Los Angeles  - Newly-acquired Stephon Marbury went back to work and it worked out well.

Sharpshooting Ray Allen scored 30 points, and Marbury had eight, along with two assists off the bench in his Boston Celtics' debut Friday night, helping the reigning NBA Champions edge the visiting Indiana Pacers 104-99.

The Celtics signed Marbury earlier in the day after the two-time All-Star cleared waivers following a contract buyout agreement with the New York Knicks on Wednesday.

Without benefit of a practice with his new team, Marbury hit 4-of- 6 shots in his first action since January 11, 2008.

"It felt great, but I didn't have any legs left," said the smiling but winded Marbury of his 13-minute stint. "You could do all the training you want, but if you're not on the basketball court it's totally different."

Celtics coach Doc Rivers was pleased with Marbury's first outing, especially as the game wore on.

"He still had his timing, which you usually don't have sitting that long," he said. "You could see in the first half, he just couldn't get his legs under him.

"In the second half, he was terrific. You could just see his basketball IQ. It just really worked tonight, and it's going to keep getting better."

Glen "Big Baby" Davis had 18 points, including six in the final 90 seconds, Paul Pierce added 16 despite a dislocated right thumb and Rajon Rondo handed out a career-high-tying 17 assists for the Celtics (47-13) who were without Kevin Garnett (right knee sprain) for the eighth straight game

"Coach threw Steph into the fire, and he looked really good tonight for no practice and first time out," Pierce said. "It's a good stepping stone for him to come out and get his confidence up."

TJ Ford led Indiana (25-36) with 23 points while Troy Murphy finished with 20 and 13 rebounds. (dpa)