Celtics Feeling Good About Reaching .500

Winning regularly requires consistent effort, a concept the Boston Celtics seem to have finally figured out.

Paul Pierce scored 32 points, including 15 in the third quarter, to lead the Celtics past the Minnesota Timberwolves, 103-100, Sunday at Minneapolis.

“I think we’ve been lackadaisical a lot of times,” said Gary Payton, who had 22 points on 10-for-18 shooting. “A lot of guys have not been playing as hard as they should. And I think now we’re playing together.”

Ricky Davis had 12 points for Boston, which won its third consecutive game and improved to 24-24. That’s the same mark Minnesota has after losing its fifth in a row.

“It’s amazing,” Coach Doc Rivers said. “We’re at .500 and ecstatic, and the Timberwolves are at .500 and think that the world is crumbling in around them.”

Minnesota had the ball last with a chance to tie the score, but Sam Cassell’s contested three-point shot from 29 feet at the buzzer came up well short of the rim -- allowing the Celtics to raise their road record to 8-16.

The Timberwolves fell to 13-12 at home.

Dallas 122, Toronto 113 -- Dirk Nowitzki had 30 points to help the Mavericks outlast the Raptors at Toronto.

Dallas led by as many as 25 points in the third quarter, but the Raptors cut it to four before Jason Terry’s three-pointer gave the Mavericks a seven-point lead with 36 seconds left.

Michael Finley had 23 points for the Mavericks, who shot a season-high 60% from the field. Dallas had seven players reach double figures in scoring.

Chris Bosh had a career-high 29 points for the Raptors.