Dirk Nowitzki's late shot beats Celtics

Nowitzki scored just 16 points — 12 below his career average at the Garden — but his drive and free throw with 5.1 seconds left gave defending NBA champion Dallas an 90-85 victory.


After a timeout, Rajon Rondo’s inbounds bounced off Ray Allen and out of bounds. Jason Terry’s layup closed the scoring.


Paul Pierce scored only 7 points, but his 3-pointer tied the game, 85-85, with 25 seconds left. The Celtics captain is still rounding into shape after missing all of training camp and the first three regular-season games with a bruised right heel.


The Celtics have dropped two in a row at home and the schedule grows even tougher. In a four-day stretch, Boston will play three of the NBA’s best teams. Tomorrow night, the Celtics host 10-2 Chicago. The next night, they visit 7-3 Indiana, a team that won at the Garden last Friday. On Monday night, 10-2 Oklahoma City will visit here.


Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle was ejected after picking up back-to-back technical fouls in the third quarter.


at New York 85, Philadelphia 79: Carmelo Anthony had 27 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks ended the 76ers' six-game winning streak. Amare Stoudemire added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and rookie Josh Harrellson contributed 13 points off the bench as the Knicks won their fourth in a row.


at San Antonio 101, Houston 95 (OT): Tony Parker scored 28 points and made four free throws late in overtime to help the Spurs improve to 7-0 at home.


at Indiana 96, Atlanta 84: Danny Granger scored 24 points and broke out of a shooting slump as the Pacers improved to 7-3. Granger, who had been shooting 24.5% in January, made nine of 16 shots, including three of five from three-point range.


Sacramento 98, at Toronto 91: Tyreke Evans scored a season-high 29 points, DeMarcus Cousins had 21 points and a career-high 19 rebounds and the Kings ended a seven-game losing streak in Toronto


at Chicago 78, Washington 64: Derrick Rose didn't play because of a sprained left big toe, but backup John Lucas III scored a career-high 25 points and led the Bulls to their third victory in three nights.


Oklahoma City 95, at New Orleans 85: Kevin Durant had 29 points and 10 rebounds, taking over in the third quarter as the Thunder pulled away. Durant scoring 11 points in the first eight minutes after halftime.


at Denver 123, New Jersey 115: The Nuggets shot 59.5% and had six players in double figures in a win over the Nets, who got 26 points from Jordan Farmar in 23 minutes off the bench.