NBA: Wizards take down mighty Celtics

When the turnover count hit 20, the Boston Celtics were in trouble. Now, that team that had been routing the NBA has lost two out of three.

The Washington Wizards, overcoming a sloppy night of their own, rallied from a seven-point, fourth-quarter deficit and closed the game with a 15-4 run Saturday night for an 85-78 victory over the Celtics in Washington.

The momentum turned when Antonio Daniels made a 3-pointer with 1:51 remaining to give the Wizards a 75-74 lead, and Brendan Haywood forced a turnover at the other end by getting his hands in the way of a bad pass by Kevin Garnett. DeShawn Stevenson took advantage by drawing a foul while attempting a 3-pointer as the shot clock was about to expire – and making all three free throws.

Stevenson led the Wizards with 19 points. Caron Butler had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Antawn Jamison survived a 4-for-15 shooting night to score 10 points while grabbing 16 rebounds.

Pistons 103, Bobcats 100 (OT): At Charlotte, N.C., Richard Hamilton hit the go-ahead jumper and two clinching free throws in the final 17 seconds and Detroit overcame a valiant effort from the undermanned Bobcats to beat Charlotte in overtime.

Hamilton, who scored 26 points, hit a baseline jumper with 16.2 seconds left to put Detroit ahead 101-100. After Emeka Okafor was called for basket interference at the other end, Hamilton hit two free throws with 0.2 seconds left to seal the Pistons’ second straight win.

Spurs 105, Timberwolves 88: At San Antonio, Manu Ginobili scored 22 points and Tony Parker had 21 to lead the Spurs to a victory over Minnesota.

Tim Duncan added 15 points and nine rebounds to help San Antonio snap a two-game losing streak.

Al Jefferson led the Timberwolves, who have the worst record in the Western Conference, with 24 points. Ryan Gomes added 21 points and nine rebounds and Rashad McCants scored 17 points.

Suns 122, Bucks 114: At Phoenix, Steve Nash scored 26 of his season-high 35 points in the second half and the Suns beat Milwaukee in Phoenix for the 20th consecutive time.

Nash was 11 of 13 shooting, 4 of 5 of them 3s, in the final two quarters, showing no effect from the stomach flu that kept him out of Thursday night’s loss in Utah.

Jazz 119, Magic 115: At Salt Lake City, Deron Williams had 17 points and 11 assists and Utah gave Orlando consecutive road losses for the first time this season.

Carlos Boozer added 15 points and 10 rebounds and Andrei Kirilenko returned after missing three games and finished with 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for Utah.

Pacers 111, Kings 105: At Sacramento, Calif., Mike Dunleavy scored 23 points and Indiana never trailed in a victory over the Kings, snapping a three-game losing streak.

Ahead 105-103 in the final minute, Jermaine O’Neal made two free throws and Danny Granger hit a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left to help the Pacers end a seven-game road losing streak.

Mavericks 95, Clippers 94: At Los Angeles, Jerry Stackhouse hit a 3-pointer as time expired and Dallas got 22 points from Dirk Nowitzki and 20 from Jason Terry in a victory over the Clippers.

The Mavericks’ seventh straight victory improved their record to 26-11 and kept them tied with Phoenix for the top spot in the West.