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The reeling and battered Boston Celtics were seconds away from matching their longest losing streak of the season.
Then Jeff Green saved the day.
Green hit the winning layup at the buzzer and scored 21 points, and the Celtics snapped a five-game losing streak with a 93-92 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
It was obvious Boston, which had lost seven of nine coming in and was again without star forward Kevin Garnett, needed something positive to happen. An uncharacteristic late-season slide had dropped the Celtics to seventh place in the Eastern Conference and it looked as if the skid would continue when Cleveland built an 86-72 lead with just over eight minutes to play.
”It was a huge win,” said forward Paul Pierce, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds. ”We didn’t play well from the second quarter on, but we found a way. It seemed like we were mentally fatigued and physically fatigued, but we put it all together at the end.”
Wayne Ellington scored 16 points to lead Cleveland, which has lost six in a row – matching a season high – and 10 of 12.
— Reported by Steve Herrick of the Associated Press
