BOSTON – Paul Pierce played more than 44 minutes Thursday night in Orlando, then boarded a plane with his Celtics teammates and arrived in Boston after 3 a.m. Friday.

If he was tired, he didn’t show it.

One night after helping Boston erase a 27-point deficit and beat the Magic, Pierce scored 17 of his 28 points in the third quarter as the Celtics pulled away from the Indiana Pacers to win, 94-87.

“I like to come out in the third quarter and just be aggressive,” said Pierce, who also had 10 rebounds and eight assists. “You can make your run. You can’t really settle on the lead. I try to focus on extending the lead, being more aggressive and getting better as the game goes on.”

Kevin Garnett and Mickael Pietrus added 13 points and eight rebounds apiece as the Celtics won their fourth straight game despite playing without starters Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo and Jermaine O’Neal.

Pierce was 4 of 7 from 3-point range, one of them to break a 46-46 tie early in the third quarter.

HAWKS 107, PISTONS 101: Joe Johnson scored 28 of his 30 points after halftime, including a tying 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left in regulation, and Atlanta won in overtime at Auburn Hills, Mich.

NETS 99, CAVALIERS 96: Deron Williams scored 27 points at Cleveland as New Jersey won consecutive games for the first time this season.

76ERS 89, BOBCATS 72: Lou Williams scored 17 points and Jrue Holiday had 15 for Philadelphia at home.

ROCKETS 103, WIZARDS 76: Chase Budinger scored a season-high 21 points, hitting four 3-pointers and Luis Scola added 19 points for Houston at home.

BULLS 107, BUCKS 100: Derrick Rose scored a season-high 34 points to lead Chicago at home.

HEAT 99, KNICKS 89: LeBron James scored 31 points and Dwyane Wade scored 28 in his return from a sprained right ankle as Miami won at home.

NUGGETS 96, RAPTORS 81: Rudy Fernandez scored a season-high 23 in his return from a sore Achilles as Denver won at home.

MAVERICKS 116, JAZZ 101: Roddy Beaubois had a season-high 22 points and Lamar Odom added 19 to lead Dallas at home.

TIMBERWOLVES 87, SPURS 79: Ricky Rubio scored nine of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and dished out 10 assists as Minnesota won at Minneapolis.

HORNETS 93, MAGIC 67: Carl Landry scored 17 points and the New Orleans won at home to snap a nine-game losing streak.

NOTES

Hornets General Manager Dell Demps said the club has decided to pursue a trade for 7-foot veteran center Chris Kaman, who has struggled to find a consistent role since being traded from the Clippers. … Starting forward Ryan Anderson sat out Orlando’s game at New Orleans because of a sore left calf. … Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince was out of the lineup again because of a family matter. … Kevin Martin, the leading scorer for the Rockets, was inactive for the game against Washington with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. … New Jersey center Mehmet Okur missed the game against Cleveland because of a back injury. … Milwaukee center Andrew Bogut is expected to miss 8 to 12 weeks with a fractured left ankle. … Chicago guard Richard Hamilton was a late scratch for the game against Milwaukee because of a bruised right thigh. … Dallas starting point guard Jason Kidd left the game against Utah in the first quarter with a strained right calf and didn’t return.