Boston Celtics’ Jared Sullinger smiles after making a basketJessica Hill/The Associated Press
Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens wasn't about to put too much importance on his team's comeback victory over the Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta Hawks.
"For 47 minutes, 59.8 seconds, we were the losing team," Stevens said on Wednesday night after Evan Turner's scoop shot with 0.2 seconds left gave the Celtics their only lead and lifted them to an 89-88 victory over the Hawks.
It was just Atlanta's third loss of the calendar year, but all three have come in the last 10 days following a 19-game winning streak that propelled them to the NBA's best record.
"I don't think they played their best game," Stevens said. "They've been on the road for three games; they've had a miraculous couple of months of basketball. They missed some shots late, and we were fortunate."
Jared Sullinger had 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Celtics, who have won four of five. Turner had 12 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
Al Horford scored 22 points and added 12 rebounds for the Hawks, who still have the most wins in the NBA. They will send an NBA record-tying four players to the All-Star Game in New York; the last team to place four players on the All-Star roster was Boston, in 2011.
This year's Celtics have no All-Stars, and they remain out of playoff position.
"It's been a good first half," Hawks forward Paul Millsap said. "But it's definitely not the way we wanted to end this half, going into the break with a loss against a team that we know we should've won. Especially blowing a lead like that."
Atlanta scored the first nine points of the game and nursed the lead through most of the next four quarters. The Hawks led by 14 with just over 7 minutes left before Boston scored the next eight points. It was 84-75 when the Celtics ran off seven in a row, including a 3-pointer from Marcus Smart with 2:12 to play that made it a two-point game.
Avery Bradley made a 3-pointer to cut an 86-82 lead to one point, then the teams traded baskets and misses.
Jeff Teague missed a runner with 15 seconds left, and the Celtics called a timeout with 6.4 seconds on the clock. Turner dribbled at the perimeter before cutting into the lane and floating in a seven-footer just before the buzzer.
The Hawks had a chance for a tip-in, but the inbounds pass was knocked harmlessly away by the defence.
WARRIORS 94, TIMBERWOLVES 91
MINNEAPOLIS – Andre Iguodala and Leandro Barbosa led a dominant effort from the Golden State Warriors' reserves and Klay Thompson hit a big 3-pointer down the stretch to close out a long road trip with a victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Iguodala scored just eight points on 4-for-4 shooting and Barbosa had 10 points, but they spearheaded an energized second unit that picked up the slack for their sluggish starters. Stephen Curry had 25 points on 9-for-23 shooting for Golden State (42-9), which goes into the All-Star break with the best record in the NBA.
Kevin Martin scored 21 points and Ricky Rubio had 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the Timberwolves (11-42), who rallied from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to tie the game.
MAGIC 89, KNICKS 83
ORLANDO – Nik Vucevic had 28 points and 18 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic held off the New York Knicks.
Victor Oladipo added 19 points and Willie Green 13 off the bench. It helped offset a third-quarter injury to starting forward Channing Frye, who left with a dislocated left index finger.
The victory stopped a two-game skid by the Magic. It also improved interim coach James Borrego's record to 2-2 since taking over for Jacque Vaughn, who was fired last week.
Jason Smith led the Knicks with 25 points. The Knicks played without forward Carmelo Anthony, who sat out their final game before the All-Star break with of a sore left knee.
SPURS 104, PISTONS 87
AUBURN HILLS – Danny Green scored 19 points and Tony Parker added 17, and the San Antonio Spurs easily brushed aside the Detroit Pistons.
Manu Ginobili added 13 points for San Antonio, which won this game amid little fanfare after coach Gregg Popovich reached 1,000 victories two days earlier. The Spurs held Detroit to 12 points in the first quarter and led comfortably through just about the entire second half.
D.J. Augustin scored 22 points for the Pistons and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 20.
