Ray Allen scored a season-high 36 points, including eight three-pointers, as the Celtics withstood a late Toronto rally to beat the Raptors 94-88 on Sunday, snapping a four-game losing streak.
Allen finished eight-for-10 from 3-point range on Sunday, making his first six attempts.
Rajon Rondo had 14 points and 11 assists and Kevin Garnett added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Paul Pierce had 11 points for Boston, which had lost seven of nine coming in.
PHOTO: AP
Andrea Bargnani led Toronto with 17 points while Chris Bosh and Jamario Moon each had 15.
MAGIC 105, SPURS 98
Dwight Howard scored 24 points on nine-of-12 shooting and Jameer Nelson chipped in 22 points as the Orlando Magic defeated the San Antonio Spurs 105-98 on Sunday.
Hedo Turkoglu added 21 points for the Magic, who knocked down 14-of-22 three-points attempts.
Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said his team’s long-distance shooting was the deciding factor.
“We shot the heck out of the three and that was the difference tonight,” Van Gundy said. “Across the board, it was pretty even for both teams, but the threes decided it.”
Coming into the National Basketball Association game, the Spurs were hitting over 40 percent of their three-pointers, the best in the league, but were just three-of-13 against Orlando.
With the game tied, 94-94, with 2:33 left in the fourth quarter, Howard found an open J.J. Redick, who hit a three-pointer for Orlando as the shot clock was expiring.
Nelson then scored all eight points for the Magic as part of an 8-2 run that finished off the Spurs, who were swept in the series against Orlando this season.
76ERS 109, HAWKS 94
At Atlanta, Andre Iguodala scored 27 points as the 76ers capitalized on Al Horford’s absence to dominate near the basket and beat Atlanta for its first four-game winning streak of the season.
The 76ers scored 56 points in the paint and had a combined 49 points by their starting forwards. Thaddeus Young added 22 points and nine rebounds as the Hawks struggled without Horford, the starting center who was held out with a knee injury.
The Hawks have lost four of five in January, including their first three-game losing streak since Dec. 6 to Dec. 10. Joe Johnson led Atlanta with 25 points and Mike Bibby had 22.
SUNS 109, CLIPPERS 103
At Los Angeles, Amare Stoudemire overcame early foul trouble to score 26 points, while Jason Richardson and Grant Hill each had 21 as Phoenix sent Los Angeles to its 11th straight loss.
Steve Nash had 14 points and 12 assists for the Suns, who blew a 15-point lead before moving a season-best eight games over .500.
They have won five of their last six overall, including a 106-98 victory over the Clippers on Jan. 2 at Phoenix.
Shaquille O’Neal had 15 points and 10 rebounds, including a critical three-point play with 2:05 remaining.
Al Thornton had 23 points and eight rebounds for the Clippers, whose losing streak is their longest since a 13-game stretch late in the in 2003-2004 season.
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