Hornets 106, Celtics 88

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Tyson Chandler scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help New Orleans beat Boston 106-88. <br/><br/>The Celtics couldn't miss at the start Monday night, but then had only

Tuesday, March 20th 2007, 8:36 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Tyson Chandler scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help New Orleans beat Boston 106-88.

The Celtics couldn't miss at the start Monday night, but then had only 9-points in the 2nd quarter as the Hornets took control.

Jannero Pargo hit a 3-pointer to break a 34-34 tie, and Rasual Butler and Devin Brown followed with 3s to spark New Orleans' 21-4 2nd-quarter run.

Boston trailed by 17 at halftime and was never closer than 15 after that.

After Paul Pierce's jumper got the Celtics within 66-51 midway through the 3rd period, New Orleans scored 20 of the next 25 points to go up 86-56 on Chandler's 2-free throws in the closing seconds of the quarter.

Boston got 9-straight points against Hornets reserves to get within 88-67, but that's as close as it got.

Butler finished with 18 points and Chris Paul added 15.

Pierce paced the Celtics with 28 points.