Paul Pierce had 25 points and 11 rebounds as the Celtics clinched their first Atlantic Division title in 13 years with a 103-98 victory over the reeling Raptors.
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Celtics-Raptors: 300k 
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"We accomplished one goal in getting into the playoffs," Pierce said. "Now we've accomplished our second goal in winning the division. We have two games left and we still have to get home-court advantage, so it doesn't stop here."
Boston already had clinched the division before the end of the game when Philadelphia lost. But the Celtics were happy not to have backed into the title.
"That's the way I termed it before the game," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "Not backing into it, winning it."
Leading by 14 points in the fourth quarter, Boston saw its edge trimmed to 98-94 when Jalen Rose converted a three-point play with 2:19 remaining.
After Antoine Walker missed a short jumper on the other end, Rose cut the deficit in half with a 13-footer with 1:54 left. He was bumped by Pierce on the play, but no foul was called.
Pierce was fouled by Rose eight seconds later and hit a pair of free throws to push the lead back to four. Rookie Pape Sow had his layup blocked by Walker with 57 seconds to play and Pierce hit 3-of-4 from the line to seal the victory.
It was the second time in a month that the Celtics survived a late rally by the Raptors. On March 16, Toronto came back from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter before Boston escaped with a 110-109 victory.
"They really embarrassed us in Boston by coming back and we saw it coming today," Pierce said. "We decided to take a defensive stand and got key stops when we needed them to get the win."
Rose scored 31 points and Chris Bosh contributed 26 for Toronto (32-48), which lost for the fourth time in five games and remained tied with the New York Knicks for last place in the Atlantic.
"We didn't get it done," Rose said. "We lost to a team that was better. We had spurts where we played hard, but moral victories do not count in this game. It's just another loss."
The Raptors need to win their final two games - at Milwaukee and vs. Cleveland - to top last season's win total of 33.
"I hope we can do it for coach (Sam) Mitchell in his first season," Toronto swingman Morris Peterson said. "We're going to play hard for our last two games and try to finish the season strong."
Peterson scored 12 of his 18 points in the first half as the Raptors took a 50-49 lead. LaFrentz added seven in the third period, which the Celtics closed with a 13-4 run to move ahead, 82-73.