Celtics 117, Knicks 107

NEW YORK (AP) -- When it came time to turn up the offense in the fourth quarter, Paul Pierce did and Allan Houston didn't.

Pierce scored 46 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, as the Boston Celtics bounced back from the worst loss in franchise history with a 117-107 victory Saturday night over the New York Knicks.

Pierce finished two points shy of his career high set last season, scoring 14 of Boston's final 20 points.

Antoine Walker added 18 points and 10 assists and Eric Williams scored 19 for Boston, which lost by 45 points at Washington two nights earlier to drop to 0-2.

``We were going to come in and do whatever it takes to get that first one,'' Pierce said. ``I didn't want to leave this building without a win.''

Houston scored 39 for the Knicks, but only two of his points came in the final 10 1/2 minutes.

Part of the reason for his dry spell was the defense of Pierce, who held Houston to 2-for-6 shooting in the final 12 minutes.

``We wanted to put a bigger defender on him. We had Shammond (Williams) and Tony (Delk) on him, and coach decided to put me on him in the fourth quarter even though I was in foul trouble,'' Pierce said. ``We wanted a man to get a hand up on his shots because he was turning around, facing up and shooting over smaller defenders.

``A bigger guy with a little more size bothered him.''

The Knicks drew a sellout crowd of 19,762 for their home opener. But more than 1,000 seats remain unsold for Monday night's game against Milwaukee, and team officials predicted an end to the team's streak of 433 consecutive sellouts.

There were seven lead changes and five ties in the fourth quarter before Pierce hit a jumper with 3:31 left to put Boston ahead for good, 105- 103. Pierce scored Boston's next six points on a pair of jumpers from 22 feet and two free throws.

The final jumper, coming over Houston after Pierce hit the previous one over Shandon Anderson, gave Boston a 111-105 lead with 1:13 left.

Houston hit a jumper with 32 seconds left and the Knicks then started fouling, but Boston went 6-for-6 from the line the rest of the way to seal the win.

For the game, the Celtics had a huge advantage at the line with 51 attempts to New York's 15. Pierce was 20-for-21 from the line, while Williams was 10-for-11. Boston made 43 foul shots (84 percent).

Kurt Thomas and Clarence Weatherspoon scored 16 points each for the Knicks, whose record dropped to 0-3.

Walker had a pair of 3-pointers in a 19-9 run midway through the second quarter that gave Boston a 57-43 lead. The Knicks closed the quarter with a 9-0 run and retook the lead early in the third quarter.

New York led 86-85 entering the fourth as Houston had 33 points and Pierce 32.

Houston scored New York's first four points of the final period, then was shut down until the final minute.

``I don't want to give in to any excuse of fatigue,'' said Houston, who played a team-high 45 minutes. ``If someone wants to give that excuse for me, they can do that. The bottom line is that (fourth quarter) is when we have todo our best and went I have to do my best.''

Notes

Pierce tied Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins for the Madison Square Garden record for most made free throws in a game. ... Courtside regulars Spike Lee and Woody Allen did not attend. ... One long-term bright spot for the Knicks: Milos Vujanic of Partizan Belgrade is the leading scorer in the Euroleague through four games, averaging 24.0 points. The point guard, New York's second-round draft pick, was named league MVP of Week 3 after scoring 36 points and drawing 15 fouls against Virtus Bologna. ... Knicks trainer MikeSaunders worked his 25th consecutive home opener.

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