers. No amount of caps, mittens, or scarves could have warded off the cryogenic funk of a 2-7 slump going into this week.
"I never thought we were in the woods or out of the woods, really," coach Doc Rivers said. "The point I was making before we lost and went in the stretch, I didn't think we were as good as we were playing, and when we were losing, we weren't that bad. All we want to do is keep trending in the getting-better direction, and I thought during that stretch, we were just kind of staying in the same spot."
There were signs this was going to be a difficult test for the Nets early on, as the Celtics' Glen Davis converted his first career 3-pointer just before the first-quarter buzzer. The Celtics appeared to be on the way to a blowout after Davis's 3-point play provided a 41-25 advantage with 5:55 left in the half. Though the Nets converted two of their first 11 shots in the second quarter, they got within 45-36 as Ryan Anderson scored with 2:41 remaining.
Late in the half, Rajon Rondo lobbed for two Kevin Garnett dunks (with 3:05 and 1.3 seconds remaining) and sank an 18-footer at the shot-clock buzzer (with 2:17 to go). The Celtics failed to extend their advantage, Devin Harris's foul shot 0.9 seconds after Garnett's dunk making the halftime score 51-41.
