This time, Celtics take care of Hornets

BOSTON -- Kevin Garnett’s odd-looking, on-court message apparently got the point across.

Paul Pierce scored 27 points, Garnett had 21, and the Boston Celtics moved closer to wrapping up the top record overall by avenging last weekend’s loss in New Orleans with a 112-92 victory over the Hornets on Friday night.

In the midst of a tight game, Garnett wanted his teammates to pick up the intensity on defense midway into the third quarter, and he showed them when he dropped to his knees with his hands close to the floor while setting up to cover David West at the top of the key.

West did drive by for a basket, cutting the Celtics’ lead to 72-68, but the Celtics scored 19 of the next 24 points over the ensuing 5:56 to move ahead, 88-73.

“In my mind the matchup started [Thursday] in practice,” Garnett said. “[West] scored 37 when we played them in New Orleans. I took that a little personally. In my mind I do a lot of things on the court I can’t remember. I was just trying to be aggressive on defense and be as aggressive as I could.”

Eastern Conference-leading Boston (57-15) opened its advantage to six games over the Detroit Pistons (51-21) with 10 games left.

The Hornets (49-22) had a five-game winning streak end. With the victory, the Celtics have beaten every team at least once this season for the first time since 1990-91.