PACERS 106, PELICANS 93
NEW ORLEANS – David West and George Hill each scored 17 points and the Indiana Pacers went into the All-Star break with their fourth victory in their last five games, pounding the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Pelicans played without All-Star Anthony Davis, who missed his second straight game with sprained right shoulder, and without sharp-shooting forward Ryan Anderson, who missed his second game in a row with a sore right elbow.
Luke Babbitt scored 15 for New Orleans, which has lost three straight.
THUNDER 105, GRIZZLIES 89
OKLAHOMA CITY – Kevin Durant scored 26 points and Russell Westbrook added 24 to help the Thunder defeat the Memphis Grizzlies.
Nick Collison had season highs of 15 points and nine rebounds and Dion Waiters added 11 points for Oklahoma City, which has won five of six heading into the All-Star break.
Zach Randolph scored 16 points and Jeff Green and Beno Udrih each added 11 for Memphis, which had won 10 of 11.
BUCKS 111, KINGS 103
MILWAUKEE – Brandon Knight scored 20 points, powering a third-quarter surge that helped the Milwaukee Bucks to a victory over a Sacramento Kings team on the brink of yet another coaching change.
DeMarcus Cousins had 28 points and 19 rebounds for the Kings, a team about to make its second coaching change of the season. Before the game, the Kings and George Karl agreed to the framework of a deal for him to take over as coach, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the discussions were private.
That meant the game was the last for coach Tyrone Corbin. Karl will be Sacramento's third coach this season, as the Kings fired Michael Malone in December.
CAVALIERS 113, HEAT 93
CLEVELAND – LeBron James scored 18 points against his former Miami teammates and Cleveland had six others score in double figures as the Cavaliers beat the Heat for their 14th win in 15 games.
Timofey Mozgov scored 20 and Tristan Thomson 17 in Cleveland's final home game before the All-Star break. The Cavs will play at Chicago on Thursday before the season's extended respite.
Hassan Whiteside had 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Heat, who were again without All-Star Dwyane Wade. Cavaliers forward Kevin Love sat out most of the second half after being poked in the right eye.
MAVERICKS 87, JAZZ 82
DALLAS – J.J. Barea scored 15 of his season-high 22 points in the third quarter and the Dallas Mavericks went into the All-Star break by holding on for a victory against the Utah Jazz.
Starting while Rajon Rondo recovers from a broken orbital bone, Barea got a mild surprise when Monta Ellis joined him in the backcourt a day after being called doubtful with a left hip injury.
Gordon Hayward was limited to 12 points for Utah and had two of his six turnovers in the closing minutes with the Jazz trying to rally for their first three-game winning streak in a year. Trey Burke led Utah with 16 points.
TRAIL BLAZERS 102, LAKERS 86
PORTLAND – LaMarcus Aldridge had 18 points and 12 rebounds and the Portland Trail Blazers extended the Los Angeles Lakers' road losing streak to a franchise-record 11 games.
Wesley Matthews added 20 points for the Blazers, who won their second straight before heading into the All-Star break.
It was the sixth straight overall loss for the struggling Lakers, who trailed by as many as 23 points. Los Angeles was hurt late in the third quarter when Nick Young appeared to hurt his left ankle on a jumper and did not return. Wayne Ellington led Los Angeles with 16 points and eight rebounds.
CLIPPERS 110, ROCKETS 95
LOS ANGELES – DeAndre Jordan had 24 points and 20 rebounds, Jamal Crawford and J.J. Redick each had 20 points, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Houston Rockets.
The Clippers played their third game without Blake Griffin, who will be sidelined at least three weeks after surgery for a staph infection in his right elbow and will be re-evaluated after that. Chris Paul had 12 assists and 12 points.
Jordan shot 6 for 8 from the field, extending his NBA-record streak to 39 consecutive games shooting at least 50 per cent.
Corey Brewer scored 22 points and fellow reserve Josh Smith had 21 for the Rockets, who have lost 11 of their last 12 meetings with the Clippers.