By The Associated Press

BOSTON – Paul Pierce had 31 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds and Ricky Davis added 23 points to help the Boston Celtics beat the Charlotte Bobcats 109-106 on Wednesday night.

Orien Greene’s driving layup with 57.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter broke a 102-102 tie and gave the Celtics the lead for good. Bernard Robinson missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Boston shot 55 percent from the field to win for just the second time in six games following a 1-4 road road trip. The Celtics have won three straight at home.

Delonte West added 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Celtics, who won the season series with the Bobcats 2-1.

Charlotte, playing without injured big men Emeka Okafor, Sean May and Melvin Ely, was outrebounded 45-39 and outscored in the paint 46-36.

Mark Blount took advantage of the Bobcats small lineup, scoring 18 points and grabbing eight rebounds.

Boston led by as many as 16 midway through the second half, but Jumaine Jones scored nine of his season-high 21 points in the third quarter as the Bobcats ended the period on a 22-6 run to tie the game at 81.

Charlotte then took its first lead since late in the first quarter when Robinson’s 21-foot jumper put the Bobcats up 88-87 with 9:43 remaining in the game.

The teams traded baskets before Greene’s layup put the Celtics up for good.

Primoz Brezec had 19 points and Brevin Knight added 18 points and 12 assists for the Bobcats, who scored 35 points off turnovers.

Pierce scored 12 consecutive points for the Celtics during a 4:42 stretch late in the second quarter, including eight straight overall as the Celtics turned a one-point advantage into a 58-49 lead.

Charlotte lost its third straight game after winning four of five.

Raptors 121, Magic 97

TORONTO – Rookie Charlie Villanueva scored 24 points and the Toronto Raptors shot a franchise record 63 percent from the field in a 121-97 rout of the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.

The Raptors (10-22) own the third-worst record in the NBA, but tied a season-high in points and outrebounded the Magic 34-21.

The 21 rebounds are a franchise-low for Orlando, which lost in Detroit on Tuesday.

Mike James added 17 points and seven assists for the Raptors, who have won four in a row for the first time since Dec. 2-9, 2003.

Seven Toronto players reached double figures in scoring. The Raptors previous best shooting percentage was 61.9 percent on March 3, 1998 at Cleveland.

‘Wolves 91, Mavs 78

MINNEAPOLIS – Marko Jaric scored 22 points to spark struggling Minnesota in a 91-78 victory over Dallas on Wednesday night.

The Timberwolves, who won for only the third time in their last 11 games, were paced by Kevin Garnett’s 23 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Wally Szczerbiak contributed his usual 20 points, but Jaric and defensive stalwart Trenton Hassell (14 points) were the catalysts for a team that has been starving for scoring beyond the big two.

Garnett and Szczerbiak are the only ones averaging better than 11 points per game.

Dirk Nowitzki had 23 points, and Marquis Daniels chipped in 16 points for the Mavericks.

, who were held to a season-low in scoring and shot only 37.2 percent (29-for-78) from the floor. They lost for just the fourth time in their last 17 games.