Celtics rally 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 98-97, 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.
The Rockets had one last chance after Horford’s go-ahead hook shot, but Harden was called for another offensive foul and time expired after Horford missed his second free throw.
Houston opened the game on a 12-0 run and led 62-38 at halftime. After committing six turnovers in the first half, Houston had seven in the third quarter and Boston capitalized by outscoring the Rockets 31-16. Irving scored 12 in the third quarter as Boston picked up its defense, holding Houston to just four field goals in the period.
Boston got within a point a couple times in the fourth, but couldn’t quite catch the Rockets until the final seconds.
Smart drove for a layup and pulled Boston within 96-95 with 13.5 seconds left. Boston pressured the inbounds pass and Houston called time, then another before getting the ball to Harden, who made both free throws and finished 15 for 15 from the foul line.
Rather than going for the 3-pointer, Boston went to Tatum for another layup, then Smart took an offensive foul by Harden on the inbounds play.
Houston’s lead was in the 20s for nearly all of the second quarter and much of the third before Boston pulled back within range on a 12-0 run.
Irving drew another foul while driving to the basket and added two more from the line, then after a shot-clock violation, Marcus Morris hit a 3-pointer to cut the margin to 71-58 — the lowest it had been since Houston led 23-10. After a timeout, Irving stole the ball and got it to Smart for a layup to make it 71-60.
BUCKS 102, TIMBERWOLVES 96
In Milwaukee, 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 season-low 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.
Minnesota perhaps wore down a night after a 128-125 overtime victory over Denver and had a fourgame road winning streak snapped.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 22 points for Minnesota and Andrew Wiggins added 21.
SPURS 119, KNICKS 107
In San Antonio, Texas, LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and every San Antonio starter scored in double figures to beat New York.
Pau Gasol added 17 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for San Antonio.
The Spurs improved to 17-2 at home while winning their third straight overall.
The Spurs were without Kawhi Leonard and lost Rudy Gay to a foot injury only two nights after playing with a full roster for the first time all season. Leonard sat out for rest. Gay exited the game late in the third quarter with a sore right heel.
Kyle Anderson had 16 points and eight rebounds starting in place of Leonard. Tony Parker scored 14 points, including 10 in the first quarter as San Antonio bolted to an early lead.
Reserve forward Michael Beasley led New York with 23 points. Courtney Lee and Kristaps Porzingis had 18 points apiece, but Porzingis fouled out late in the fourth.
MAGIC 102, PISTONS 89
In Orlando, Fla., Elfrid Payton had 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists to help Orlando break a nine-game losing streak.
Evan Fournier scored 17 points and Aaron Gordon had 14 for Orlando, but it was the Magic’s backup centers who made the difference in the game.
Bismack Biyombo had 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Marresse Speights scored 16 points as replacements for injured starter Nikola Vucevic.
Tobias Harris scored 21 points for Detroit, which had won five of six. Andre Drummond had 17 points and 18 rebounds, and Ish Smith contributed 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists.