Pierce sparked a 15-0 run by hitting a 3-pointer, a jumper, a dunk and a free throw that gave Boston a 93-86 lead with 2:37 left.
Pierce was 13-of-26 and added 12 rebounds for Boston, which avenged an 87-84 defeat to the Bulls in Chicago last Saturday that snapped a six-game winning streak.
Boston had trailed, 86-78, after Tyson Chandler hit 1-of-2 free throws with 9:03 remaining.
 Paul Pierce led the charge with a game-high 38 points. |
Antoine Walker registered 20 points and rookie Joe Johnson added 13 for the Celtics, who have won eight of their last nine games. Tony Battie had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
"We played defense when we had to," Walker said. "For some reason, the Bulls have played well against us the past few years. Sometimes when we play them, we try and blow them out and they've built confidence against us. We sometimes have the wrong mentality when we play them. The bottom line is to just get a win."
Ron Mercer scored a team-high 23 points for Chicago, which lost its second consecutive game. Greg Anthony chipped in 19 points with 11 assists and Marcus Fizer had 18 points in the loss.
"We got a little lax and forgot what was giving us success," Anthony said. "That's just being young and being unfamiliar with this whole scheme of what we're tying to do."
Boston won despite making only 7-of-30 from the arc. The Celtics were 33-of-64 on 2-point attempts.
But the Celtics won the battle of the boards, collecting 47 rebounds to the Bulls' 36, and 22 offensive rebounds to Chicago's seven.
"Every time down the stretch, when we'd get a stop, they'd tip the ball off the offense glass," Bulls coach Tim Floyd said. "Eventually, we paid for those missed opportunities."
"It's a little deflating when you play good defense and they get an offensive rebound and they convert," Anthony said. "It deflates you so much but mentally you have to stay strong and continue to push."
The Bulls took their first lead of the second half and second of the game, 59-57, on a layup by Anthony with 8:00 remaining. Brad Miller made a jumper with one second left in the period to give Chicago an 81-76 lead.
Boston point guard Kenny Anderson was ejected with 6:51 remaining in the third period after picking up two technicals in a row. Anderson was 5-of-9 for 10 points.
Walker was 5-of-5 for 12 points as the Celtics made their first nine shots over the first 5 1/2 minutes and jumped out to a 22-10 lead. But the Bulls went on an 11-0 run to end the first quarter down just 30-27.
Chicago took its first lead at 45-44 on a bucket by Fizer with 2:23 left in the second quarter. But Boston retook the lead on a dunk by Battie and Pierce hit a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left to stake the Celtics to a 53-50 edge at the break.
Neither team got much production from its bench. Boston's reserves scored only 16 points, while Chicago's tallied just 13.
"That was a great victory after really struggling in the second and the third quarter," Celtics coach Jim O'Brien said. "That was a good, tough-minded win."