Boston 118, Portland 80

Boston, Nov. 17 (AP) -- Paul Pierce scored 29 points in three quarters and Wally Szczerbiakadded 19 to help the Boston Celtics beat the Portland Trail Blazers 118-90 on Friday night.

Delonte West scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for the Celtics, who have won two straight after starting the season 1-6.

Boston, which outscored Indiana 67-43 in the second half of its 114-88 win on Wednesday, outscored Portland 68-47 in the second half Friday. Neither Pierce nor Szczerbiak had to play in the fourth quarter.

Pierce scored 12 points in the third quarter to help the Celtics take a 77-65 lead. West then shot 5-of-6 in the fourth as Boston scored on its first 10 possessions of the period.

Zach Randolph had 23 points and 12 rebounds and Ime Udoka added 14 points for the Blazers, who have lost four straight after getting off to a surprising 4-2 start.

In his first game against the Trail Blazers since being traded to Boston in the offseason, Sebastian Telfair had 15 points and seven assists. Telfair scored 13 points in the first half as Boston jumped out to a 50-43 lead.

After shooting just 2-of-9 in the first half, Randolph scored Portland's first five points of the second half to help the Trail Blazers pull within 52-51. But Szczerbiak scored seven points during an 8-0 run to help the Celtics extend their lead to 60-51.

The Trail Blazers then clawed back to 62-58 with 4:36 remaining in the third, but Pierce extended Boston's lead with a 3-pointer on the other end.

Boston outscored Portland 41-25 in the fourth quarter.

Notes: Boston center Michael Olowokandi will be sidelined two to four weeks because of a slight tear in his abdominal muscle. ... Boston rookie guard Rajon Rondo recorded the first blocked shot of his career when he swatted a jumper by Sergio Rodriguez into the stands early in the second quarter. ... Portland rookie guard Brandon Roy was active, but didn't travel with the team while recovering from a sore left heel. ... The Trail Blazers have lost three straight in Boston. ... West was charged with a flagrant foul late in the third quarter.


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