DALLAS, (Reuters) – The Boston Celtics derailed  the Dallas Mavericks’ bid to move into second place in the Western Conference with a 102-93 victory on Saturday.

Paul Pierce scored 29 points for the Atlantic Division leading Celtics, who won their fourth successive game, while Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas, the Southwest Division’s top team,  with 28 points.

Pierce had 17 points in the second half, when the Celtics  shot a torrid 68.8 per cent.

“He’s starting to get his confidence,” Celtics coach Doc  Rivers said of Pierce. “I got on him in a timeout because I  thought he was looking to pass too much.

“I told him to just be aggressive, just be who you are, and  he was that.”

Pierce’s three-pointer with 1:44 to play turned a one-point  Boston lead into a more comfortable four-point cushion.

He then stole a pass from Nowitzki and fed Rajon Rondo for  a fast-break layup to put away the Mavericks, who had won 14 of  their previous 15 games.

Rondo finished with 20 points and Ray Allen had 21 for  Boston.

“Rondo was really key down the stretch,” Mavericks center  Brendan Haywood said. “He made a lot of plays for their team. I  think they really fed off his energy.”

Dallas trailed by only a point at the half, but let Boston  open up a nine-point lead on an Allen three-pointer in the  third quarter.

“We were playing from behind for most of the night,”  Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “That made it tough. You’ve  got to be able to get some stops. We didn’t get stops. That was  our undoing.”

A win would have lifted the Mavericks past Denver into  second place behind the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western  Conference.

The Nuggets lost to the Milwaukee Bucks 102-97 and  maintained a half-game lead over the Mavericks in the  conference standings.