BOSTON – Celtics Coach Doc Rivers never doubted that Paul Pierce would bounce back quickly from what might have been the worst game of his All-Star career.

“Because he’s a great player,” Rivers said Wednesday night after Pierce scored 31 points to lead Boston past the New Jersey Nets, 94-80. “Great players, they just don’t have a lot of back-to-back bad games.”

One game after going 0 of 10 and scoring one point in a victory against the Miami Heat, Pierce hit 10 baskets and 10 free throws to send the Celtics into the All-Star break with the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Pierce, who complained afterward of minor injuries to his right hand and left foot, had never played in a full game and failed to score at least two points. Only once had he missed more shots without making one.

“It definitely bothers me when I know I’m not right,” he said. “But as a scorer you always forget that type of game. As a scorer you have to forget your last shot, especially if you miss it.”

And then, with a laugh, he added: “Something was wrong with the rim or the ball.”

Kevin Garnett scored 14 points with 10 rebounds for Boston. Ray Allen scored 12 points and Rajon Rondo, Boston’s fourth All-Star, had seven points and eight assists.

Allen connected on a 3-pointer with 5:58 left to give the Celtics an 80-78 lead and start them on a 16-0 run that turned a one-point deficit into a blowout.

“Ray Allen, the last person we want shooting a 3 in the gym, he makes a 3 on us,” Nets Coach Avery Johnson said. “We just didn’t score from that point. Their defense clamped down.”

Brook Lopez scored 18 points and Devin Harris had 16 for the Nets, who scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and had two free throws in the last 6:17.

Pierce scored seven points during the Boston run, including a 3-pointer with 3:57 left for an 85-78 lead. That gave him 1,542 made 3-pointers in his career, tying Tim Hardaway for 12th on the NBA’s career list, and a mere 1,022 behind Allen, who broke Reggie Miller’s NBA record last week.

Pierce and Allen will represent the Celtics in the NBA’s 3-point contest during All-Star weekend in Los Angeles.

“You’d hate to go into the weekend, trying to have fun, on a loss,” Pierce said. “This is a really emotional team. If we lost, it probably wouldn’t have been a fun weekend.”

The Nets didn’t score again until Derrick Favors hit a pair of free throws with 55 seconds left.

The Celtics had lost three of their last five games, but head into the break percentage points ahead of Miami in the East. After losing to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday in an NBA finals rematch, Boston beat the Heat on Sunday to clinch the season series against them.

The Celtics scored the first eight points and led by 15 in the first quarter. It was a seven-point game with 31/2 minutes left in the half when Morrow hit a 3-pointer. The Nets outscored Boston 10-3 heading into the break to make it 46-46.

New Jersey then made the first four baskets of the second half, two by Lopez, two by Harris, to take its first lead and eventually a nine-point advantage.