Ray Allen scored 18 points and Paul Pierce had 17 as the Boston Celtics defeated the host Portland Trail Blazers 88-78 on Thursday.

Kevin Garnett had 10 points, nine rebounds and a season-high nine assists as Boston (35-10) held off a late charge by Portland.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Trail Blazers (25-22) despite dealing with a sore hip.

Boston had a 12-point lead with less than two minutes to play before Wesley Matthews hit two 3-point baskets and Rudy Fernandez nailed one to pull Portland within 82-77 with 48.9 seconds to play.

Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Garnett each hit two free throws to get the lead back to nine with 25.9 seconds left.

Portland had only one 3-point basket through the first 46 minutes and finished 4-of-16 from 3-point range. The Trail Blazers shot 36.7 percent from the field.

Boston’s Kendrick Perkins had 10 points and nine rebounds in his second game since returning from major knee surgery.

Andre Miller had 14 points and seven assists for the Trail Blazers.