02 April,2009 11:03 AM IST | | AFP
Ray Allen drained a three-pointer with 2.1 seconds to play Wednesday to lift Boston to a 111-109 double-overtime victory over Charlotte in the National Basketball Association.
The victory put the defending NBA champion Celtics in second place in the Eastern Conference behind Cleveland.
Boston moved one game ahead of Orlando, who fell 99-95 to Toronto.
Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 32 points. Allen chipped in 21 and Rajon Rondo scored 21 points with nine assists.
Gerald Wallace had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Boris Diaw scored 17 points for the Bobcats, who are fighting for the last Eastern Conference playoff spot. Charlotte fell one game behind the idle Chicago Bulls for the last playoff berth in the East.
In Orlando, Chris Bosh scored 24 points to lead the Raptors, who nearly squandered an 11-point lead but held on to stretch their winning streak to five games. Orlando's Rashard Lewis missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with 20 seconds left. Dwight Howard had 30 points and nine rebounds for the Magic, who host Cleveland on Friday.
