SEATTLE, Dec. 26 (Ticker) -- Ronald "Flip" Murray was the spark the Seattle SuperSonics needed off the bench.

Murray scored 18 of his 29 points in the third quarter as the SuperSonics earned a much-needed 118-111 home victory over the Boston Celtics.

NBA TV highlights from Celtics-Sonics: Play

Paul Pierce matched his season high with 43 points on 13-of-25 shooting and 16-of-21 free throws for Boston, which fell to 2-9 on the road. Starting guard Luke Ridnour was ill and did not play in the second half, opening the door for Murray, who took full advantage of his 32 minutes on the floor, making 10-of-15 shots and 7-of-10 free throws. "I had a chance to go out there and play more tonight," said Murray, who finished two points shy of his career high point total. "I think a lot of stuff opened for me because they were collapsing a lot on Ray (Allen) and Rashard (Lewis)." Murray's performance may have been even more impressive if he did not suffer two dislocated fingers late in the fourth quarter. X-rays were negative and he will be re-evaluated Tuesday. "Ronald Murray was just fantastic," Seattle coach Bob Weiss said. "He had 29 points, five assists and two dislocated fingers." "He (Murray) was great," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "He made big shots. He's a shot maker. He's capable of doing that." Murray's jumper with 2:56 to go in the third capped a 26-7 run and gave Seattle an 82-71 advantage. Finishing with 22 second-half points, Murray was responsible for 12 points during the surge. With the game tied at 105-105, Murray converted a three-point play that put Seattle ahead for good with 3:40 remaining. Delonte West hit a pair of 3-pointers to pull the Celtics to within 112-111 with 1:44 left, but Pierce missed a jumper and the Sonics put away the game at the foul line. Lewis finished with 21 points for Seattle, which had six players in double figures. Allen scored 18 despite shooting just 3-of-13 from the floor, including 0-of-7 from the arc. "Every time I play against Boston they jump pick-and-rolls hard and force the other team's main scorers to give the ball up," Allen said. "You've got to trust your other guys to step up and make plays and tonight Flip was the guy who made plays for us." The Sonics won for just the second time in their last seven home games, relinquishing several fourth quarter leads during that stretch. They led by nine in the opening minute of the fourth quarter Monday, but the Celtics battled back to take a brief 97-96 lead with 7:57 left in the game. "Our main conversation in the locker room was finishing the game in the fourth quarter," Lewis said. "We have got to finish it and make sure we get these wins. They came back, but we kept our composure and kept playing." Nick Collison had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Reggie Evans had 14 and eight and Danny Fortson added 12 and seven for the Sonics, who held a 20-7 advantage on the offensive glass. "The difference in the game was that their bigs just manhandled us," Rivers said. "Thirteen extra shots (from the offensive rebounds) makes it tough to win." Ricky Davis collected 20 points and seven assists, Mark Blount finished with 14 points and West and Marcus Banks had 12 apiece for Boston, which lost to Seattle for just the second time in seven meetings. Despite his big scoring night, Pierce, who took 25 shots, thought he should have had even more opportunities down the stretch. "Guys have to step up and understand that the focus is on me," he said. "When I have it going, you have to look for it. I thought a couple of times we went out on our own and wasted possessions. It's a learning experience and this team is still learning."