Ray Allen drained a three-pointer with 2.1 seconds to play on Wednesday to lift Boston to a 111-109 double-overtime victory over Charlotte in the NBA.
The victory put the defending NBA champion Celtics in second place in the Eastern Conference behind Cleveland. Boston moved one game ahead of Orlando, who fell 99-95 to Toronto.
Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 32 points. Allen chipped in 21 and Rajon Rondo scored 21 points with nine assists.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Gerald Wallace had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Boris Diaw scored 17 points for the Bobcats, who are fighting for the last Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Charlotte fell one game behind the idle Chicago Bulls for the last playoff berth in the East.
In Orlando, Chris Bosh scored 24 points to lead the Raptors, who nearly squandered an 11-point lead but held on to stretch their winning streak to five games.
Orlando’s Rashard Lewis missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with 20 seconds left.
Dwight Howard had 30 points and nine rebounds for the Magic, who host Cleveland today.
MAVERICKS 98, HEAT 96
At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points, and Josh Howard had 20 points and drew a game-saving foul with 2.3 seconds left in Dallas’ victory over Miami.
The Mavericks beat the Heat for the 10th straight time in the regular season. Dwyane Wade had 23 points and six assists, but wasn’t able to pull off any late-game heroics, in part because of stiff defense by Jason Kidd.
LAKERS 104, BUCKS 98
At Milwaukee, Kobe Bryant rebounded from a rough shooting night to hit his first seven from the field and score 30 points, and Pau Gasol had eight of his 15 in the fourth quarter as Los Angeles beat Milwaukee.
Lamar Odom added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who were playing the finale of a grueling seven-game road trip and coming off two straight losses.
Ramon Sessions had his first career triple-double for the Bucks, who fell four games out of the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot. Sessions finished with 16 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds.
RAPTORS 99, MAGIC 95
At Orlando, Florida, Chris Bosh had 24 points, including a 22-footer over Dwight Howard with 29 seconds left that put the game out of reach, as Toronto beat Orlando.
Jose Calderon had 21 points, and Shawn Marion added 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Raptors, who nearly blew an 11-point lead before holding on to extend their season-high winning streak to five games.
Rashard Lewis missed a potential tying three-pointer with 20 seconds left to seal Toronto’s win.
Also on Wednesday it was:
• Suns 114, Rockets 109
• Hornets 104, Clippers 98
• Nets 111, Pistons 98
• Grizzlies 112, Wizards 107
• Warriors 143, Kings 141, OT
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