BOSTON (AP) -Caron Butler scored 21 and Antawn Jamison added 20 points and 10 rebounds to lift the Washington Wizards to an 88-83 victory over the Boston Celtics on Monday night.
Butler scored nine points during a 25-6 run over the final 6:24 of the fourth quarter to give the Wizards their fifth win in the last six games against Boston.
Boston lost consecutive games at home and overall for the first time all season and dropped to 30-6. The Celtics are 2-3 over their last five and have averaged 85 points a game over that span.
Eddie House scored his only five points of the game to give the Celtics their largest lead at 77-63 with 6:24 remaining before the Wizards rallied.
Trailing by 14, the Wizards went on a 19-4 run to take an 82-81 lead with 40.1 seconds remaining, capped off by Butler’s 3-point play.
Kevin Garnett failed on a 3-pointer, but Paul Pierce was fouled on the rebound and sank both free throws to regain the lead for Boston at 83-82. Butler then responded with a high-arcing lay-up as he beat Pierce off the dribble with 19.6 seconds remaining.
Garnett failed on another chance to regain the lead for Boston when his turnaround jumper clanked off the back rim. Butler got the rebound and hit a pair of free throws for an 86-83 lead with 8.3 seconds remaining.
Garnett led the Celtics with 23 points and Pierce added 18.
Trail Blazers 99, Nets 73
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) – LaMarcus Aldridge scored 20 points to lead Portland to its 18th win in the last 20 games.
Portland never trailed and got contributions from up and down the lineup. Brandon Roy scored 16 points, Jarrett Jack had 15, Travis Outlaw 13 and James Jones 10.
Joel Przybilla had a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with nine points as Portland rebounded from a 116-109 double-overtime loss to the Raptors in Toronto on Sunday.
Reserve Malik Allen led the Nets with 17. Vince Carter and Jason Kidd each had 10 points.
Bobcats 119, Nuggets 116
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Gerald Wallace scored 40 points, Matt Carroll hit two free throws with 4.6 seconds left, and Charlotte made the big plays down the stretch to beat Denver.
After consecutive heartbreaking losses, in double overtime to Cleveland and in overtime to Detroit, Wallace carried the Bobcats in a fast-paced game with numerous dunks and little defense.
Carmelo Anthony had 35 points for Denver. Allen Iverson added 23 points and Marcus Camby had 20 points and 23 rebounds for the Nuggets, who lost for the second time in six games.
Wallace was two points shy of matching his career high. Crroll added 19 points and Emeka Okafor had 19 points and 13 rebounds for Charlotte. Raymond Felton had 15 assists after missing Saturday’s loss with a sprained right ankle.
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