Danny Ainge scored 21 points and Robert Parish had 20 points and 14 rebounds as the undefeated Boston Celtics built a 25-point lead before holding off the winless New York Knicks, 96-87, last night.

A 13-2 spurt at the start of the second half gave the Celtics, 3-0, a 67-42 lead with 7:30 left in the third period.

However, Patrick Ewing scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, as New York got as close as seven points twice, the last time at 87-80 with 3:13 left in the game. But a threepoint play by Ainge with 1:47 to go built the margin to 90-80.

Larry Bird added 16 for the Celtics but was only 5-for-18 from the field. Trent Tucker and Mark Jackson added 12 points apiece for the Knicks.

Bird had six points during a 14-2 spurt that gave Boston a 30-15 lead in the first quarter, and the Celtics extended the margin to 38-21 by scoring the first six points of the second period.