BOSTON (AP) -Caron Butler scored 21 and Washington beat Boston 88-83 on Monday night for the Wizards’ second victory over the Celtics in three days.
Antawn Jamison added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards, who handed Boston its first two-game losing streak of the season.
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 also lost consecutive games at home 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.
Lakers 123, Sonics 121, OT
SEATTLE (AP) – Kobe Bryant scored 48 points and capped his season-best offensive outburst by swishing an 18-footer with 4.3 seconds left in overtime.
Bryant took 44 shots and scored the Lakers last six points of overtime, as Los Angeles won its seventh straight and moved into a tie with Phoenix atop the Pacific Division. It was Bryant’s 87th career 40-point game and the fourth in his last five games in Seattle.
The Lakers were playing their first game without injured center Andrew Bynum.
Nick Collison led Seattle with 24 points and 18 rebounds and rookie Kevin Durant finished with 19 points, but missed 20 shots.
Kings 122, Mavericks 120
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Kevin Martin scored 39 points in his second game back from a groin injury and John Salmons hit a game-winning drive with 2.6 seconds remaining to help Sacramento snap Dallas’ seven-game winning streak.
Salmons’ length-of-the-court drive capped a wild fourth quarter and led to a boisterous celebration at midcourt for the Kings when Jason Terry missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Salmons finished with 22 points and Francisco Garcia also had 22 for the Kings, who had lost six straight to Dallas.
Terry and Devin Harris scored 25 points apiece to lead the Mavs. Dirk Nowitzki added 21.
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.
Spurs 89, 76ers 82
SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Manu Ginobili scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to lead San Antonio.
Tim Duncan added 18 points and 16 rebounds and Michael Finley and Tony Parker scored 14 points apiece to give the Spurs their second straight win.
Willie Green led Philadelphia with 21 points and Andre Iguodala scored 19. Samuel Dalembert added 12 points and 20 rebounds for the skidding 76ers, who have lost seven straight.
Ginobili hit four 3-pointers, his only field goals of the game, in the last quarter to help the Spurs pull away.
Heading into the final 12 minutes the 76ers were up 65-64 after San Antonio’s miserable third quarter allowed them to take the lead.
Philadelphia went up by as many as five early in the fourth, but the Spurs crept up to tie the game three times before Ginobili helped them pull away.
Jazz 98, Bucks 87
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – Deron Williams scored 24 of his 33 points in the second half and had 10 assists as Utah rallied to beat Milwaukee.
The Jazz held the Bucks without a field goal for the first 7:25 of the fourth quarter while pulling away for their fourth straight win, Utah’s longest streak since November.
Carlos Boozer added 21 points and 10 rebounds and Paul Millsap scored 11 for the Jazz.
Former University of Utah All-American Andrew Bogut had 23 points and 10 rebounds in his return to Salt Lake City, but scored just three points in the fourth quarter as the Bucks’ offense fizzled.
Mo Williams added 21 points for the Bucks, who went 0-3 on a Western Conference road trip.
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.
Add A Comment