Boston ? Allen Iverson shook off the rust, but his Philadelphia 76ers couldn’t shake off Paul Pierce.

Pierce hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:36 left Thursday night to lead the Boston Celtics to a 93-85 victory over the 76ers and send the defending Eastern Conference champions to the brink of elimination.

Philadelphia's Allen Iverson, left, argues with referee Ron Olesiak. Iverson scored a game-high 29 points, but the 76ers lost to Boston, 93-85, in Game Two of their first-round playoff series Thursday night in Boston.

“It’s a whole different game in the fourth quarter because everything’s on the line,” said Pierce, who survived early foul trouble and 10 consecutive misses to score 11 of his 25 points in the final quarter. “That’s when the pressure is on.”

Boston took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series despite 29 points from Iverson, who missed the final 14 games of the regular season and struggled in the playoff opener. Game Three is in Philadelphia on Sunday.

“Not in a million years did I think we’d be in this situation,” Iverson said. “We are looking forward to going back home and playing in front of our fans and getting the same energy they had here.”

Antoine Walker had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Pierce, who played at Kansas University, also had 10 rebounds as the Celtics pleased a raucous crowd and stayed perfect in the playoffs at the FleetCenter. The last time they made the playoffs was in 1995 the final season of the Boston Garden and before Walker or Pierce entered the NBA.

“They’re not playing like it is their first experience in the playoffs, and I think that’s kind of neat,” Sixers coach Larry Brown said. “They’re playing with a lot of poise.”

The Sixers led 81-77 with 3:21 left to play when Tony Battie hit a basket and Pierce followed with a jumper just his second basket of the half to tie it. Pierce, who led the league in fourth-quarter points in the regular season, followed with a three-pointer from the right side to give Boston an 84-81 lead it never relinquished.

Walter McCarty, a regular-season role player who erupted for 16 points in the series opener inspiring one fan to wave a sign “We love you Walta!” came on from there. He was 3-of-4 from the line, added a big rebound and a key steal in the final minutes and had 10 points in all to help hold the Sixers back.

Derrick Coleman had 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Dikembe Mutombo had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Philadelphia. Aaron McKie added 16 in a reserve role, including 10 in a row during a 12-0 run that gave the Sixers a 75-71 lead with 7:11 left to play.

It was 71-63 when Iverson hit a pair of free throws, then McKie made a three-pointer, two free throws and a fast-break layup before converting a three-point play. But Boston answered with a 10-0 run of its own.

The reigning NBA MVP, Iverson missed the end of the regular season after breaking his left hand in a game at Boston on March 22. He returned for Game One on Sunday and scored 20 points, but 15 of them were in the first quarter.

Iverson essentially missed practice Wednesday because of a cold. But he showed no signs of either the injury or the illness on Thursday, playing 43 minutes and shooting 11-for-30 from the field and adding four rebounds and seven assists.

Lakers 103, Trail Blazers 96

Los Angeles Portland’s state of desperation didn’t seem to faze two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles.

Shaquille O’Neal had 31 points and 14 rebounds, and Kobe Bryant added 19 points despite a poor shooting performance as the Lakers held off the Blazers 103-96 to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.

The best-of-five matchup shifts to Portland for Game Three on Sunday and a fourth game, if needed, Wednesday night.

Only six teams have ever come back to win a five-game series after being down 2-0 and just one Dallas against Utah last year has done so since 1994.

The win was the 18th in the last 19 playoff games for the Lakers, who are attempting to become the fifth team in NBA history to win three or more consecutive championships.

The Lakers are trying to eliminate the Blazers from the playoffs for the fifth time in six years.

Before this game began, many fans in the capacity crowd of 18,997 began chanting “three-peat, three-peat” just as they did in the final seconds of Game One.

Two wins down, 13 to go.

Derek Fisher added 18 points and Rick Fox scored 13 for the Lakers, who outrebounded the Blazers 48-35.

Bryant was only 5-of-21 from the field and missed his last nine shots, but in the end, it didn’t matter.

O’Neal, who was 12-of-20 from the field and 7-of-9 from the free throw line, seemed to seal the verdict by making consecutive baskets the second a flying left-handed dunk with 81/2 minutes remaining that put the Lakers ahead 87-67.

The Lakers led 96-76 after two free throws by O’Neal with 5:09 left, but the Blazers went on a 16-2 run to draw within six points with 1:43 remaining on three-pointers by Rasheed Wallace and Scottie Pippen.

But that was as close as Portland would get.