NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) -- Baron Davis' 3-point shooting was more than enough to lead the New Orleans to the first 3-0 start in franchise history.
Davis hit 6-of-7 3-pointers and scored 37 points to help the Hornets pull out a 97-90 victory over the Boston Celtics.
"We had opportune shots," Davis said. "We were getting open looks. This team is taught to take open shots, and that's how we condition ourselves. When we get open threes, we take them."
Davis hit 13-of-21 shots and was a point shy of tying his career high.
"Baron Davis is a top-five point guard," Boston's Paul Pierce said. "He's probably one of the best two or three in the game. This year I know he's going to have a great year because he was really going through a lot of injuries last year."
"I'm in better shape, and I have a better floor game," Davis added. "But there's always room for improvement."
David Wesley chipped in 18 points and P.J. Brown added 14 for the Hornets, who never had won their first three games since entering the NBA in 1988.
"(The 3-0 start) is a tribute to this team and the coaching staff and the work that we've put in," Wesley said. "Everyone has bought into the system. We're giving 100 percent offensively and defensively."
Pierce led the Celtics (2-1) with 25 points and 10 rebounds and Raef LaFrentz added 17 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Pierce struggled from the field, hitting 9-of-25 shots.
"They really got up in our face and made it difficult for us to really get into our offense," Pierce said. "It's hard especially when we don't play defense on the other end. So we don't get our chance to settle in against their press. It made it difficult for us to get into a flow."
Davis didn't have much trouble getting into the flow. He scored 19 points in the first half to help New Orleans take a 56-48 halftime lead. Boston responded with a 17-2 run to open the third quarter and build a 65-58 advantage.
Tony Battie's jumper gave the Celtics a 77-76 edge with 1:08 left in the period. But Boston went scoreless for nearly six minutes, and New Orleans rallied to take the lead
Mike James' jumper with 6:57 left ended the drought and made it 86-82. But Davis added another jumper, and his final 3-pointer made it 91-87 with 4:31 left.
"We had a nice lead in the third quarter, but then we made some key mistakes and kind of self-destructed a little bit," James said.
Boston outrebounded New Orleans, 40-32. But the Hornets' hot shooting was too much for the Celtics to overcome. New Orleans shot 48 percent (34-of-71), including 12-of-24 from the arc.
"That was a good shooting exhibition by really their whole team," Celtics coach Jim O'Brien said. "We could not get enough stops to pull it out at the end. I think that they are a very, very good offensive team. They do not miss many shots. Some of them were unchallenged, but even when we did challenge, they did not miss many shots."
