BOSTON — Paul Pierce scored 24 points, and his newly minted All-Star teammate Ray Allen added 21 to help the Boston Celtics beat the Knicks 111–103 last night and head into the break with a five-game winning streak.

Leon Powe and Rajon Rondo had 18 points apiece, and sub James Posey had 11 rebounds for Boston. Already without Kevin Garnett, who missed his ninth consecutive game with an abdominal strain, the Celtics lost forwards Brian Scalabrine to a groin pull and Glen “Big Baby” Davis to a quadriceps injury in the first half.

But they picked up another All-Star in the third quarter, when the NBA announced that Allen had been added to the Eastern Conference team to replace the injured Caron Butler. The news was announced over the public address system between the third and fourth quarters, earning Allen a standing ovation.

Jamal Crawford scored 26 points for New York, and Zach Randolph had 20 points and 13 rebounds in just 26 minutes before fouling out. David Lee had 18 points and eight boards for the Knicks, who lost coach Isiah Thomas early in the fourth to two quick technicals.

The game was only briefly competitive, after the Knicks cut into Boston’s 27-point third-quarter lead to make it 97–90 with seven minutes left. But the Celtics scored the next eight points to pull away and improve to 7–2 without Garnett.