Celtics survive Spurs run to win battle of the best
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The Boston Celtics won the battle of the NBA's best on Wednesday with a thrilling 105-103 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
Ray Allen scored a game-high 31 points for the Celtics, who led 105-96 with less than a minute left but needed a Paul Pierce block as time expired to fend off the charging Spurs. San Antonio ran off seven points in the final seconds to pull within two but Manu Ginobili's 24-footer was blocked by Pierce.
"You knew it was going to be a nip-tuck game pretty much all night," Pierce said after scoring 18 points. "You got two heavyweights battling and it was fun to be a part of it. I'm just glad we won."
Boston had a chance to clinch the game with eight seconds left but Allen missed two free throws. It was a pair of rare misses for Allen, who made 13 of 16 field goal attempts for the game. Ginobili finished with a team-high 24 points for the Spurs (29-6), who lost consecutive games for the first time this season.
Playing in his third game back from injury, point guard Rajon Rondo recorded his 11th career triple-double with 12 points, 22 assists and 10 rebounds to help Boston (27-7) win their third game in a row.
The NBA leader in assists per game, Rondo's sizzling performance included a season-high six steals. He ignited the team to 61 percent shooting from the field.
Elsewhere in NBA, it was: Hawks 110, Jazz 87; Lakers 99, Suns 95; Magic 97, Bucks 87; Trail Blazers 103, Rockets 100; Warriors 110, Hornets 103; Nets 96, Bulls 94; Clippers 106, Nuggets 93; 76ers 109, Wizards 97; Bobcats 108, Timberwolves 105, OT; and Raptors 120, Cavaliers 105.
