Antoine Walker stole the ball from Al Harrington with 35 seconds left and fed Ricky Davis for the clinching basket on Wednesday night as the Boston Celtics withstood the unusually feisty Atlanta Hawks for a 95-91 victory.
"It was just a great play by Antoine," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "You've got to think Antoine knows where [Harrington] is going. He played against them every day. It was a good guess."
The Hawks, who have the worst record in the NBA and just two road wins in 32 tries, led for the first 42 minutes and didn't trail until Paul Pierce hit a fallaway jumper with 3:53 left. Pierce finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds, making 10 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter to ice the game.
Walker had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Celtics, who are 5-1 since getting him from Atlanta at the trading deadline. Davis scored 21 for the Atlantic Division-leading Celtics.
"It's beyond a number right now. It seems like we can't remember our last win," Harrington said. "Tonight was a great opportunity to get one. Guys put it in my hands and I couldn't deliver."
Harrington scored 21 points with 13 rebounds, Obinna Ekezie had 10 and 10 and Tyronn Lue scored 25 for the Hawks.
Raptors 106, Magic 96
In Toronto, Chris Bosh had 15 points and 15 rebounds, and six other Toronto players reached double figures to defeat Orlando.
Orlando rookie Dwight Howard had 17 points and tied a season-high with 20 rebounds for the Magic, who have lost two straight following a three-game wining streak.
Morris Peterson and Rafer Alston each had a team-high 16 points for the Raptors, who are fighting to stay in the playoff race
Orlando's Steve Francis scored 27 points and Hedo Turkoglu added 21. Donyell Marshall and Matt Bonner each added 14 points, and Jalen Rose and Rafael Araujo had 13 apiece.
Pistons 92, Warriors 88
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Tayshaun Prince and Antonio McDyess scored 20 points each as Detroit beat Golden State to snap a three-game losing streak.
The Pistons lost the final three games of a six-game West Coast trip, but were able to beat Golden State to extend their season-best home win streak to eight.
Richard Hamilton added 14 points for Detroit, and Ben Wallace had 16 rebounds.
Davis led the Warriors with 21 points, while Mike Dunleavy had 15.
Nets 86, Hornets 85, OT
In New Orleans, Jason Kidd ran down a blocked shot, then hit a driving layup as he was fouled with 2.5 seconds left in overtime to lift New Jersey over New Orleans.
Vince Carter led the Nets with 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Kidd finished with 15 points and nine assists in rescuing the Nets from what nearly was their fourth straight loss.
Jacque Vaughn scored 13 points and Nenad Krstic 12 for New Jersey.
Smith had 23 for New Orleans, Chris Andersen added 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Lee Nailon and Dan Dickau each scored 10.
Suns 107, Spurs 101
In Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire scored 44 points and Phoenix beat San Antonio for the first time this season.
Shawn Marion had 18 points and 17 rebounds and Nash had 11 points and 15 assists. Leandro Barbosa scored 15 points and Johnson finished with 12.
Other result: Bulls 97, Trail Blazers 84
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College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
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