Cassell lifts Celtics to comeback win over Spurs
NEW YORK: The Boston Celtics rallied from a 22-point first-half deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs 93-91 in San Antonio on Monday.
New signing Sam Cassell clinched the win, hitting a key 3-pointer with 46 seconds left to give the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics a lead they never relinquished.
Cassell, who joined the Celtics this month after being bought out by the Los Angeles Clippers, finished with 17 points.
Paul Pierce, who played a key role in the comeback, paced the Celtics with 22 points. Kevin Garnett added 21 and Rajon Rondo 20.
Manu Ginobili scored 32 for the Spurs but received little support. Tony Parker added 17 but Tim Duncan scored only 10 points and finished with eight rebounds.
San Antonio held a 33-11 advantage with 10:31 left in the second quarter.
The margin shrunk to 10 at the half with the Celtics finally taking the lead at 56-55 on Pierce's dunk with 8:24 remaining in the third.
The Spurs rebounded late in the quarter and led by nine with 5:56 to go in the fourth.
Seven points by Pierce and a Cassell jumper brought the Celtics within two and they finally took the lead on Cassell's 3-pointer.
In Orlando, Florida, Dwight Howard notched 23 points and 13 rebounds, Rashard Lewis scored 21 and the Orlando Magic beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-90 on Monday.
LeBron James had 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists for Cleveland.
The Magic made their mark from long range, including five 3-pointers in a four-minute stretch of the third quarter. Orlando was 14-for-32 on 3s, compared with 6-for-19 for the Cavaliers, and got 20 points off 15 Cleveland turnovers in its fifth straight win.
In Washington, Mike Bibby scored 23 points and Joe Johnson added 18 points and 10 assists to lead Atlanta to its third straight win, a 105-96 decision over the Wizards.
The win moved the Hawks one-half game ahead of idle New Jersey for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Atlanta rookie center Al Horford added 12 points, 15 rebounds and a career-high six assists.
Washington, which had its three-game winning streak end, had won 12 of 15 games against the Hawks. Antawn Jamison led the Wizards with 25 points.
In New Orleans, Chris Paul had game highs of 37 points and 13 assists for New Orleans, which outscored Chicago 33-13 in the fourth quarter, winning 108-97.
Paul made an open 3-pointer with 2:47 left to tie it at 96-all. After a steal by Jannero Pargo on the next possession, Paul found Tyson Chandler for a thundering alley-oop dunk to give the Hornets their first lead since halftime.
Agencies
(China Daily 03/19/2008 page24)
