Celtics 99, Bobcats 94
Shaquille O’Neal finished with 23 points and five blocked shots as the Boston Celtics became the first team in the Eastern Conference to reach 30 wins with a 99-94 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday.
Rajon Rondo added 18 points and 13 assists, and Ray Allen and Paul Pierce scored 19 points apiece for the Celtics, who have won two straight and six of eight this month.
The Bobcats had pulled to within 76-74 on Gerald Wallace’s jumper with 8:36 left before Boston established control. O’Neal banked in a short jumper to kick start a 13-4 run that included back-to-back 3-pointers from Allen and another 3-pointer from Rondo as the shot clock was winding down that pushed the lead to double-digits.
Charlotte would fight back to 92-85 with 2:38 remaining but the Celtics locked down on defense and hit their free throws to put it away.
Wallace collected 20 points while D.J. Augustin added 19 for the Bobcats, who had their season-high four-game winning streak snapped to drop to 6-3 under interim coach Paul Silas.