Celtics 97, Rockets 92 (OT)
CELTICS 97, ROCKETS 92: Paul Pierce scored seven of his 30 points in overtime as host Boston won its season-best fifth consecutive contest.
Ray Allen added 21 points and Kevin Garnett had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Celtics, who rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit.
Luis Scola had 18 points and 14 rebounds and Kyle Lowry also scored 18 points as Houston lost its fourth straight game.
The Celtics look the lead for good on Garnett’s basket with 3:54 left in overtime and outscored Houston 27-12 over the final 10 1/2 minutes.
Boston trailed 80-70 points with 5 1/2 minutes left in regulation but responded with a 14-2 run to take an 84-82 lead when Allen hit a 3-pointer with 35.4 seconds left. Houston’s Goran Dragic tied the contest with a 19-footer with three seconds left in regulation.
The Celtics led 60-51 after a 3-pointer by Allen with 5:20 left in the third quarter before Houston finished the quarter with a 17-3 surge. Lowry’s 3-pointer with 1:57 left in the quarter put the Rockets ahead 64-63.
Houston boosted its lead to 78-68 on Scola’s 16-footer with 7:48 remaining.
Chandler Parsons scored 12 points and Samuel Dalembert had 11 points and 17 rebounds for the Rockets. Kevin Martin and Dragic added 11 points apiece.
Houston led 28-21 after one quarter but tallied just 12 points in the second as Boston took a 46-40 halftime lead.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Garnett moved into 12th place on the all-time rebounding list with 13,100 career rebounds, passing former teammate Shaquille O’Neal … Houston outrebounded Boston 57-38 to end a stretch in which it was outrebounded in 10 consecutive games … Pierce is averaging 30.3 points over the last three games … The loss was just the third for the Rockets in their 11 visits to Boston.