NBA : Close call for Celts

Ray Allen made a 3-pointer at the buzzer after Eddie House knocked away Jason Richardson’s inbounds pass with 4.7 seconds left to give the Boston Celtics a 96-95 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night at Charlotte, N.C.

Allen had missed 11 of his previous 14 shots in a flat performance for the Celtics, yet hit nothing but net on the jumper from the left wing, setting off a wild celebration for the Celtics, who won their third straight game and improved to 11-1.

Paul Pierce scored 23 points and Kevin Garnett had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who had gone more than 3 minutes without scoring until Allen’s bucket.

Knicks 85, Bulls 78: At New York, Eddy Curry scored 21 points against his former team, and the Knicks snapped their eight-game losing streak with a victory over Chicago.

Stephon Marbury shook off the boos from the home fans to add 19 points, including a pair of jumpers after Chicago had rallied to tie the game.

Cavaliers 111, Raptors 108: At Cleveland, LeBron James scored 37 points as part of his third triple-double of the season to lead the Cavaliers to victory over Toronto.

James, who scored six points in the final minute to seal the win, had 12 rebounds and 12 assists for the 13th triple-double of his career.

Chris Bosh led Toronto with 41 points, tying his career high.

Magic 120, Heat 99: At Orlando, Fla., Hedo Turkoglu scored 27 points, Rashard Lewis added 19 and the Magic beat Miami, handing Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy’s former team its Eastern Conference-leading 10th loss.

Orlando shot 56 percent from the field but 8 of 22 from the line, while Miami shot 47 percent from the field.

Golden State 100, Philadelphia 98 (OT): At Philadelphia, Kelenna Azubuike made a 3-pointer from the left corner with 6.1 seconds left in overtime, giving Golden State a victory over the 76ers.

Azubuike’s basket came after Andre Iguodala gave Philadelphia a 98-97 lead on a runner in heavy traffic with 13.4 seconds left.

Hawks 94, Timberwolves 87: At Minneapolis, Josh Smith scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to help Atlanta erase a 21-point deficit in a win over Minnesota.

The 21-point advantage was the third-largest lead Minnesota has blown in franchise history.

Grizzlies 124, Wizards 118: At Memphis, Tenn., Juan Carlos Navarro scored 28 points, Rudy Gay added 27, and the Grizzlies overcame Antawn Jamison’s 41 points and 11 rebounds to beat Washington.

Jamison shot 18 of 22 from the floor for the Wizards.

Rockets 109, Nuggets 81: At Houston, Tracy McGrady scored 35 points and Yao Ming had 22 points and 13 rebounds as the Rockets snapped a six-game losing streak with a win over Denver.

Allen Iverson had 18 points and Carmelo Anthony added 17 as the Nuggets mustered a season-low point total, shot 35 percent (28 of 79) and committed 18 turnovers.

Bucks 97, Mavericks 95: At Milwaukee, Michael Redd scored 27 points and made five late free throws to lead the Bucks over Dallas.

Andrew Bogut had 16 points and 14 rebounds, and Mo Williams added 19 points for Milwaukee.

Hornets 98, Clippers 89: At Los Angeles, Peja Stojakovic scored seven of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, David West added 18 and New Orleans beat the Clippers.

Chris Paul had 10 assists and 11 points, including a clutch 10-footer with 41 seconds left to help thwart a Los Angeles rally.