Boston (22-33) at LA Lakers (28-27) 7:30 pm EST
LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- A struggling team away from home for
much of the season, the Boston Celtics can finish a four-game
road trip with no worse than a split after facing the Los
Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
The Celtics went into the All-Star break with a 4-20 road mark,
among the worst in the NBA. But after splitting their first two
games of the swing with a win at Utah and a loss at Phoenix,
they gave themselves a chance at a winning record on the trek
with Friday's 102-96 victory at Portland.
Paul Pierce continued his phenomenal play with 37 points and
Wally Szczerbiak chipped in 25 for Boston, which saw rookie Ryan
Gomes record 13 points and 17 rebounds in his sixth straight
start.
Pierce, who shot 14-of-25 from the floor and recorded seven
rebounds and seven assists, has scored at least 30 points in
seven of his last eight games. He is averaging 32.9 points in
10 games this month.
That number is even better than the February output of fellow
All-Star Kobe Bryant, who is averaging 31.1 points this month
after a 39-point effort in the Lakers' 102-83 loss to the Los
Angeles Clippers on Friday.
Bryant needed 29 shots to reach that mark and the Lakers shot 36
percent (28-of-77) from the floor.
Los Angeles has won the last three meetings here against the
Celtics and four of the last five overall.





