Pierce, Allen lead Celtics to Game 2 victory

Paul Pierce and Ray Allen found their shooting touch and the bench came up big as the Celtics beat Cleveland 89-73 in Game 2 of their NBA playoff series to take a two-games-to-none lead in the best-of-seven series.

Pierce led Boston with 19 points after going 2-for-14 from the floor in Game 1, while Allen finished with 16 after being held scoreless in the first game.

Kevin Garnett added 13 points.

The Cavaliers LeBron James scored 21, but shot 6-for-24. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 19 points.

The Cavs led by as many as 12 early in the game, but the Celtics surged ahead behind the likes of Sam Cassell, Leon Powe and James Posey.

From early in the second quarter to early in the third, a span of 13:41, Boston outscored Cleveland 36-10.

Game 3 is Saturday night in Cleveland.