PORTLAND, Ore, Feb. 15 (Ticker) -- Paul Pierce had plenty of answers for Scottie Pippen.

Pierce scored 17 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, including two huge baskets down the stretch, leading the Boston Celtics to a 107-104 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

An All-Star, Pierce had been limited to 14 points through the first three quarters, primarily by Pippen, one of the best defensive players in NBA history.

But Pierce caught fire in the final period. His jumper gave Boston a 79-75 lead with 7:45 remaining and -- after Pippen hit a 3-pointer -- he buried a jumper for an 81-78 edge with 7:05 to go.

NBA TV highlights from Celtics-Blazers: 56k | 300k Paul Pierce pushes the ball upcourt, before pushing the Blazers around in the fourth quarter. Sam Forencich NBAE/Getty Images

"I wasn't playing particularly well," said Pierce, who made 12-of-21 shots. "I didn't want to force things. I just wanted to try and take good shots. My teammates were going to me. I was getting good position to take good shots."

"He hit some tough shots on us," Pippen admitted.

Pippen, who scored 17 points, drilled a 3-pointer to give the Trail Blazers a 91-90 lead with 1:51 to play. After a timeout, Pierce sank another 3-pointer, giving the Celtics the lead for good with 1:36 left.

"Originally it was supposed to be a post-up for me, but they denied 'Toine (Antoine Walker) and I just cut to the top of the key," Pierce said. "I saw no one was on me so I took the shot. Down one, if I'm wide open, I'm going to take that shot 99 percent of the time."

"Paul Pierce was a handful," Portland coach Maurice Cheeks said. "Time after time, he made the big shots."

After a turnover by Bonzi Wells, Pierce dribbled into the lane against Pippen, spun and drew a foul as he flipped in a layup. His free throw made it 96-91 with 1:09 remaining.

"We tend to want to put the ball in his hands," Celtics coach Jim O'Brien said. "He made some really great shots when he was being pressured."

"He got the hot hand right there late," Pippen said. "He had a few big baskets. I thought we had control of the game for the most part, but they were able to break away from us at the end."

Erick Strickland made 4-of-4 free throws and Pierce 3-of-4 in the final minute to help turn back a flurry of 3-pointers by Portland. Rasheed Wallace made one and Damon Stoudamire sank a pair before Stoudamire's potential tying shot was well short.

Walker scored 22 points and Tony Battie added 17 for the Celtics, who won in Portland for the second straight season and improved to 2-1 on their seven-game road trip.

"No one is giving us a chance on this road trip, so we just take it one game at a time," Walker said. "Every time we play them, it's a great game, and now we're in a spot where we can beat them."

Stoudamire scored 20 points and Wallace added 18 for Portland, which had a six-game home winning streak snapped.

Battie made 7-of-7 shots and grabbed eight rebounds. He had a pair of key jumpers in the fourth quarter.

"It seemed like most of his shots were really big ones that changed momentum," Cheeks said.

The Celtics also got an excellent game from former Blazer Kenny Anderson, who had 14 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.

"I was trying to get in there and mix it up," Anderson said. "I found people and they were getting their shots to fall."

While Boston made 32-of-38 free throws, Portland fired away from the arc, attempting a team-record 29 3-pointers and making 13, a season high.

"I think we will talk tomorrow about doing some dribble drives a little more," Cheeks said. "Perhaps we could have done a little more of that tonight."

Eric Williams scored 12 points for Boston, which shot 45.5 percent (35-of-77) and committed just nine turnovers.

Wells had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Shawn Kemp scored 15 points for Portland, which shot 44 percent (34-of-77) and held a 49-34 rebounding edge but committed 19 turnovers.

Pierce scored 10 points in the first quarter as Boston opened a 28-22 lead. Portland rallied for a 50-46 halftime lead behind Wells, who scored nine points in the second period.