Vince Carter scored 10 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, including a tiebreaking fadeaway jumper with 2:33 left to help Orlando win 83-78 over host Boston on Friday night.
Carter took 29 shots, his most in almost three years.
“I’m just glad I was able to deliver,” he said. “This type of basketball game, you don’t want to let down. This is what it’s all about.”
Rashard Lewis had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Dwight Howard grabbed 15 rebounds, and Mickael Pietrus added 14 points for Orlando, which won its fourth straight.
“This is a big game for us, a confidence booster,” Lewis said. “We rode Vince a lot tonight.”
The Celtics, who have lost three of their past four games, were 2 of 19 on 3-point shots and shot 34.5 percent overall.
“I think that our team is playing awful,” coach Doc Rivers said.
Hawks 105, Rockets 103: After sitting for all but 44 seconds of the final period because of foul trouble, Josh Smith soared through the lane to drop in a missed shot with 0.7 seconds remaining, and host Atlanta won its seventh in a row.
Carl Landry hit a pair of free throws with five seconds left to cap Houston’s 11-1 run that tied the score at 103. The Hawks got the ball to Mike Bibby, whose 17-foot jumper bounced off the front of the rim. But Smith flew down the middle of the lane, grabbed the rebound and scored.
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