Boston Celtics @ Cleveland Cavaliers

The return of Ricky Davis and the spectacular play of Paul Pierce in the first half wasn't enough as the Cavaliers prevailed 97-89 over the Celtics. The win stopped a 13-game losing streak to Boston. Davis had earlier in the day apologized for his comments after being traded. He came off the bench to score 10 points and was booed every time he touched the ball.

LeBron James led the Cavs with 24 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 19 points and 16 rebounds in the win. With the 24 points, James became the youngest player in NBA history to reach the 1,000 point milestone. The Cavs 20th victory of the season pulled them within 2 1/2 games of the eighth-seeded Celtics.

Pierce scored 41 points against the Cavs earlier in the season at Gund Arena. And he was on pace for another offensive outburts when he scored 19 of his 22 first half points in the second period of play. Pierce ended up with 32 points, as he was held to 4-13 shooting from the field in second half, due to Ira Newble's defensive presence.

The first quarter saw the Cavs jump out to a strong start, thanks to a 10 point and 5 rebound effort by Ilgauskas. They took a commanding 24-14 lead with 3:09 to play in the quarter. From that point on, neither team would score before the quarter would end. Actually, the Celtics last basket came by Pierce with a little more than six minutes to play in the quarter.

The second quarter began and Pierce and the Celtics took off. DeJuan Wagner scored eight straight points (his only points of the game) to help ease Pierce's efforts. The Celtics pulled to within five as the Cavs took a 53-48 lead going into the half.

The third quarter saw the Celtics outscore the Cavs 28-25. Boston tied the game at 67 at the 4:31 mark and at 69 with 3:59 to play. The game would be tied again at 76 before the Cavs took back to the lead to end the period leading 78-76.

The fourth quarter was filled with a playoff type atmosphere and the Cavs played tough team defense to hold the Celtics to just 13 points. Cleveland went scoreless the first 2 1/2 minutes and saw Boston take an 80-78 lead. The lead then was tied and changed hands a few times before Eric Williams scored five straight points to put the Cavs ahead for good. Pierce made a three-point play at the 4:52 mark to pull the Celtics within six. But Boston wouldn't score again until Davis made a meaningless layup with 53 seconds left in the game

Williams had 16 points and 8 rebounds against his former team, while Jeff McInnis added six points, nine assists, and five rebounds. Along with his stellar 2nd half defense, Newble posted eight points, 7 rebounds, and three assists in the win. Chris Mihm started for the Celtics and grabbed 7 rebounds in 22 minutes of play.

Both teams shot poorly from the floor, as Boston shot 33-82 for 40 percent, while the Cavs were 34-86 for 39 percent. Cleveland outrebounded Boston 54-42, having 17 offensive compared to Boston's ten.

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