Portland’s

third-quarter surge derails Boston.

BOSTON (AP) – Darius Miles scored a career-high 31 points and led a third-quarter surge that carried the Portland Trail Blazers to a 105-98 win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.

The lead never fell below five points in the fourth quarter thanks to backup guard Eddie Gill, who scored all 11 of his points in the period.

Portland, which hit 61 percent of its shots, moved into an eighth-place tie in the Western Conference with Utah, which played New Orleans later Wednesday.

Boston missed a chance to tie the New York Knicks for seventh place in the Eastern Conference but leads Cleveland by 11/2 games for the conference’s final playoff spot.

Miles had 10 points as Portland opened the third quarter with a 20-6 run that turned a 51-48 halftime deficit into a 68-57 lead midway through the period.

Zach Randolph had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Blazers, who held a 44-30 advantage on the boards.

The Celtics were led by Ricky Davis with 27 points and Paul Pierce with 23.

Portland is 9-4 in its last 13 games and ended Boston’s winning streak at three games.

The biggest lead of the first half was 49-42 by the Celtics, but the Blazers’ young athleticism took over in the third quarter. Randolph had eight points in the 20-6 run in which Portland scored the last 12 points.

The Celtics cut the lead to 78-70 after three quarters and made it 84-79 with 8:35 left in the game on Pierce’s jumper from the left corner.

That’s when the Blazers regained control, scoring the next 11 points for a 95-79 lead with 4:33 to play.

Randolph started that rally with a layup then fed Miles for an alley-oop dunk. Pierce fired the ball the length of the court after that and drew a technical foul. Gill made the ensuing free throw.

Gill kept the run going with a basket from the top of the key and Miles hit a layup before Randolph’s basket made it 95-79. Pierce finally ended the surge with a free throw.

The score was 105-93 before the Celtics scored the last five points.

Notes: Portland is 4-3 against Boston in their last seven meetings with the road team winning all the games. … In their other meeting this season, the Blazers scored the first 22 points and beat the Celtics 105-84 on Feb. 21. … Portland made 58 percent of its shots in the first half but still trailed by three points. … Celtics coach John Carroll was ejected when he picked up his second technical foul with 20 seconds left and Portland ahead 105-95.

AP-ES-03-31-04 2134EST