Celtics pull even with the 76ers

Paul Pierce scored a season-high 36 points and the Boston Celtics held on to beat the host Charlotte Bobcats, 102-95, on Monday night to move into a first-place tie with the 76ers in the Atlantic Division.

Pierce shot 10 of 20 from the field, made 15 of 18 free throws and added 10 rebounds and four assists.

Pierce has scored 20 or more points in five of the past six games and is averaging 22.3 points per game during March.

Kevin Garnett had 24 points for the Celtics.

Gerald Henderson had 21 points for the 7-40 Bobcats, who have lost six of their past seven and remain the only team in the NBA with fewer than 10 wins. Charlotte got 59 points from its bench, including 18 from Byron Mullens and 16 from Derrick Brown.

The Celtics have the same record, 27-22, as the Sixers with 17 games remaining in the regular season.

Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points, and the visiting New York Knicks, without the injured Amar'e Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin, beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 89-80. New York opened a 21/2-game lead over the Bucks and prevent Milwaukee from winning the season series and clinching the tiebreaker if the teams finish with the same record. Baron Davis scored 13 points in place of Lin, who has a sore right knee.

Stoudemire has a bulging disk in his back and is out indefinitely, a big blow to the Knicks with a month left in the regular season.

The Knicks weren't competitive in the playoffs last year when Stoudemire developed a back problem, and any hopes of even qualifying for the postseason are in jeopardy now that he has another one.

"You don't wish it on any player, especially Amar'e, who's a big part of what we do," Knicks interim coach Mike Woodson said before game.

Stoudemire traveled to Miami for a second opinion.

The Knicks said he doesn't need surgery and the injury will be treated with rehab.

- Inquirer wire services