 Antoine Walker blows by Vladimir Radmanovic on his way to the hoop. Jesse Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images 56k | 300k |
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.
"We consider ourselves a fourth-quarter team," Pierce said. "When the fourth quarter comes, we can be better than anybody in the league. That's when our focus is the best. That's when our defense really steps up. Our best offense and our best defense is normally played in the fourth quarter. We didn't get rattled."
"This is tough for us," Sonics forward Vin Baker said. "We got some momentum swings but (Pierce) hit some big shots and then Antoine (Walker) got going. Basically, that 1-2 punch kind of closed the deal on us."
Walker had 19 points, including eight during the fourth-quarter run. He was held scoreless in the second and third quarters and played much of the game in foul trouble, finishing with five.
"It was tough," Walker said. "That was the first time this season that I've been in foul trouble. But it's all right. Paul was hot and other guys stepped up so it didn't matter."
Rookie guard Joe Johnson contributed 12 points and seven assists, and center Tony Battie was 4-of-4 from the field and finished with 10 points for the Celtics.
Seattle lost its third straight game after opening a five-game road trip with a double-overtime win over Orlando. The Sonics close the trip Sunday afternoon against Michael Jordan and the Washington Wizards.
"We're not playing basketball right now," point guard Gary Payton said. "These games are showing us what we need to do and what we need to accomplish. We have a game Sunday that we need bad."
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 burst to take a 73-72 edge into the fourth.
Payton paced Seattle with 30 points and 10 assists. Baker added 23 points and eight rebounds.
"I've said all along that we're going to need more than two guys to play well," Sonics coach Nate McMillan said. "I thought tonight that Gary and Vin had it going but we didn't get a lot of help anywhere else. We need more than two guys to win a game."
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 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.
"We've got to learn how to win," McMillan said. "To take care of the ball, run our offense, get the shots that we want. We didn't do that tonight."