Celtics-Bucks

Michael Redd went with the only cure he knows for shaky shooting after he made only of his first nine shots Sunday. ``Just keep shooting,'' Redd said. ``That's what I do - keep shooting.'' Redd's shots finally began to fall and he scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 83-79 victory over the Boston Celtics. Redd sat out much of the first quarter with two fouls, and scored only six points in the first three quarters. ``I needed some divine intervention,'' said Redd, whose father is a pastor in Columbus, Ohio. Redd's layup gave Milwaukee a 76-72 lead with 2:53 remaining in the game, and his 3-pointer with 1:28 left extended the lead to seven. ``We were doing a great job on him defensively and then he hit two shots that, boy, were quick-trigger,'' Boston forward Wally Szczerbiak said. ``You have to be ready for him at all times.'' Szczerbiak, who was traded to the Celtics in a seven-player deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday, converted two layups to get the Celtics within three and Paul Pierce hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 81-79 with 5.2 seconds left. But Boston wasn't able to foul the Bucks on the inbounds play, and T.J. Ford got the ball to Charlie Bell for a fast-break dunk at the buzzer. Redd finished with 21 to lead the Bucks, but coach Terry Stotts said his team's defense made the difference. ``It's easy for people to remember Michael making a three, but the way we competed defensively kept us in the game,'' Stotts said. The Bucks held Pierce scoreless into the second quarter - he finished with 18 - and both teams shot 40.3 percent from the field. ``Our defense got us over the hump,'' Stotts said. ``It was one of those games. Boston did a nice job defensively and both teams struggled to score. We stayed with our defense and fought through.'' Celtics coach Doc Rivers also said he was pleased with his team's defense, although he would have liked to have seen them keep Redd from getting open shots in the fourth quarter. Even on an off night, Rivers said, Redd is going to make open shots. ``You knew he would eventually,'' Rivers said. The Celtics lost momentum when Szczerbiak fouled the Bucks' Dan Gadzuric with 9:02 remaining, and the Celtics' Al Jefferson was called for a technical foul. Redd hit the technical free throw, and Gadzuric hit two foul shots to put the Bucks ahead 65-61. Szczerbiak finished with 20 for Boston. ``I'm just learning the plays and everything and having fun out there,'' he said. ``We came up short and have lost a lot of close games. I felt great. My teammates and coaches are making things really easy.'' The Celtics acquired Szczerbiak in a seven-player deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night. Boston sent Ricky Davis, Mark Blount, Marcus Banks and Justin Reed to the Timberwolves and acquired Szczerbiak, Michael Olowokandi and Dwayne Jones in the trade.

Celtics-Pacers

The Celtics took advantage of the short-handed Indiana Pacers.

Paul Pierce had 25 points and seven rebounds to lead Boston over the Pacers 85-71 Wednesday night.

Indiana's Ron Artest missed his third consecutive game, and second since requesting a trade last weekend. The Pacers were also without guard Jamaal Tinsley and forward Austin Croshere, who were both out with injuries.

``I wouldn't say (missing Artest) was the problem,'' Indiana guard Anthony Johnson said. ``You can credit their defense or our lack of execution.''

Mark Blount added a season-high 22 points for the Celtics, who snapped a two-game skid in their first home game since Dec. 2.

Boston had its best defensive effort of the season, holding Indiana to a season low in points. The Pacers shot just 32.5 percent from the field and Jermaine O'Neal was held to 14 points after scoring at least 20 in seven consecutive games.

``We stayed pretty consistent on defense,'' Pierce said. ``We were able to smother O'Neal, didn't let him get off to his usual All-Star self. We covered well, and that was the key.''

The Celtics went on an 8-0 run to start the second quarter and took a 30-21 lead on Al Jefferson's layup with 9:13 left in the half. The Pacers missed their first 11 field-goal attempts of the second quarter, including a dunk by O'Neal, before Stephen Jackson's layup broke the drought with 4:33 left in the half.

``When we had good shots, we couldn't get them to go,'' Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. ``We weren't good enough tonight, and they were very good, really, for the whole game.''

Delonte West's 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the half extended the Celtics' lead to 47-31 at the break.

Jackson had 18 points and Johnson added 14 for the Pacers.

Sarunas Jasikevicius and Jackson sparked an 11-2 run to open the third quarter as the Pacers pulled to 49-42.

But Pierce and Blount responded with a pair of jumpers as the Celtics pulled away. Pierce then made a 3-pointer with 7:32 left in the game to extend the lead to 70-56.

``We got key stops and we made key baskets,'' Celtics coach Doc Rivers said.

Jefferson had eight points and six rebounds for the Celtics.