BOSTON — Kevin Garnett's odd-looking, on-court message apparently got the point across.
Paul Pierce scored 27 points, Garnett added 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 win over the Hornets on Friday night.
In the midst of a tight game, Garnett wanted his teammates to pick up the intensity defensively 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 after Garnett squared up defensively, cutting it 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 idle Detroit Pistons with 10 games left. The Hornets (49-22) had a five-game winning streak halted. With the victory, the Celtics have beaten every team at least once this season for the first time since 1990-91.
"It always starts with our defense, and that's what we say every game," Pierce said.
New Orleans, which leads a strongly contested Western Conference, beat Boston 113-106 last Saturday night.
"I thought the second half they got real aggressive defensively. They did a great job," Hornets coach Byron Scott said.
Rajon Rondo added 17 points and Ray Allen had 12.
Rondo certainly followed Garnett's lead.
"I know KG said this was a statement game for us, and I'm sure he's right," he said. "He's been in the game 13 years. I'm still learning the game."
Chris Paul paced the Hornets with 22 points and 10 assists. Peja Stojakovic had 17 points and David West 14.
HAWKS 106, BULLS 103: At Atlanta, Mike Bibby scored 30 points and the Hawks held on after nearly blowing a 22-point lead, giving themselves some breathing room in the Eastern Conference playoff race with a victory over the slumping Bulls.
Led by Ben Gordon, the Bulls twice closed within a point in the final minutes and had a chance to force overtime in the frenetic closing seconds. Gordon, who scored 16 of his 18 points in the fourth, got off a long 3-pointer that rimmed out as the horn sounded.
Luol Deng scored 19 points to lead the Bulls.
PACERS 123, NETS 115: At Indianapolis, Danny Granger scored 26 points and Indiana beat New Jersey to halt a two-game losing skid and boost their playoff hopes.
Troy Murphy had 21 points and 17 rebounds for Indiana after missing the previous game with strep throat.
Vince Carter scored 33 points, Devin Harris scored a career-high 27 and Josh Boone had 15 points and 16 rebounds for the Nets, who are just a game ahead of the Pacers after the loss.
SUNS 107, 76ERS 93: At Philadelphia, Amare Stoudemire scored 22 points, Raja Bell had 20 and the Suns avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season with a win over the 76ers.
The Suns lost consecutive road games at Detroit and Boston, yet had little problem thrashing the 76ers. Shaquille O'Neal had 15 points and 13 rebounds, Leandro Barbosa scored 17 points and Steve Nash had 10 assists.
Andre Miller had 16 points and 10 assists, Lou Williams scored 15 points and Andre Iguodala had 13 for Philadelphia.
RAPTORS 103, KNICKS 95: At Toronto, Chris Bosh had 29 points and 10 rebounds, Rasho Nesterovic added 18 points and the Raptors beat the Knicks.
Anthony Parker added 15 for the Raptors, who won their second in a row after losing 11 of their previous 14.
Jamal Crawford scored 26 and Jared Jeffries had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who have won just two of their past 15 games.
SPURS 99, TIMBERWOLVES 84: At San Antonio, Manu Ginobili scored 16 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and the Spurs picked up their sixth straight win with a victory over the Timberwolves.
The Spurs, who were in fifth place in the West, moved into second place and sit just percentage points behind New Orleans. San Antonio was the first team in the conference to hit the 50-win mark.
Ryan Gomes led the Timberwolves with 17 points and Al Jefferson added 14. Reserve Rashad McCants scored 13.
MAGIC 103, BUCKS 86: At Milwaukee, Dwight Howard had 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Magic to their franchise-record 24th road victory with a win over the Bucks.
Rashard Lewis added 16 points and seven rebounds, and Carlos Arroyo had 13 points and nine assists for the Magic, who improved to 24-13 on the road. The team was 15-26 last season.
Mo Williams finished with 18 points and five assists for Milwaukee, which lost its third straight game and ninth in 10 games.
WIZARDS 114, KINGS 108: At Sacramento, Antawn Jamison had 25 points and 12 rebounds Friday night for Washington, which used a big third quarter to defeat the Sacramento Kings.
The win kept the Wizards in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
BOBCATS 96, SUPERSONICS 93: At Seattle, Raymond Felton hit a crucial basket along with a pair of free throws in the final minute to help lift Charlotte over Seattle.
After hitting the go-ahead basket, Felton was fouled following a Seattle turnover and he hit two foul shots in the closing seconds to seal the victory.
GRIZZLIES 114, LAKERS 111: At Los Angeles, Rudy Gay led five players in double figures with 28 points and Memphis beat the Lakers despite 53 points by Kobe Bryant against the NBA's worst road team Friday night.
The Lakers' second straight loss kept them from joining New Orleans and San Antonio in a three-way tie for the Western Conference lead.
Bryant scored 50 or more points for the 23rd time and the second time this month.