Boston — In one of the rarest of rarities, someone other than Paul Pierce or Antoine Walker led the Celtics in scoring.
Erick Strickland scored a season-high 22 points and Vitaly Potapenko added 12 points and 12 rebounds to lead Boston to a 98-94 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.
It was only the second time in the last 113 games that someone other than Walker or Pierce led the Celtics in scoring.
"That's a weapon we have," Walker said. "If we can continue to get those contributions from the bench, that will free things up for me and Paul."
The Celtics, who improved to 7-25 against Indiana over the last 32 games, beat Indiana two straight times for the first time since the 1988-89 season.
"They had a balanced attack and Boston is toughest when everybody gets involved," Reggie Miller said. "We made big shots and big stops, but we have to execute better down the stretch."
Kenny Anderson and Potapenko scored the final 11 points of the game for Boston over the last 8:45. Anderson had 17 points and eight assists.
Pierce was playing with a bad knee and wrist, while Tony Battie played with a hip pointer.
Trailing 96-91, the Pacers missed three shots in the last 31 seconds before Strickland stole Travis Best's inbounds pass to seal the victory.
"We killed ourselves tonight," Jermaine O'Neal said.
Warriors 107, Grizzlies 95
Oakland, Calif. Antawn Jamison scored 30 points as Golden State beat Memphis for the third time this season. Danny Fortson and Erick Dampier each had double-doubles for the Warriors, who won for just the second time in their last 12 games. Golden State has won 11 of its last 15 against the Grizzlies. Fortson had 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Dampier added 10 and 10. Larry Hughes scored 20 points and Jason Richardson had 13. Pau Gasol recorded his 16th double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds.
Clippers 95, Lakers 90
Los Angeles Corey Maggette had 28 points to equal a career-high, and Elton Brand scored 11 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Lakers. Brand also had 12 rebounds and four assists as the Clippers beat the two-time defending NBA champions for only the second time in their last 20 meetings. The Clippers, who trailed 49-35 at halftime, played without Lamar Odom, who is missed his third straight game due to a sprained ligament in his right wrist and is sidelined indefinitely.
Hornets 111, Sonics 101
Charlotte, N.C. David Wesley scored 21 points and Baron Davis had 20 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds as Charlotte held off Seattle. Vin Baker and Gary Payton each scored 24 points and Rashard Lewis added 22 for the Sonics, who trailed by 27 points in the second quarter but rallied to pull within four in the fourth quarter.
Spurs 96, Jazz 92
Salt Lake City Steve Smith went 5-for-5 from three-point range and scored 29 points including 18 in the second quarter to lead San Antonio past Utah. Tim Duncan had 26 points to give San Antonio its eighth straight victory against the Jazz, who pulled to 90-88 with two minutes to play on a jumper by Karl Malone.
Pistons 104, Timberwolves 83
Auburn Hills, Mich. Jerry Stackhouse scored 18 of his season-high 40 points in the third quarter to help Detroit surprise Minnesota. Detroit ended an eight-game losing streak against the Timberwolves. Minnesota lost for just the second time in 13 games, committing a season-worst 24 turnovers.
Knicks 96, Raptors 92
Toronto Latrell Sprewell had 35 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, as New York ended its eight-game losing streak.
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