The Boston Celtics overcame the absence of leading scorer Paul Pierce to pull away from the Miami Heat in the fourth quarter for a 107-102 victory on Wednesday.
Pierce missed the game with a strained left foot he suffered on Monday but the Celtics were able to call on Rajon Rondo’s 22 points and 14 assists while Eddie House added 16 off the bench as the home side added 33 in the final quarter.
House scored five successive points late in the game after the Heat had pulled within two and Boston (31-16) made 12 free throws in the last two minutes to seal the contest.
“I thought we were able to get stops when we had to,” Kevin Garnett told reporters after finishing with 14 points. “Rajon took over in the fourth quarter, Eddie House made some shots and we shared the ball and played well.”
Dwyane Wade had 30 points and 13 assists, but gave up a costly turnover with 36 seconds remaining with Miami down by three.
The Heat (24-25) spent a majority of the game chasing the Celtics and although they made it a close contest in the closing stages they were unable to avoid a third consecutive defeat.
Rafer Alston and Udonis Haslem had 15 points each for the Heat, who trailed by two at the half but tied the game going into the fourth.
Boston scored the first five points of the fourth and built a quick 10-point lead then had to absorb Miami’s rally.
The Celtics scored 100 points for the first time in 10 games, Ray Allen finishing with a team-high 23 points and Garnett adding a season-high nine assists.
“There are times where you’re mad at Kevin for being a ball mover,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said. “There are times when you say: ‘Let’s just go ahead and shoot that one.’ Him and Rondo do that at times. But that’s a disease I would rather have, over-pass, rather than the other way.”
Suns 109, Nuggets 97
At Denver, the Phoenix Suns matched a season-high fourth straight win with an impressive victory at Denver, inflicting a rare home defeat on the NBA Northwest Division-leading Nuggets.
Amare Stoudemire had 20 points and 17 rebounds, and Jason Richardson added 20 for the Suns.
Nene and J.R. Smith each scored 15 points for the Nuggets, who had won nine straight at home, but were finally made to pay for the absence of injured star Carmelo Anthony, who was sitting out a sixth straight game with a sprained ankle.
Lakers 99, Bobcats 97
In Los Angeles, the hosts narrowly beat Charlotte to give Phil Jackson the most wins ever by a Lakers coach.
Jackson passed Pat Riley with his 534th win with the Lakers. The Hall of Famer also won 545 games and six titles in nine seasons with Chicago before winning four more rings in his first nine seasons with the Lakers.
Andrew Bynum had 17 points and 14 rebounds and Lamar Odom scored 19 for the Lakers, who returned from an eight-game trip to improve the NBA’s best home record to 24-3 with their eighth consecutive victory at Staples Center.
Jazz 118, Trail Blazers 105
In Salt Lake City, Utah made it seven straight wins with victory over Portland.
Deron Williams had 13 points and 13 assists, and rookie Wesley Matthews had 16 points on 6-for-6 shooting for the Jazz.
Thunder 103, Hornets 99
In New Orleans, Kevin Durant scored 30 points to lead Oklahoma City over New Orleans.
After the Hornets cut it to 101-99, Durant hit a pair of free throws with 8.5 seconds left, finally putting away a New Orleans team playing without injured All-Star point guard Chris Paul.
Hawks 103, Clippers 97
In Atlanta, the hosts scored just nine points in the fourth-quarter but still beat Los Angeles.
Joe Johnson scored 34 points and Jamal Crawford added 22 for the Hawks, who closed within 1.5 games of the Southeast Division lead.
Mavericks 110, Warriors 101
In Dallas, the home team extended Golden State’s losing streak to seven games.
Jason Terry had 21 points and Dirk Nowitzki scored nine of his 20 points in the fourth quarter for the Mavericks.
Spurs 115, Kings 113
In Sacramento, California, George Hill had 23 points and nine assists as San Antonio pipped Sacramento.
Tim Duncan added 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Spurs, who played their third straight game without injured point guard Tony Parker.
Tyreke Evans had 32 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Kings.
76ers 106, Bulls 103, OT
In Philadelphia, Elton Brand scored 26 points to help Philadelphia to a comeback overtime win over Chicago.
Andre Iguodala had 25 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the 76ers, who won despite Allen Iverson skipping the game because of his child’s illness.
Knicks 107, Wizards 85
In New York, the hosts won their first game in four, comfortably defeating Washington.
Nate Robinson scored 23 points and had eight assists and six rebounds, while David Lee had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks.
Randy Foye and Nick Young each scored 15 points for the Wizards.
Raptors 108, Nets 99
In Toronto, undermanned Toronto overcame hapless New Jersey to make it five wins in six games.
Chris Bosh scored 20 points and Sonny Weems set career highs with 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors.
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