BOSTON — Ray Allen was surprised to find himself wide open behind the 3-point arc. With 2.1 seconds left in the second overtime, he connected.

Not an airball, like his 3-point shot less than a minute earlier, also without a defender. Not a tying basket, like his unguarded 3-pointer that ended the scoring in the first overtime.

His last long-range shot, on a pass from Paul Pierce, lifted the Boston Celtics to a 111-109 win over the Charlotte Bobcats last night and into second place in the Eastern Conference.

"I really didn't expect (Gerald) Wallace to leave me," said Allen, who shot from the right corner. "Paul just had the wherewithal to get it to me. He was driving to maybe put us ahead one. I definitely try to put myself in good position."

The scrappy defense that got the Bobcats back in the game in the third quarter was missing.

"We didn't handle it. We had a foul to give. We're going to smother everything — no 3s and we give up a 3," Charlotte coach Larry Brown said. "Then we had a good shot at the end."

But Raja Bell missed and the buzzer sounded.

The Celtics moved a game ahead of Orlando, which lost to Toronto.

"During one of the overtimes I glanced up at the board and saw that Orlando lost," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "I didn't do a 'yip, hip, hooray' or anything. I can care less."

The Bobcats, fighting for the final playoff spot in the conference, blew leads in the last 30 seconds of the fourth quarter and both overtimes and fell 1 1/2 games behind the Chicago Bulls, who were idle.

Pierce led Boston with 32 points, Allen added 22 and Rajon Rondo had 21 points and nine assists.

The first overtime ended with a 3-pointer by Allen with 12.4 seconds left that tied the game at 101.

RAPTORS 99, MAGIC 95

ORLANDO, Fla. — Chris Bosh scored 24 points, including a 22-footer over Dwight Howard with 29 seconds left for a 98-95 lead, to help Toronto turn back Orlando for its season-high fifth straight victory. Rashard Lewis missed a potential tying 3-pointer with 20 seconds to play.

NETS 111, PISTONS 98

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Devin Harris had 19 points and 11 assists, and Keyon Dooling, inserted into the starting lineup to give the team more life, scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half as New Jersey snapped a season-high, five-game losing streak.

LAKERS 104, BUCKS 98

MILWAUKEE — Kobe Bryant hit his first seven from the field and finished with 30 points, Pau Gasol scored eight of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, and Los Angeles beat Milwaukee in the finale of a grueling seven-game road trip and coming off two straight losses.

MAVS 98, HEAT 96

DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points and Josh Howard had 20 points and drew a game-saving charging foul with 2.3 seconds left as Dallas rallied from an 11-point, third-quarter deficit to defeat Miami.

GRIZZLIES 112, WIZARDS 107

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Rudy Gay scored 25 points and Mike Conley added 22, including two free throws with 1.1 seconds left, leading Memphis over Washington for its first home win in seven games since the All-Star break.

SUNS 114, ROCKETS 109

PHOENIX — Steve Nash had 25 points and 17 assists as Phoenix snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Houston to remain four games behind Dallas for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West, with just seven to play.

HORNETS 104, CLIPPERS 98

LOS ANGELES — Chris Paul had 30 points and 14 assists, David West added 19 points, and New Orleans held off Los Angeles to move just one game behind idle San Antonio in the Southwest Division and a half-game behind Houston, which lost in Phoenix.

WARRIORS 143, KINGS 141

OAKLAND, Calif. — Monta Ellis scored 42 points, Ronny Turiaf made one of two free throws for a 142-141 lead with 12.2 seconds left in overtime, and Kelenna Azubulke added a free throw with 4 seconds to play to help Golden State overcome Kevin Martin's career-best 50 points.

NOTES

Thunder: Rookies Kyle Weaver and D.J. White have been assigned to the NBA Development League by Oklahoma City. While it's the first time Weaver has been sent to the D-League, White has been shuttled back and forth between the Thunder and the Tulsa 66ers three times in recent weeks.

76ers: Forward Thaddeus Young, who is averaging 15.2 points and five rebounds per game, could miss the start of the playoffs with a sprained ankle. Young injured his right ankle in Tuesday's 98-85 win over Atlanta.