Boston ? Paul Pierce finally received offensive support, though not enough to keep him on the bench for the entire fourth quarter.

Pierce scored 36 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Mike James added a career-high 24 points to lead the Celtics to their third straight victory, 126-112, over the Seattle SuperSonics Wednesday night.

Seattle trailed, 99-68, to start the fourth quarter but went on a 25-4 run to pull to 103-93 with six minutes remaining. Pierce, who had been on the bench for 10 minutes, was forced to return and immediately hit two jump shots to increase the lead to 107-93.

“We remembered what happened with Phoenix and that was one of the most disappointing losses I have ever been a part of,” Pierce said of last Friday’s game in which the Celtics blew a 29-point second-half lead. “It is good to have a lead, but there is too much talent in the NBA for teams to lay down.”

The 126 points were a season-high for Boston, which beat its third straight Western Conference opponent after road wins against Denver and Utah.

Ronald Murray had 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter for Seattle, which tied a franchise record with 17 three-point field goals. The Sonics were 17-of-41 from beyond the arc and are a combined 38-of-85 during the last three games.

Seattle dropped its fourth straight and has lost eight of 11 overall.

“We went out and made it a helter-skelter game and got back into it,” Sonics guard Antonio Daniels said. “And then they put Paul Pierce back in the game, he hit a couple of jump shots and stopped the bleeding.”

The Celtics won for only the second time at home in the last six games and are 5-6 in Boston. They reached 100 points for the fourth straight game after eclipsing the century mark just once in their first 18.

Boston's Paul Pierce drives past Seattle's Calvin Booth, rear right. At bottom left is Celtics forward Eric Williams. Pierce had 36 points and 13 rebounds in the Celtics' 126-112 victory Wednesday night in Boston.

“We are still a new team,” James said. “We won’t know our identity until the second half of the season.”

Pierce scored 17 of his 24 first-half points in the second quarter to help the Celtics build a 66-42 halftime lead. Pierce scored his 3,000th NBA field goal in the second quarter.

The Celtics broke the game open with a 26-9 run during a seven-minute stretch.

Seattle shot 32 percent in the half and turned the ball over 12 times. Ansu Sesay and Richie Frahm had career-highs with 19 and 14 points.

Jazz 95, Knicks 73

Salt Lake City — Greg Ostertag scored a season-high 16 points with 12 rebounds as Utah defeated New York, handing the Knicks their sixth straight loss. All five Utah starters scored in double figures, and the Jazz barely missed getting four double-doubles. Raul Lopez scored 12 points with nine rebounds and nine assists, and Matt Harpring finished with 22 points and nine rebounds. DeShawn Stevenson scored 14, and Kirilenko had 10 points, 12 rebounds, five blocks, six steals and six assists for Utah, which had lost two straight.

The slumping Knicks, who led in the first half, collapsed in the third quarter of their second game in two nights. The Knicks were outrebounded 49-37 and shot just 28-for-79 from the floor.

Former Utah guard Shandon Anderson led the Knicks with 16 points.

Magic 95, Wizards 91

Washington — It’s not exactly Magic, but it’s a stunner nonetheless: Orlando has a two-game winning streak. The team that began the week with a 19-game losing streak got 27 points from Tracy McGrady and a season-high 17 from Shammond Williams to defeat Washington.

Williams made three three-pointers and hit two clinching free throws with 8.1 seconds left for Orlando, which snapped an eight-game road losing streak. Larry Hughes scored 19 and Kwame Brown had 18 for Washington.

The Wizards played their eighth straight game without Gilbert Arenas, but the injured Washington guard still found a way to hurt his team. Sitting on the bench wearing a road jersey and blue sweats instead of street clothes, Arenas was called for two technical fouls and ejected with 1.4 seconds left in the first quarter.

Grizzlies 103, Hawks 90

Memphis, Tenn. — Mike Miller scored a season-high 22 points, including 11 in a key third-quarter rally, and Memphis defeated Atlanta to tie a franchise record with its sixth consecutive win. Miller had back-to-back three-pointers late in the third as the Grizzlies took the lead for good, eventually going ahead by 15 in the fourth quarter. Earl Watson added 20 points, also a season high, and nine assists as regular starter Jason Williams missed his fifth consecutive game because of back spasms. Memphis also won six straight late last season.

Clippers 100, Mavericks 99

Los Angeles — Glen Rice, activated before the game, hit a jumper from the top of the key as time expired to give Los Angeles a victory over Dallas. Corey Maggette scored 20 of his 30 points in the first half for Los Angeles, which overcame a 22-point deficit. Chris Wilcox scored 21 points off the bench, and Elton Brand had 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Mavericks lost for only the fourth time in their last 22 meetings.

Spurs 102, Trail Blazers 77

San Antonio — Tim Duncan had 18 points and 14 rebounds as San Antonio defeated Portland. San Antonio, which began the night percentage points behind Utah for last place in the Midwest Division, won its fourth straight game. The Spurs placed four players in double figures as Tony Parker and Rasho Nesterovic added 17 points apiece. Portland, which dropped to 0-8 on the road, was led by Rasheed Wallace’s 23 points and Zach Randolph’s 22. The Trail Blazers were playing the second game of a back-to-back set after losing at Houston on Tuesday.

Bucks 94, Warriors 89, OT

Milwaukee — Michael Redd scored 25 points, and Dan Gadzuric had career highs of 19 points and 13 rebounds, leading Milwaukee over Golden State in overtime. The Warriors lost to an Eastern Conference team for the first time in six games this season. The Bucks scored the first six points of overtime, and the Warriors didn’t score in the extra period until 10 seconds remained. Desmond Mason scored 13 points, and T.J. Ford had 11 for the Bucks. Gadzuric added five blocks and three steals. Golden State was led by Van Exel’s 21 points.