Paul Pierce led a balanced attack with 22 points as the Boston Celtics kept pace in the race for second place in the Eastern Conference on Friday, cruising past visiting Washington 104-88.

Pierce shot just 5 of 14 from the field but made 12 of 13 free-throw attempts to pace the Celtics (55-24), who remained tied with Miami for second in the East after the Heat defeated Charlotte 113-102. Both Boston and Miami were eliminated from first-place contention with Chicago's 93-82 win over Cleveland.

All five Boston starters scored at least 13 points as the Celtics burst out to a five-point lead through one quarter and fended off the plucky Wizards for the next 24 minutes.

Trailing by 10 early in the fourth, Washington closed the gap to four before the Celtics' defense took over, preventing the Wizards from scoring for more than four minutes as Boston reestablished a double-digit lead and cruised from there.

Pierce led the team with 12 rebounds while Rajon Rondo added 20 points, 14 assists and six steals and Nenad Krstic scored 17 points.

John Wall and Andray Blatche had 20 points apiece for the Wizards (21-58), who fell for just the second time in the past five games. Washington dropped to 3-37 on the road this season.