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Turner lifts Sixers past Celtics

Jan 30, 2014 - 4:55 AM Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - Evan Turner got a tough, off-balanced jumper to fall at the buzzer as the Philadelphia 76ers edged the Boston Celtics, 95-94, in a battle of the bottom two teams in the Atlantic Division.

Turner had a chance to tie the game at the foul line with 34.8 seconds remaining but split the trip to keep the Sixers down by one, 94-93.

Boston ran a play that freed up Kris Humphries for a 16-footer from the left wing, but Humphries bricked the attempt and Michael Carter-Williams grabbed the defensive rebound.

The Sixers did not call a timeout, and Carter-Williams delegated to Turner with the clock winding down. Turner went left past Jerryd Bayless and was greeted by Jared Sullinger seven feet from the basket, and, despite drawing contact, Turner was able to get his runner to fall as the clock struck zero.

"I thought we got back and set our defense pretty well in that situation. A great player made a great play," Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said of the final play.

Spencer Hawes led Philadelphia with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Turner and Thaddeus Young each scored 16 to help the Sixers snap a three-game slide.

"We pulled through and came back from giving up a lead," Turner said.

Boston dropped its fourth straight game despite Sullinger going for 24 points and 17 rebounds.

Turner's dunk tied things at 90-90 with 3:59 remaining, and it was all free throws until Humphries's tip-in broke the game's 12th tie, 92-92, with 42.0 seconds left.

Jeff Green poured in 13 of his 18 points in the opening quarter and hit a late 3-pointer that gave the Celtics a 26-23 lead heading to the second.

The Sixers, though, scored the first 10 points of the second quarter and wound up shooting 63.2 percent from the field during the frame. They led by as many as 14 before the Celtics cut their deficit to 53-47 at the break.

Philadelphia led the entire third quarter, but Boston came on strong late and entered the fourth trailing by just three, 74-71.

Game Notes

This was just the sixth time all season the Sixers held their opponent under 100 points ... Rajon Rondo sat out the second game of a back-to-back after scoring seven points on 3-of-13 shooting in Boston's loss to the Knicks on Tuesday ... Turner also had a game-high eight assists ... Boston won the battle on the glass, 59-40, but was outscored in the paint, 58-40.