WASHINGTON, March 11 (Ticker) -- Paul Pierce scored 16 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter as the Boston Celtics streaked past the struggling Washington Wizards, 104-99, for their fifth straight victory.

Pierce and Antoine Walker combined for 24 of the Celtics' 39 points in the final quarter as Boston completed a home-and-home sweep of the Wizards and moved within 3 1/2 games of Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey.

Pierce, 15-of-23 from the field with five 3-pointers, also contributed nine rebounds and four assists. His final 3-pointer, released with a second on the shot clock, gave Boston a 102-96 lead with nine seconds left.

NBA TV highlights from Celtics-Wizards: 56k | 300k Antoine Walker teamed up with Paul Pierce to score 24 of the Celtics' 39 fourth-quarter points. Mitchell Layton/NBAE/Getty Images

"The guys found me and they expect me to deliver," Pierce said of his clutch 3-pointer. "The shot clock was winding down and we needed a bucket desperately. They were coming back and it was just a big shot that lifted us for the win."

"We always talk about the NBA being a game of stars and great players make great plays," Wizards coach Doug Collins added.

Walker and Tony Delk each netted 19 points for the Celtics, who also took over the third seed in the Eastern Conference -- moving one-half game ahead of Milwaukee.

Richard Hamilton scored 31 points and Courtney Alexander 24 as Washington lost for the 13th time in its last 16 games. The Wizards are just 2-7 without injured superstar Michael Jordan.

"We have to find a way to get some stops and pull through in these close games," Hamilton said.

"They are a talented team even without Michael," Pierce said. "They play well together, are well-coached, they pass the ball and they take good shots."

Anderson and Rodney Rogers each scored 11 points for the Celtics, who added to their league-leading total with 14 steals and forced Washington into an uncharacteristic 21 turnovers.

Hamilton committed six turnovers for the Wizards, who average 12.7 a game --third-lowest in the league -- but have committed 41 in their last two games, both losses to Boston.

Trailing 74-72 after three quarters, the Wizards had a golden opportunity to pull even or go ahead when Pierce was whistled for a technical foul 30 seconds into the fourth.

But Alexander missed the free throw and a jumper and the Celtics took advantage as Walker made a basket before Pierce drained a 3-pointer for a 79-72 cushion.

"When you got it going, especially in the fourth quarter, when the game is on the line, you definitely want the ball, you want to take advantage of the opportunity," Pierce said.

"We aren't able to stop teams when we need to in the fourth quarter," Collins added. "We just can't get defensive stops."

Boston, which led 53-46 at halftime, has scored over 100 points in four of its last five games and is averaging 110 points per game during its winning streak.

"We wanted to come out and play hard tonight," Walker said. "We just wanted to be very aggressive and not let ourselves down."