Boston ? Three men were acquitted Monday of trying to kill Boston Celtics All-Star Paul Pierce in a nightclub attack two years ago. Two of the defendants were convicted on lesser charges.

William Ragland, 30, Trevor Watson, 35, and Anthony Hurston, 33, were found innocent of armed assault with intent to murder in the Sept. 25, 2000, attack in Boston’s theater district.

Ragland was convicted of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (a knife), and assault and battery. Watson was found guilty of assault and battery. Hurston was acquitted on all charges.

Pierce, not in court Monday, couldn’t identify any of the three men when the former Kansas University All-American testified during the trial. He was stabbed eight times, hit in the head with a bottle and had a collapsed lung, but managed to play in the 2000-01 NBA season, which began a little more than a month after the attack. Pierce averaged 26.1 points and helped Boston reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 14 years.

“I’m happy that this has come to an end,” Pierce said in a statement. “It was an unfortunate incident for all involved and I am looking forward to putting it behind me and focusing my attention on the upcoming season.”

Jurors deliberated four days before returning the split verdict in a trial marked by a change in testimony from two key prosecution witnesses.

Ragland faces up to 10 years in prison for the assault with a dangerous weapon conviction and another 2 1/2 years for the assault and battery. Watson faces 2 1/2 years in prison. Sentencing was scheduled for Friday morning.

Defense attorneys maintained that police rushed to charge the men because of Pierce’s celebrity. Prosecutors said police found the right men after witnesses came forward.

“Paul’s a good dude. He got us caught up in a situation we had nothing to do with,” Hurston said after the verdict was read. “He’s a victim as much as us.”

Two women combined to identify Hurston, Ragland and Watson as Pierce’s attackers when they testified before a grand jury 10 days after the stabbing. But both witnesses changed their stories after reluctantly taking the stand during the trial. One woman fainted after the judge told her she could be jailed for three months if she refused to testify.

Prosecutor John Pappas suggested that the women changed their testimony because they were afraid of retaliation.

Two weeks after the attack, Pierce picked Hurston’s photo out of a group, saying he was the man who first attacked him. But on the witness stand, Pierce said he wasn’t sure anymore.