Celtics edge Pacers on Rozier's steal and layup
Terry Rozier's steal and layup with 1.2 seconds remaining on Monday gave Boston a 112-111 victory over the Indiana Pacers after the Celtics had squandered a 19-point lead.
Kyrie Irving led the Celtics with 30 points while Al Horford scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 9 assists.
Jayson Tatum contributed 16 points and Marcus Smart added 15 and the Celtics made their first 10 shots and improved the best record in the National Basketball Association Eastern Conference to 26-7.
"That was one hell of a of a game to be a part of," Irving said.
Victor Oladipo led the Pacers (17-14) with 38 points, 30 in the second half. His 3-pointer and layup on back-to-back possessions gave Indiana a 5-point edge with 31 seconds to play at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
An Irving 3-pointer pulled Boston within 110-109 with 9 seconds remaining. Rozier followed by intercepting a Bojan Bogdanovic pass intended for Oladipo and raced the opposite way for the winning layup.
"It's a tough, tough loss," Oladipo said. "We gave ourselves a chance to win and we competed with the best team in the Eastern Conference. We can be that good. We just have to keep on getting better."
On the night when the Los Angeles Lakers retired Kobe Bryant's two jersey numbers, the defending champions Golden State Warriors stole the show with a 116-114 overtime triumph at Staples Center.
Kevin Durant scored 36 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and provided 8 assists. He netted 12 of Golden State's 14 points in OT to spark the victory, including the deciding jumper with 6.4 seconds to go.
Lonzo Ball, who scored 7 of his 16 points in the extra 5 minutes, had a potential tying layup blocked by David West to snuff the Lakers' last chance.
Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook scored a season-high 38 points on 16-of-28 shooting from the floor and sank the winning free throw after being fouled later in the host Thunder's 95-94 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
The league-leading Houston Rockets stretched their win streak to 14 games with a 120-99 rout of visiting Utah as Eric Gordon scored 33 points, making a career-high 7 3-pointers, and James Harden added 26 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists with Chris Paul contributing 18 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists.
Clint Capela returned from injury and had 24 points and 20 rebounds for the Rockets (25-4) while Rodney Hood led the Jazz with 26 points.
Elsewhere, it was: Timberwolves 108, Trail Blazers 107; Hornets 109, Knicks 91; Bulls 117, 76ers 115; Spurs 109, Clippers 91; Suns 97, Mavericks 91; and Hawks 110, Heat 104.