Allen, Garnett lead Celtics past Cavaliers
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CLEVELAND — Ray Allen scored 22 points, Kevin Garnett added 18 and the Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 86-83 on Tuesday night to snap a five-game losing streak.
Boston, which couldn’t hold a 16-point lead in the first quarter, avoided its first six-game skid since dropping seven in a row from April 4-15, 2007.
Kyrie Irving returned from a bruised elbow that sidelined him late in the second quarter and led Cleveland with 24 points, 19 in the second half.
Irving hit two free throws with 1:21 remaining to give Cleveland an 81-80 lead. After Allen missed a 3-pointer, Garnett tipped Irving’s pass, leading to Allen’s dunk with 48.6 seconds left.
Irving drove down the lane and missed a layup with 27 seconds remaining. Garnett missed on Boston’s next possession, but grabbed his own rebound and was fouled by Antawn Jamison with 3.9 seconds to go. Garnett made both shots and the Cavaliers called a timeout, trailing 84-81.
Irving was fouled before he could get off a 3-point attempt and made both free throws with 3.5 seconds left. Allen hit two foul shots with 2.4 seconds remaining, and Anthony Parker’s 3-pointer at the buzzer hit the front rim.
A moment of silence was observed before the game for the victims of Monday’s shootings at Chardon High School, located approximately 30 miles from Cleveland. Three students were killed and two were wounded.
Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo was held scoreless for the first time since March 16 last season against Indiana, but had 11 assists.
The Celtics lead the Cavaliers by 2 1/2 games for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Boston lost its final five games before the All-Star break, the last three by 15 or more points. It appeared the Celtics were headed to a blowout of their own as they dominated the first quarter, shooting 12 for 20 from the field. Their biggest lead was 28-12 on Garnett’s bank shot with 19 seconds left in the period.
Irving left the game with 3:41 remaining before halftime after taking a charge from Paul Pierce. Irving was taken to the locker room and returned to the bench with about two minutes to go, but didn’t play the rest of the half. Cleveland trailed 43-38 at halftime.
Indiana 102, Golden State 78
INDIANAPOLIS — Danny Granger scored 25 points to help Indiana win its fifth straight.
Tyler Hansbrough scored 15 points and Roy Hibbert added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers, who remained in third place in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers topped 100 points for the fourth straight game after doing so just six times before the current stretch.
Monta Ellis and Brandon Rush each scored 14 points for the Warriors, who finished with season lows in points and field-goal percentage (.341).
Golden State guard Stephen Curry sat out with a strained tendon in his right foot. The Warriors missed the 45-percent 3-point shooter — they made just 1 of 17 3s in the first three quarters.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Thaddeus Young scored 12 of his 20 points in a pivotal second quarter and All-Star Andre Iguodala had 12 points, six assists and four steals to help Philadelphia snap a five-game losing streak.
Sixers coach Doug Collins left the bench between the third and fourth quarters, walking to the team’s locker room, and didn’t return to the court because of flulike symptoms.
Atlantic Division-leading Philadelphia beat the Pistons twice at home by an average of 22 points and routed them on the road now in the first game after the All-Star break.
Philadelphia’s Elton Brand scored 10 points, returning from a two-game absence because of a sprained right thumb.
Greg Monroe scored 20 points and Rodney Stuckey had 17 for the Pistons.
Rockets 88, Raptors 85
HOUSTON — Kyle Lowry scored 26 points, Luis Scola had 15 points and 10 rebounds and the Houston Rockets beat the Toronto Raptors.
Kevin Martin scored 14 points, though he missed a key free throw with 11.7 seconds left that gave the Raptors a chance to tie it. But Linas Kleiza missed a long 3-point try, Martin corralled the rebound and the Rockets won for the 18th time in the last 25 games.
DeMar DeRozan scored 17 points, James Johnson had 16 and Ed Davis tied a career-high with 15 rebounds for the Raptors. Toronto outrebounded Houston 47-37, but went 2 for 17 from 3-point range and committed 17 turnovers.
The Rockets have won 25 consecutive games when holding their opponent below 90 points.
Bulls 99, Hornets 95
CHICAGO — Derrick Rose scored 32 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 19.4 seconds left, and the Chicago Bulls closed with an 8-0 run to beat the New Orleans Hornets.
Joakim Noah had 15 points and 16 rebounds for the Bulls and Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng added 14 points apiece. Rose scored six points in Chicago’s final run.
Chris Kaman had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets and Trevor Ariza scored 16 points.
Bucks 119, Wizards 118
MILWAUKEE — Ersan Ilyasova scored on a tip-in with 2.2 seconds left and the Milwaukee Bucks beat Washington, handing the Wizards their fifth consecutive defeat.
Mike Dunleavy scored a season-high 28 points for the Bucks, who snapped a six-game losing streak at home.
