Paul Pierce scored 24 points to guide the NBA champion Boston Celtics to a 107-88 victory over the Orlando Magic on Monday, their ninth successive victory.
Pierce scored 17 of his points in the third quarter as the Celtics broke open a game they led just 48-46 at halftime to snap the Magic's four-game winning streak.
The Celtics' veteran scored more than half of his team's points in the third quarter, but told reporters he just took advantage of the support he received from his teammates.
"My teammates did a good job of setting me up," Pierce said. "We were just taking advantage of the matchups."
Ray Allen scored 21 points for Boston (17-2), while Rajon Rondo had 16 points with 12 assists. Kevin Garnett added 15 points and nine rebounds.
The game was highly charged with eight technical fouls called in the showdown between two of the Eastern Conference's top teams.
Rashard Lewis scored 30 points for the Magic. Hedo Turkoglu added 19 and Dwight Howard scored 14 points and pulled down 15 rebounds.
Heat 130, Warriors 129, OT
At Oakland, California, Chris Quinn hit a tying 3-pointer with 7.1 seconds left in overtime, Michael Beasley stole the ensuing inbounds pass and made the decisive free throw, and Miami pulled off a wild comeback win over slumping Golden State.
Jamal Crawford missed a running jumper at the buzzer and sprawled himself on the court in frustration as the Warriors dropped their seventh straight game, one they had in their grasp until the waning moments.
Crawford is winless since joining Golden State in a trade from New York on Nov 21 that sent Al Harrington to the Knicks.
Bobcats 100, T-wolves 90
At Charlotte, North Carolina, Jason Richardson scored 25 points in another strong performance following arthroscopic knee surgery, and Charlotte beat error-prone Minnesota.
It was the third straight game of at least 21 points for Richardson since his return after sitting out seven contests following exploratory surgery on his right knee. He led an efficient offense that included a season-high 24 points from Emeka Okafor, while Raymond Felton added 14 assists with only one turnover.
(Agencies via China Daily December 3, 2008)
