By The Associated Press

BOSTON – Paul Pierce had 31 points and eight assists, and hit the key shot down the stretch, to lead the Boston Celtics to a 99-98 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.

Pierce’s 3-pointer with 39.2 seconds left in the game, and 4 seconds left on the shot clock, put the Celtics ahead for good.

After Fred Jones tied the game at 94 with 1:34 remaining, he missed the subsequent free throw that would have given the Pacers the lead.

Pierce and Jones then exchanged jumpers, but Pierce’s 3-pointer was too much for the Pacers to overcome.

Jones made a lay-up to cut the lead to 99-98. After Pierce missed an off-balance jumper with the shot clock running down and Orien Greene missed two free throws, Stephen Jackson missed a jumper at the buzzer that would have given the Pacers the win.

Delonte West added 17 points and seven assists for the Celtics, who won for the sixth time in nine tries after dropping six in a row. Wally Szczerbiak, Ryan Gomes and Raef LaFrentz all scored in double figures for the Boston.

Peja Stojakovic led the Pacers with 24 points and Jackson added 20 points. Jones, who had 11 points in the fourth quarter, finished with 16 points.

After trailing the entire second quarter and trailing by as much as 12 points in the third quarter, the Celtics went on a 14-2 run to tie the game, 72-72, on a dunk by Greene.

Bulls 108, Knicks 101

NEW YORK – Ben Gordon scored 32 points in another huge game against New York, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 31 seconds left, to help the Chicago Bulls rally to beat the NBA-worst Knicks 108-101 Friday night.

Kirk Hinrich added 33 points for the Bulls, who trailed by 16 points in the third quarter before he and Gordon, from nearby Mount Vernon, brought Chicago back to hand the Knicks their sixth straight loss and 22nd in 24 games.

Kings 102, Hawks 93

ATLANTA – Brad Miller scored 24 points to lead five Kings in double figures in Sacramento’s 102-93 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.

The Kings, who have won three in a row and four of five, also got 19 points from Kevin Martin, 18 points each from Ron Artest and Mike Bibby and 12 from Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

Mavericks 90, Bobcats 76

DALLAS – Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 points and Jason Terry had 17 as the Dallas Mavericks rallied from a halftime deficit to extend their club-record home winning streak to 16 games with a 90-76 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night.

Erick Dampier had nine points, 14 rebounds and two blocked shots for the Mavericks, who have won 20 of their last 22.

76ers 119, Wizards 113

PHILADEPHIA – Allen Iverson had 47 points and 12 assists, and Chris Webber added 30 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 119-113 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

It’s the first time Iverson has reached 40 points and 10 assists in consecutive games.

He had 40 points and 10 assists against the Rockets on Wednesday night. The victory was the Sixers’ fifth in six games since the All-Star break.