Los Angeles - After taking care of some unfinished business, the Boston Celtics went about their recent business as usual.

Paul Pierce scored 18 of his 28 points in the second half, and Kevin Garnett had 19 along with 10 rebounds, as the surging Celtics rolled to their season-high 14th consecutive victory, 94-82, over the visiting New Orleans Hornets on Friday night.

"Tonight was one of those games I was really happy with because we really struggled," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "We didn't have it. Nothing went well, but our effort was good and we grinded it out."

The defending champion Celtics extended their franchise-best start to 22-2, and matched the club's longest streak since the 1985-86 season.

"I didn't know about the streak, I didn't even know about our record," Garnett said. "Our ultimate goal is to win the championship and along the way you accomplish other things."

David West collected 23 points with 14 rebounds, while Chris Paul accumulated 20 points and 14 assists for New Orleans (12-7) which lost for just the second time in the last nine games.

"The focus they (Celtics) have right now is different from the others," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "They've taken it to another level."

Before the game, the Celtics held a mid-court ceremony to present Hornets James Posey with his championship ring from last season, amid cheers from the appreciative fans at the TD Banknorth Garden.

"It was good to see Pose finally get his ring and congratulate him, knowing he was part of something special here," Pierce said. "But once the game starts, we're trying to get a win."

With Pierce scoring 13 third-quarter points, the Celtics turned a one-point half-time deficit into a 69-64 advantage.

The Celtics took control with a 17-4 surge at the start of the fourth quarter. Eddie House drilled a pair of three-pointers and their lead swelled to 82-69 with 7:44 left.

A three-point play by Paul pulled the Hornets within 89-82. However, Rajon Rondo made two free throws and Garnett took a feed from Ray Allen for a game-sealing alley-oop dunk with 1:43 remaining.

Elsewhere:

Cleveland Cavaliers 88, Philadelphia 76ers 72

LeBron James scored 28 points, and the Cavaliers matched the longest winning streak in franchise history with their 11th straight victory while improving to a 13-0 at home.

Toronto Raptors 101, New Jersey Nets 79

Chris Bosh scored 18 points, and All-Star Vince Carter had the worst game of his career, finishing with three points on 0-for-13 shooting as the Raptors routed the Nets.

LA Lakers 112, Sacramento Kings 103

Kobe Bryant scored 32 points, Spain's Pau Gasol had 18 with 11 rebounds, and the Lakers equalled their best start (19-3) under coach Phil Jackson.

John Salmons had 26 points for Sacramento (6-17) which stunned the Lakers 113-101 on Tuesday night.

Detroit Pistons 114, Indiana Pacers 110

Richard Hamilton scored 28 points and the Pistons overcame Danny Granger's career-high 42 points to snap a three-game slide.

Phoenix Suns 113, Orlando Magic 112

Grant Hill's hit the game-winning layup with 2.7 seconds left, and Jason Richardson scored 21 points in his Phoenix debut as the Suns shaded the visiting Magic.

Amare Stoudemire had 21 points with 14 rebounds for the Suns, while Steve Nash collected 21 points and 10 assists. Richardson was acquired with Jared Dudley from Charlotte on Wednesday, in exchange for Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Sean Singletary.

Dwight Howard scored 19 points in 22 minutes before suffering a sore left knee with 8:36 left in the third quarter for Orlando (17-6) which had won 13 of its previous 15 games

Memphis Grizzlies 103, Chicago Bulls 96

Rudy Gay scored 11 of his season-high 29 points in the game-turning third-quarter, leading the Grizzlies to their third straight victory.

Ben Gordon topped the visiting Bulls (10-12) with 26 points.

Atlanta Hawks 87, Miami Heat 73

Joe Johnson scored 21 points and the visiting Hawks snapped their three-game slide by ending the Heat's four-game run.

League top scorer Dwyane Wade topped Miami (12-10) with 21 points and eight assists.

San Antonio Spurs 98, Minnesota Timberwolves 86

Tim Duncan had 17 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks, Frenchman Tony Parker added 17 points with nine assists, leading the visiting Spurs to their fifth consecutive victory.

Al Jefferson had 29 points with 13 rebounds for Minnesota (4-18), losers of eight in a row.

LA Clippers 120, Portland Trail Blazers 112 (double overtime)

Zach Randolph poured in a season-high 38 points against his former team, Baron Davis added 27 and the visiting Clippers surprised the Trail Blazers.

Brandon Roy scored a career-best 38 points, while rookie Greg Oden had 15 along with 15 rebounds in Portland's (15-10) third straight setback.

Houston Rockets 119, Golden State Warriors 108

Tracy McGrady, sidelined the last seven games by a sore left knee, had 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, while China's Yao Ming added 19 points and 14 rebounds, helping the Rockets (15-8) to their best start in 12 seasons.

Latvian centre Andris Biedrins had 18 points and 12 rebounds in the Warriors' (7-16) ninth loss in the last 12 games. (dpa)