Leon Powe made a layup at the buzzer to lift the NBA-leading Boston Celtics to an 88-86 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.
Injured Celtic Kevin Garnett could only watch upon his return to Minnesota, as his new team stole the game on the final play.
The Timberwolves had the ball with the scored tied 86-86 with 28 seconds left. Marko Jaric missed a 3-pointer and teammate Craig Smith rebounded the ball and tried to kick it back out.
But Ray Allen stole the pass and raced the other way with the clock ticking down. A frantic scramble under the basket ended with Powe putting back a miss, with a review showing he released the ball with just two tenths of a second to play.
NUGGETS 111, WIZARDS 100
In Denver, Carmelo Anthony scored a career-high 49 points to lead Denver over Washington and to their ninth win in their past 10 home games.
Anthony made 19 of 25 shots from the floor and made all eight of his free throws in the third-highest individual scoring game in the NBA this season.
The win moved Denver within a game of Northwest Division leader Utah.
In other games, it was: Kings 117, Jazz 104; Lakers 117, Magic 113; Spurs 99, Knicks 93, OT; Suns 103, SuperSonics 99; Pistons 91, Trail Blazers 82; Cavaliers 100, Hawks 95; Mavericks 92, Grizzlies 81; Clippers 102, Raptors 98; Nets 104, Bobcats 90.
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