Boston Celtics center Kendrick Perkins grabs a rebound between Cleveland Cavaliers forward Samardo Samuels and guard Christian Eyenga (R) in second quarter action during their NBA Basketball game in Boston, Massachusetts January 25, 2011. REUTERS

BOSTON, Jan 25 - The Boston Celtics brushed aside Cleveland in a 112-95 blowout on Tuesday to send the NBA-worst Cavaliers to an 18th consecutive defeat.

Paul Pierce scored a team-high 24 points in just 24 minutes and the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics used a 15-3 second-quarter run to pull away from the Cavaliers.

Center Kendrick Perkins made his season debut for Boston (34-10) in his first action since injuring his knee in last season's NBA Finals. He finished with seven points and six rebounds in limited action.

Christian Eyenga had 15 points for the Cavaliers (8-37), who have not won in over a month and have lost 28 of their last 29 games.