Pierce passes Bird in Celtics' win over Bobcats

BOSTON -- Paul Pierce passed Larry Bird for No. 2 on the Celtics' career scoring list, finishing with 15 points as Boston increased its winning streak to five with a 94-84 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday night.

Pierce needed nine points to tie Bird's total of 21,791. He hit a 3-pointer with 10 minutes, 23 seconds left in the third quarter to pass Bird.

Pierce nearly celebrated the milestone with a triple-double, coming up just short with nine assists and eight rebounds.

Reggie Williams scored 21 for the Bobcats, who lost their 12th straight.

Pacers 104, Jazz 99: Danny Granger scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, and Darren Collison had 25 points to lead Indiana to a win against Utah.

Collison shot 10 of 14 from the floor and added five assists.

Heat 107, Cavaliers 91: Dwyane Wade scored 26 points, LeBron James added 24 against his former team and host Miami tuned up for a long road trip by beating Cleveland.

Chris Bosh finished with 15 points for the Heat, which has won 11 of its past 13 games.

Suns 107, Bucks 105: Steve Nash hit a driving layup with five seconds left, giving the Phoenix Suns a victory at Milwaukee.

Michael Redd scored 14 points and came away with a win against his former team, but it wasn't easy. The Suns blew a big lead in the second half and had to rally at the end.

Timberwolves 86, Kings 84: Nikola Pekovic had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Michael Beasley added 17 points and 14 boards to lead host Minnesota to a victory over Sacramento in their first game without the suspended Kevin Love.

Notes

All-Star Weekend: The NBA has decided to try a new format for its All-Star weekend game featuring the league's top young talent.

The Rising Stars Challenge will feature teams comprised of both rookies and sophomores. TNT analysts Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal will serve as the general managers and conduct a draft on Feb. 16 to determine each team.

The rookies faced the sophomores in previous years.

The pool of players for this year's game on Feb. 24 in Orlando, Fla., will be announced today.

Denver: Forward Danilo Gallinari is expected to miss a month with a severely sprained left ankle that turned out to be less serious than first feared.

Tests on Tuesday revealed the chip fracture in his left foot didn't actually occur Monday night when he rolled his ankle in a game against Houston.

Los Angeles Clippers: Guard Chauncey Billups will miss the remainder of the season after tearing his left Achilles tendon during Los Angeles' 107-102 victory over the Magic in Orlando on Monday night. The five-time All-Star, whom the Clippers claimed off waivers in December, was averaging 14.9 points per game.

Los Angeles Lakers: No charges will be filed against star Kobe Bryant over an alleged incident in August at a church in San Diego, the city attorney's office announced Tuesday.

A young man had alleged that Bryant assaulted him while both were attending Sunday services at St. Therese of Carmel Church in the upscale Carmel Valley neighborhood. The alleged victim said Bryant aggressively pulled on his arm because he felt the man had taken the star's picture.

Thomas Hagos, 20, later went to the hospital with a minor wrist sprain, police said.

New York: All-Star Carmelo Anthony is expected to miss a week or two with a strained right groin.

Anthony was hurt Monday, leaving after six minutes of a 99-88 victory over Utah.