NBA playoffs: Celtics again hold Cavaliers punchless

James finishes with 21 points on 6-of-24 shooting

| The Associated Press

5/8/2008 - 5/9/08

BOSTON — Paul Pierce scored 19 points, Kevin Garnett added 13 with 12 rebounds, and Ray Allen broke out of a seven-quarter scoring drought with 16 points to help Boston beat Cleveland 89-73 on Thursday night.

The Celtics took a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Game 3 is Saturday night in Cleveland.

One game after going 2-for-18 from the field and missing his last six shots, including a layup to tie the game with 8.5 seconds left, LeBron James missed his first three tries and finished with 21 points on 6-for-24
shooting.

"I'm a little shocked that he's 8-for-42, but this is what we work on. We work on trying to contain him," said Pierce, who was 2-for-14 in Game 1. "LeBron is what makes them go. And if we can somehow control him, we control their team. And with the help of the guys around me, we've been able to do that."

The Cavaliers shot 35.6 percent for the game, hitting just 11.8 percent in the second quarter as Boston turned an eight-point deficit into a nine-point lead.

From early in the second quarter to early in the third, a span of 13:41, Boston outscored Cleveland 36-10.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 19 points for the Cavaliers.

"Being down 0-2, that's a tough hole to dig yourself out of. But if we want to win the series we've got to do it," James said, noting the Cavaliers lost the first two games to Detroit in last year's playoffs but won four straight to reach the NBA finals.

Spurs 110, Hornets 99

In San Antonio, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili both scored 31 points to lead San Antonio to the victory in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals.

With the win, the Spurs avoided falling into an ominous 0-3 hole from which no NBA team has never returned.

Chris Paul led the Hornets, who still hold a 2-1 series lead, with 35 points and nine assists. David West had 23 points and 12 rebounds for New Orleans, which was dominant in the first two games of the series.

Game 4 is Sunday night in San Antonio.