Paul Pierce scored nine of his season-high 39 points in overtime to help the Boston Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors for the second time in a row 115-109 Monday.
One day after Ray Allen's 36 points led Boston to a 94-88 win in Toronto, Pierce led a comeback from a 10-point deficit midway through the third quarter and carried the Celtics to their second straight win after they lost four in a row.
Kevin Garnett added 20 points and 12 rebounds. Andrea Bargnani, whose 3-pointer with 1 second left sent the game into overtime tied at 93, led the Raptors with 23 points, and Chris Bosh had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
At New Orleans, David Lee scored 24 points and New York ended a three-game losing streak with a win over New Orleans 101-95.
Quentin Richardson and Al Harrington each hit 3-pointers inside the final 1:14 to ensure the Knicks withstood a furious Hornets rally that trimmed a 14-point lead down to three late in the game.
Harrington finished with 20 points, while Wilson Chandler scored 19 points, hitting a jumper with 2:07 left and a driving layup soon after to help keep the Hornets at bay.
David West had 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Hornets, but was 6-of-20 from the field. Chris Paul added 23 points for New Orleans.
At Salt Lake City, Mehmet Okur scored a career-high 43 points and Utah held off a late rally to down Indiana 120-113.
Andrei Kirilenko scored 23 points and pulled down 12 rebounds and Deron Williams added 11 assists and 23 points, including a late 3-pointer to help the Jazz finally put away the Pacers.
Indiana had trailed by 20 late in the third quarter, but would not let the Jazz clinch it until the final minute.
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, rookie Brook Lopez scored a career-high 31 points and pulled down 13 rebounds as New Jersey edged Oklahoma City 103-99 in overtime.
Vince Carter had 21 while Devin Harris, back after missing three of the previous four games with a hamstring injury, had 17. Keyon Dooling had 14, most coming early in the fourth quarter as the Nets earned a fourth straight home win after starting the season 5-12 in New Jersey.
Kevin Durant had 26 points for the Thunder, who fell to 6-33, and 2-17 on the road.
At Washington, Michael Redd scored 29 points, a healthy Andrew Bogut added 18 points and 10 rebounds to lift Milwaukee Bucks over Washington 97-91.
Redd helped Milwaukee overcome a deficit that was 13 points in the second quarter, 11 at halftime and five entering the final period.
At Chicago, Travis Outlaw scored a season-high 33 points and Greg Oden had 17 points and 13 rebounds as Portland beat Chicago 109-95.
Drew Gooden led Chicago with 22 points and nine rebounds, and Ben Gordon scored 17 points. Deng added 14 points in 22 minutes off the bench but was 3-for-10 from the field after missing eight games with a sprained left ankle.
(Xinhua News Agency January 13, 2009)
