NEW ORLEANS – Ray Allen scored 20 points, including the clinching free throws with 2.8 seconds left, and the Boston Celtics rallied to beat the New Orleans Hornets 89-85 on Saturday night.
Allen also had a key offensive rebound that led to Glen Davis' two foul shots that made it 87-83 with 15.2 seconds left. Davis also had 20 points.
The Celtics trailed 56-41 early in third quarter, but closed the period with a 23-6 run to go ahead 67-64.
David West led New Orleans with 32 points. Marco Belinelli added a season-high 23 points but Chris Paul went without a basket for only the fourth time in his career, finishing 0 of 9 from the floor.
Paul barely grazed the rim on a runner in the lane that would have tied it at 83 late in the game, and Emeka Okafor was tied up for a jump ball as he went for the putback. The Hornets controlled the tip, but Belinelli was stripped as he drove to the basket.
Kevin Garnett scored to give the Celtics an 85-81 lead with 57.4 seconds. West followed with a driving bank shot, but the Hornets couldn't get any closer.
Allen grabbed an offensive rebound off a miss from Davis seconds later. After Paul Pierce called a timeout to avoid a turnover while being trapped near midcourt, Davis was fouled and hit both free throws.
Okafor scored on a putback, but the Hornets could not prevent Allen, one of the best foul shooters in NBA history, from getting the inbounds pass.
Garnett finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Okafor had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets. Trevor Ariza also had 10 points.
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