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
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care