Ray Allen made a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in the second overtime to lift the Boston Celtics over the Charlotte Bobcats 111-109 and into second place in the NBA's Eastern Conference yesterday.

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

Paul Pierce led Boston with 32 points, Allen added 22 and Rajon Rondo had 21 points and nine assists. Gerald Wallace had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Bobcats, and Boris Diaw scored 17 points.

Mavericks 98, Heat 96

At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points, and Josh Howard had 20 points and drew a game-saving foul with 2.3 seconds left in Dallas' victory over Miami.

The Mavericks beat the Heat for the 10th straight time in the regular season.

Dwyane Wade had 23 points and six assists, but wasn't able to pull off any late-game heroics, in part because of stiff defense by Jason Kidd.

Lakers 104, Bucks 98

At Milwaukee, Kobe Bryant rebounded from a rough shooting night to hit his first seven from the field and score 30 points, and Pau Gasol had eight of his 15 in the fourth quarter as Los Angeles beat Milwaukee.

Lamar Odom added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who were playing the finale of a grueling seven-game road trip and coming off two straight losses.

Ramon Sessions had his first career triple-double for the Bucks, who fell four games out of the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot. Sessions finished with 16 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds.

Raptors 99, Magic 95

At Orlando, Florida, Chris Bosh had 24 points, including a 22-footer over Dwight Howard with 29 seconds left that put the game out of reach, as Toronto beat Orlando.

Jose Calderon had 21 points, and Shawn Marion added 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Raptors, who nearly blew an 11-point lead before holding on to extend their season-high winning streak to five games. Rashard Lewis missed a potential tying 3-pointer with 20 seconds left to seal Toronto's win.

Dwight Howard had 30 points and nine rebounds for Orlando.