Allen's 3 gives Boston 12 straight wins

[February 04, 2009]  PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The Boston Celtics needed every last tick of the clock to make it 12 wins in a row.

Ray Allen took a perfect pass from Paul Pierce and buried a baseline 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds left to give the Celtics their 12th straight victory, 100-99 over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.

Andre Iguodala had just hit a fallaway jumper for a 99-97 lead for the Sixers -- who led the entire fourth quarter until the final basket.

Pierce pump-faked a defender, dribbled toward the top of the 3-point arc, then swung the ball around to a waiting Allen. One of the best 3-point shooters in NBA history promptly sank another to stun the Sixers. He surely bolstered his case to be named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team as injury replacement for Orlando's Jameer Nelson.

Kevin Garnett missed his second straight game with the flu. No problem for the streaking Celtics who showed again the Big 2 are still better than just about any team's five.

Pierce scored 29 points, Allen had 23 and Glen Davis had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Sixers squandered a fourth-quarter lead for the second straight game and are now two games under .500 after making a steady push just to get their record even.

The Sixers were able to hold off the Celtics for nearly the entire fourth quarter, but Pierce did his game-changing best to keep them in it until the end. He converted a three-point play, then made an impressive twisting, off-balance runner that cut the deficit to 92-90 with 2:42 left. He was whistled, however, for his fifth foul on Lou Williams' layup down the lane. Williams made the free throw and the lead was back to five.

Davis was left wide open and hit and 17-footer to make it 95-92. Piece calmly sank two free throws that again cut the lead to one.

Iguodala's basket with 6.8 seconds left briefly appeared to be enough. He dribbled around Pierce and hit the fallaway from just a step or two above the free throw line. He pumped his fists and the Sixers went wild on the bench.

One big difference, though. While this was a huge game for the Sixers, Philly was just another routine game for the best team in the NBA.

Iguodala scored 22 points and Andre Miller had 21.

The Sixers made their run without any major production from Elton Brand. In the clearest sign yet that Brand hasn't fully recovered from his separated right shoulder in December, he played with a protective covering on the shoulder. He came off the bench for the sixth straight game since his return and was scoreless in only 8 minutes.

Marreese Speights was spectacular in a 90-second stretch and showed why the Sixers are so high on their rookie first-round pick. He bullied past Davis on Miller's missed free throw and spun the ball off his hand on a reverse to make it 88-83. Then he finished off an alley-oop and threw down a thunderous dunk for a 92-85 lead.

The Sixers have lost two straight on their season-high seven-game homestand.

The Sixers streak of 18 missed shots ended on their first attempt of the game when Willie Green hit a runner on the first possession. They couldn't bury a basket in the final 10 1/2 minutes of their fourth-quarter meltdown in Saturday's loss against New Jersey, and were down 15 early in the second quarter against the sizzling Celtics.

Any concerns Philadelphia's collapse would affect the Sixers for all 48 minutes in this one were erased when they raced back and scored the first 15 points of an 18-2 run that put them ahead 47-44.

Iguodala stole the ball and drove down the left side for a driving layup. The ball bounced twice on the rim before it plopped through the net for the go-ahead basket.

Samule Dalembert, feeling spry again four days after he sprained his left ankle, made one of Philadelphia's defensive plays of the season. He blocked Pierce's spin-move, sending the ball off the backboard. Glen Davis grabbed the ball and went straight up with it, only to have his attempt swatted away by the 6-foot-11 Dalembert.

The back-to-back blocks sent the crowd of nearly 17,000 into a frenzy and the Sixers would take a one-point lead on the next possession.

Rajon Rondo had four of Boston's nine turnovers in the second quarter, but his layup in the final seconds gave Boston a 50-49 lead at the break. Rondo had 20 points.

Notes: The 76ers are going to refurbish their old Spectrum court and make it look like it did in their 1983 championship season for the final game there on March 13. ... Celtics coach Doc Rivers said he'd work out Garnett on Wednesday, "just to get his wind back." "He smells things 75 percent of the league can't," Rivers said.

[Associated Press; By DAN GELSTON]

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