Shaun Livingston and Gerald Henderson sparked an outstanding bench effort with a combined 33 points as the Charlotte Bobcats took down the visiting Boston Celtics, 94-89, on Monday night.
Gerald Wallace had 16 points and 14 rebounds and drained a go-ahead 3-pointer for the Bobcats, who were coming off losses to NBA powers Dallas and Miami and played the second half without ejected leading scorer Stephen Jackson.
Livingston scored 18 points and Henderson added 15 as Charlotte's bench held a 44-15 scoring edge.
Ray Allen scored 25 points and Paul Pierce added 23 for the Celtics, who fell to 2-7 when the second of back-to-back games is on the road. Boston will have two days rest before hosting the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.
In a second half where neither team shot well, Charlotte rallied from a seven-point third-quarter deficit to take a 79-77 lead with six minutes left on a wide-open 3-pointer from the right corner by Wallace. Boston never led again as Charlotte snapped a six-game losing streak to the Celtics.
Down the stretch, Livingston hit a jumper and Henderson added a reverse layup and a wing jumper. Fellow reserve Eduardo Najera hit a big 3-pointer from the right wing with just under two minutes left to provide a six-point cushion.
The Celtics had the ball and trailed by three with 30 seconds left, but Pierce missed a left-handed drive, and the Bobcats put away the game at the line.
Allen drained a pair of 3-pointers to move within two of Reggie Miller’s all-time record of 2,560.
Boston | Charlotte | |
Ray Allen 25 | Scoring | Gerald Wallace 19 |
Rajon Rondo 14 | Assists | D.J. Augustin 4 |
Kevin Garnett 14 | Rebounds | Gerald Wallace 16 |
Paul Pierce 9 | Free Throws Made | Gerald Wallace 6 |
Kevin Garnett 3 | Steals | Kwame Brown 2 |
Kendrick Perkins 3 | Blocks | Kwame Brown 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Boston | 89 | 40.8 | 5-14 | 22-27 | 25 | 37 | 5 | 12 | 14 |
Charlotte | 94 | 41.8 | 5-16 | 23-30 | 16 | 50 | 7 | 7 | 17 |