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Bobcats escape with comeback win over Celtics

Mar 26, 2011 - 3:31 AM Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Dante Cunningham made the go-ahead jumper with 33.9 seconds remaining, as the Charlotte Bobcats rallied past the Boston Celtics, 83-81.

D.J. White had 17 points and six rebounds off the bench for the Bobcats, who snapped a four-game skid.

Gerald Henderson and D.J. Augustin added 15 and 14 points, respectively, for Charlotte, which is two games back of the Pacers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Paul Pierce finished with 18 points for the Celtics, who have lost two in a row and three of five overall. Ray Allen donated 14 points, but went 2-of-7 from beyond the arc.

Kevin Garnett chipped in with 12 points and nine boards for Boston, which sits two games behind the Bulls for the top spot in the East. Rajon Rondo tallied 10 points and five assists.

The loss was Boston's first at home against an East opponent (21-1) this season.

"We've just go to go to work," Allen said. "It seems like there's a lot of thinking being done throughout the whole team, throughout the whole game, instead of us just playing; get out there and just play basketball."

The Celtics seemed to have the game under control, as Delonte West made a layup with 7:42 left for a 75-64 lead.

But Boston went cold and the Bobcats heated up. An ensuing 16-0 run by Charlotte put the visitors in front. Augustin and Henderson tallied seven and six points, respectively, during the burst. Henderson's jumper with 2:49 to go gave the Bobcats an 80-75 margin.

Pierce stopped the bleeding with a three-point play. Nenad Krstic added a free throw before Garnett made a jumper to give Boston an 81-80 edge with 54.9 seconds left.

Cunningham responded with a 13-foot jumper at the other end to put Charlotte back in front. After Pierce missed a jumper, Henderson made 1-of-2 from the line to make it an 83-81 game with 15.5 ticks remaining.

Allen, the league's all-time leader in three-point field goals made, and Garnett each missed three-pointers in the final seconds.

"Yeah I almost lost the game for us cause I left Ray Allen in the corner, that was just stupid, but it was just a reaction, I don't even know, stupid," Henderson said. "But yeah, he missed it, I wouldn't bet on it, but he missed it and we won the game, we'll take it."

The Celtics led by as many as 11 in the first quarter and held a 25-19 edge after 12 minutes.

A back-and-forth second period resulted in Boston taking a 42-37 lead into the locker room.

Holding a 58-53 margin with over three minutes left in the third, the Celtics closed out the frame on an 8-0 run to create some distance. Glen Davis scored the first six points of the surge, which Rondo capped with a layup for a 66-53 advantage.

Game Notes

Boston and Charlotte split four meetings this season. The Bobcats had lost five in a row in Beantown...Charlotte was without guard Stephen Jackson (hamstring) and forward Tyrus Thomas (ribs/hip).