TORONTO (Ticker) -- Ray Allen took little time in helping the
Boston Celtics get back on track.

Allen scored 36 points Sunday as the Celtics snapped a four-game
losing streak with a 94-88 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

Allen helped Boston jump out to a quick start, sinking all five
of his 3-point attempts in the first quarter as the Celtics
raced out to a 32-20 advantage.

"When Ray gets it going, that's our focus," Boston coach Doc
Rivers said. "Feed the pig, that's what we always say. He was
the hot guy, so we want to keep feeding him."

Allen finished 11-of-14 from the field and 8-of-10 from the arc.
He also converted all six of his free-throw attempts.

"I just played in what we were doing, but again we were moving
the ball," Allen said. "When we move the ball, I am the
recipient of a lot of the shots because the ball does move
around a couple of times and penetration always allows for the
ball to go to who the open man is."

Allen buried the lone shot he attempted in the second quarter as
Boston got 11 points from its bench to take a 54-41 lead at the
half.

The Celtics held a 75-55 advantage to start the fourth quarter,
but Boston allowed Toronto to get back in it with a 17-5 spurt
that cut the gap to eight points, 80-72, with 5:52 left.

Later, Andrea Bargnani drained a 3-pointer with 1:36 remaining
to pull Toronto within 88-83, and later sank two free throws
with 34 seconds left as the Raptors pulled within 90-85.

"I really liked our energy in the fourth quarter," Raptors coach
Jay Triano said. "We found a bunch of players that really had a
lot of juice because I didn't think we had it much for the most
part of the game - we didn't seem to have a lot of bounce.

"We were searching for a combination that would have a lot of
energy and we found one in the fourth, and those guys helped
bring the game back."

Allen responded to Toronto's surge by sandwiching four free
throws around a 3-pointer by Toronto's Jason Kapono as the
Celtics held on for the win.

The Celtics also got 14 points and 11 assists from Rajon Rondo.
Paul Pierce added 11 points and Kevin Garnett scored 10 to go
along with 11 rebounds for Boston, which had lost seven of nine.

"It was the old us for a lot of stretches today, so I was happy
with that," Rivers said.

Toronto, which had its three-game home winning streak halted,
was led by Bargnani, who scored 17 points.

The Raptors got 15 points and 11 rebounds from Chris Bosh.
Jamario Moon also scored 15 points, while Kapono and Joey Graham
each added 12.

The Celtics now have won seven of the past eight games against
the Raptors, including four straight in Toronto and all three
meetings this season.

Toronto will get another chance at the Celtics when they travel
to Boston Monday for the second game of a home-and-home series.

"Don't dig a hole in the first two quarters," Bosh said about
the key to success against Boston. "In the fourth quarter, they
really showed us, if we continue to move the ball, stop staying
stagnant, holding the ball and just make hard cuts we can score
pretty easily.

"If we play the right way on defense, we can rebound the ball,
and it will be a much closer game next time."

Pierce injured his right knee in a collision with teammate Brian
Scalabrine during the first quarter and did not return until the
start of the second.

Pierce hyper-extended the same knee last month and his
availability is uncertain for Monday's rematch.

"We'll see how it feels after the plane ride and some rest and
treatment," Pierce said. "Hopefully, it will get better
overnight."