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Celtics get lucky as the clock runs out

Paul Pierce, left, of the Celtics is defended by Fred Jones of the Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, Tuesday. PHOTO: AFP

Vin Baker hit a fallaway jumper in the lane with 20 seconds left to give the Boston Celtics a 78-76 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal missed a short jumper with time winding down and Boston's Eric Williams corralled the loose ball to seal the victory Tuesday.

"Vin really hit a clutch shot," Boston coach Jim O'Brien said. "It's nice to see guys want to shoot the basketball at the end of the game."

Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 19 points, nine assists and six rebounds, and Baker had 12 points and four rebounds.

O'Neal, who had 25 points and 11 rebounds for Indiana, blasted the officials for calling three offensive fouls that kept him on the bench much of the second half.

"Do I need to make five or six more All Star games, win an Olympic gold, continue to make All-NBA teams for me to get some respect in the paint?" he asked. "It's frustrating to me."

O'Neal had 21 points and nine rebounds in the first half to help the Pacers take a 48-34 lead.

76ers 112, Wizards 105

In Washington, Allen Iverson scored a season-high 40 points, winning a fast-paced scoring duel with Gilbert Arenas and leading the Philadelphia 76ers over the Washington Wizards.

Arenas scored a season-high 36 points in a game featuring two of the most exciting guards in the Eastern Conference. Iverson had more than his share of misses -- he was 12-for-29 from the field -- but he never stopped shooting.

Iverson also made 14 of 18 free throws. The 76ers went 24-for-26 from the line in the second half.

SuperSonics 89, Timberwolves 87

In Minneapolis, Ronald Murray hit a jumper over Latrell Sprewell at the buzzer, capping a career-high 29-point performance and lifting Seattle over Minnesota.

Murray also had six rebounds and eight assists to help the Sonics snap a nine-game losing streak in Minnesota.

Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 13 rebounds for the Timberwolves. Sprewell scored 20 points.

Mavericks 125, Hornets 97

In Dallas, Steve Nash hit all five of his 3-point shots and sparked a huge third-quarter run that led the Dallas Mavericks over the New Orleans Hornets.

The Hornets cut a 19-point deficit in the second period to 66-60 early in the third. Then Nash hit a 3 that started a 23-2 burst capped by Antawn Jamison's dunk.

Antoine Walker had 21 points, Michael Finley 20 and Dirk Nowitzki 18 for the Mavericks. Nash finished with 17 points and 11 assists in Dallas' most-lopsided victory of the season.

Baron Davis had 25 points, 20 in the first half, for the Hornets while David Wesley added 18.

Rockets 90, Heat 70

In Houston, in just the second time in NBA history that brothers coached against each other, Jeff Van Gundy's Houston Rockets sent Stan Van Gundy's Miami Heat to their seventh straight loss.

Houston won its fourth in a row and kept Miami as the only winless team in the league.

Herb and Larry Brown are the only brothers to coach against each other in the NBA.

Yao Ming had a career high seven blocked shots, 16 points and eight rebounds. Eddie Jones led the Heat with 21 points.

Kings 97, Pistons 91

In Sacramento, California, Mike Bibby had 23 points and five assists and the Sacramento Kings snapped Detroit's five-game winning streak, beating the cold-shooting Pistons.

The Kings, coming off a 1-3 road trip, overcame a sluggish fourth quarter to beat Detroit for the seventh straight time at Arco Arena and ninth out of 10 as they begin a stretch with 11 of 13 home games, including an eight-game homestand.

Bobby Jackson added 16 points and Doug Christie had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Kings, who held Detroit to only nine assists.

Richard Hamilton had 19 points to lead six players in double figures for Detroit.

Trail Blazers 83, Raptors 80

In Portland, Zach Randolph had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Portland overcame a big game from Vince Carter.

Carter scored 19 of his 33 points in the first half for the Raptors, who shot just 41.4 percent from the field.

Dale Davis added 10 points and 10 rebounds for Portland, and Rasheed Wallace had 11 points and eight rebounds.

Clippers 115, Hawks 103

In LA, Quentin Richardson had career highs of 32 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Clippers over the Atlanta Hawks, giving coach Mike Dunleavy his 400th career victory.

Corey Maggette added 21 points and Chris Wilcox scored a career-high 19 before fouling out with 2:59 left for the Clippers (2-2), who were below .500 all last season.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim led Atlanta with 23 points. Dion Glover had 22 points and seven rebounds and Stephen Jackson added 17 points for the Hawks.
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