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| Iconic is was not but Sixers Celtics sure was entertaining |
Rajon Rondo connected with Garnett for the tip-in, finding his teammate with a substantial size advantage in the paint over Sixers guard Jrue Holiday.
"We worked on that last week," said Celtics head coach Doc Rivers of the play. "We tried to run it early and we had bad timing. It's just funny how things work out."
The shot came just seconds after Andre Iguodala gave Philadelphia a 101-100 advantage with a running hook shot.
Garnett stole the inbounds pass after his go-ahead bucket, sealing the win for Boston. He scored 14 points and Rondo added 19 with 14 assists for the Celtics, who have won nine straight.
Ray Allen scored a game-high 23 points and Glen Davis added 16 in a reserve role for Boston.
Jodie Meeks led the Sixers with 19 points on 4-of-4 from beyond the arc and Iguodala scored 14 with 11 assists for the Sixers, who saw their five-game home winning streak snapped.
Thaddeus Young and Lou Williams both had 16 points off the bench for Philadelphia.
"What a heart-breaking loss," stated Sixers head coach Doug Collins. "Our guys played so hard, and so well. That Celtics team is so good and so well-coached. They have got so many different ways that they can attack you on the offensive end. It was just a shame. It would have been an incredible win for us here tonight."
Boston led 81-80 entering the fourth and after the teams traded baskets for most of the quarter, Philadelphia took a 97-93 lead in the final two minutes on a Meeks three-pointer and Elton Brand jump shot.
Allen responded with two from the line and a deep triple to retake the lead for Boston with 1:04 left on the clock. Iguodala followed with a jumper for the Sixers, but Davis came back with a bucket to give the Celtics another one- point lead and set the stage for Iguodala's go-ahead basket with 6.6 seconds remaining.
His runner left plenty of time for Garnett's heroics.
Philadelphia held a 32-29 advantage after the opening quarter, but Boston responded in the second with nine-point efforts from Allen and Nate Robinson to take a 56-55 lead at the half.
Game Notes
The Celtics have not lost in Philadelphia since Allen and Garnett joined the team in 2007...Shaquille O'Neal missed the game for Boston with right calf soreness, while Semih Erden made his first career start...Philadelphia won the rebounding margin 39-33...Holiday finished with 12 points and six assists for the Sixers.
Copyright. The Sports Network
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