Boston ? With his scoring sidekick on the bench in street clothes, Paul Pierce had no problem picking up the slack.

Pierce, the former Kansas University standout, had 45 points Friday and almost outscored the entire Denver team in the first half as the Boston Celtics beat the Nuggets 77-58.

“He was absolutely superb,” Boston coach Jim O’Brien said. “He was very hot right from the beginning, and I couldn’t call enough plays to get the ball in his hands.”

Boston, minus Antoine Walker for the second straight game because of a sprained right knee, has won five of six overall and eight in a row against Denver.

The Nuggets, the lowest-scoring team in the league, tied for 11th-lowest scoring total since the 24-second shot clock was implemented in 1954-55.

Less than two minutes before halftime, Pierce had 28 points to the Nuggets’ 27. Denver had 29 points at the break, one more than Pierce.

“He’s a gifted offensive player,” Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik said. “We also had some defensive breakdowns that allowed him to get some good looks, but he’s a great player.

“We held them to 77 points, which is good enough to win. Our inability to make shots has been our Achilles’ heel all year.”

Pierce, who also had 10 rebounds, finished one point shy of his season high.

The last time the Celtics lost to the Nuggets was a 112-99 setback on Feb. 10, 1998.

The Celtics led by 15 at halftime, but the Nuggets held Pierce to just two points in the third quarter and cut the deficit to 61-54 before Pierce took over.

He ended a 6-0 spurt with a drive through the lane, and Eric Williams pushed the lead back to double-digits with a free throw.

Denver forward Donnell Harvey, left, knocks the ball away from Boston forward Paul Pierce. Pierce nevertheless scored 45 points in the Celtics' 77-58 rout on Friday in Boston.

Pierce scored the team’s next 10 points before being taken out with 2:10 left and the Celtics ahead 74-56. He scored a season-high 46 at New York on Nov. 2.

“I wanted to score 50,” Pierce said. “I think it would have been nice for the fans.”

The Nuggets, who have lost six of their last seven, fell to 3-18 on the road this season and have lost six consecutive games in Boston.

“We’re professionals and we can’t let it get to us,” said Denver forward Chris Anderson, who had a game-high 11 rebounds. “We’re going to keep playing hard until the end because we don’t want to get embarrassed.”

Hawks 115, Kings 104

Atlanta — Glenn Robinson scored 29 points, Jason Terry added 23 and Atlanta overcame an early deficit to beat weary Sacramento. The Hawks outscored the Kings 18-7 down the stretch, burying the Kings with three-pointers to snap a six-game losing streak against the team with the league’s second-best record. Atlanta took the lead for good when Terry hit a three-pointer with 4:31 remaining to make it 100-97. The Kings couldn’t respond, clearly looking like a team that was playing for the fourth time in five nights.

Pacers 93, Sonics 80

Indianapolis — Jermaine O’Neal had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Indiana pulled away in the fourth quarter for its 13th straight home win. Ron Artest and Ron Mercer also scored 14 points each for the Pacers, who held the SuperSonics to three baskets in the first 10 minutes. Gary Payton scored 18 points, and Desmond Mason had 17 for the Sonics, who have lost four straight on the road and five of their last six road games.

Mavericks 101,

Knicks 90

New York — Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points for the second straight night, and Nick Van Exel made five three-pointers to lead Dallas over New York. Improving the NBA’s best record to 34-8 and preventing the Knicks from their first four-game winning streak of the season, the Mavericks outplayed New York in the fourth quarter after it was tied at 74 after three.

Suns 110, Magic 107

Orlando, Fla. — Shawn Marion scored 23 of his 29 points in the first half and Joe Johnson had a career-high 27 as Phoenix snapped a four-game road losing streak. Stephon Marbury added 22 points and eight assists, and his baseline floater with 1:46 remaining gave the Suns the lead for good, 104-103.

Bulls 104, Wizards 97

Chicago — Marcus Fizer scored all but one of his 18 points in the fourth quarter as the Bulls beat Michael Jordan and the Wizards. It was Jordan’s first loss to his old team in the five times he’s faced them. Jerry Stackhouse had 23 points, and Christian Laettner a season-high 21.

Timberwolves 88, Clippers 85

Minneapolis — Wally Szczerbiak scored all 18 of his points in the second half, and Anthony Peeler had all 10 of his in the fourth quarter as Minnesota rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat Los Angeles. Minnesota, which trailed 63-47 with 4:17 left in the third quarter, won its season-high fourth straight despite shooting only 37 percent from the field.

Pistons 98, Rockets 74

Houston — Cliff Robinson scored 20 points and a duel between starting All-Star centers Yao Ming and Ben Wallace never materialized as Detroit rolled to a victory over Houston. Wallace, the starter for the Eastern Conference in the All-Star game Feb. 9, scored nine points and had 18 rebounds for the Pistons.

Trail Blazers 97, Hornets 96, OT

New Orleans — Derek Anderson scored 27 points and Arvydas Sabonis scored five of Portland’s nine points in overtime as the Trail Blazers held off New Orleans. P.J. Brown’s 12-foot jumper at the overtime buzzer rimmed out, giving the Trail Blazers their second straight overtime victory.

Spurs 91, Jazz 90

Salt Lake City — Tim Duncan made a turnaround jump shot over Karl Malone as time expired and San Antonio rallied past Utah to beat the Jazz for the 11th straight time. Duncan had 29 points and 17 rebounds.

Nets 89, Lakers 83

Los Angeles — New Jersey’s Kerry Kittles had 17 points to lead a balanced scoring attack and hit a pivotal three-pointer with 40 seconds left as the Nets snapped a season-long three-game losing streak. The loss was the Lakers’ third in four games.