"This was the best kind of night for Paul Pierce.

Not even a week removed from his season debut, there's no sense in grinding the captain's tender foot to dust.

That's where the injury-depleted New Jersey Nets played a nice foil last night. Pierce, with 24 points by the end of the third quarter, was able to sit for the last 12 minutes of a 89-70 Celtics win at the Garden.

The Celtics, with Pierce in the lineup, improved to 4-0 and 4-3 overall."