Celtics rally from 26 down to stun Rockets
BOSTON » Al Horford made a hook shot with 3.7 seconds left to give Boston its only lead of the game, and the Celtics rallied from a 26-point deficit to beat the Houston Rockets 99-98 on Thursday night.
Kyrie Irving scored 26 and Jayson Tatum finished with 19 for the Celtics, while Marcus Smart drew two offensive fouls against James Harden in the closing seconds to help Boston complete the comeback.
Smart and Terry Rozier had 13 points apiece.
Tatum made a layup with seven seconds left to pull the Celtics within 9897, then Smart had position on Harden for an offensive foul that gave Boston the ball and a chance to win it. Horford converted from the lane to put Boston up for the first time in a game Houston had led throughout and dominated until midway through the third quarter.
Harden finished with 34 points and 10 assists. Eric Gordon scored 24 points for Houston, which shot 25 percent (9 of 36) in the second half and lost its fourth straight. BUCKS 102, TIMBERWOLVES 96» Eric Bledsoe scored 26 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 22 to help Milwaukee rally from a 20-point deficit and beat Minnesota.
Bledsoe had six points and made two key assists down the stretch and the Bucks found their missing defense, holding the Timberwolves to a seasonlow 12 points in the fourth quarter. Minnesota went cold over the last 4:21 and had its five-game winning streak snapped.
Bledsoe took a pass from Antetokounmpo and made an open 3-pointer from the corner to give the Bucks their first lead of the game at 95-93 with 2:25 to go. Bledsoe followed with a three-point play and then found Antetokounmpo under the basket for an easy two points, pushing the lead to 100-93 with 1:04 left.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 22 points for Minnesota and Andrew Wiggins added 21.
Jimmy Butler, who had a season-high 39 points against the Nuggets, finished with 20 points and seven assists. Tyus Jones made his fourth start of the season at point guard, filling in for the injured Jeff Teague.
Teague missed the game with a sprained left knee. He got caught in a scramble of players in the final seconds against the Nuggets and limped off the court. MAGIC 102, PISTONS 89 » Point guard Elfrid Payton and reserve centers Bismack Biyombo and Marreese Speights teamed up to spark Orlando to a victory over Detroit that ended a nine-game losing streak.
Payton had 19 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, while Biyombo and Speights combined for 28 points and 18 rebounds as subs for injured starting center Nikola Vucevic.