NBA: Jeff Green nails game-winner to snap Boston's five-game skid

March 28, 2013 9:40am


Jeff Green canned a lay-up right at the buzzer off an Avery Bradley inbounds to lift the Boston Celtics to a 93-92 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time) at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.

Boston improved their record to 37-34, after snapping a five-game losing skid. Cleveland on the other hand dropped their sixth straight to post a 22-48 record.

The Celtics are currently seventh in the Eastern Conference, two games back of the Chicago Bulls (38-31) who were still playing as of writing, and two and a half ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks (34-36), who lost their fourth in a row today versus the Philadelphia 76ers.

The injury-wracked Celtics trailed by as much as 14 points, 86-72, in the early moments of the fourth quarter, but a 17-4 run got them all the way to within a point, 90-89, via an and-one play from Jeff Green, 1:43 remaining in the game.

A miss by Wayne Ellington was sandwiched by two misses by the visiting side, forcing Boston to intentionally foul with under a minute to play. CJ Miles stepped up to the foul stripe and canned two with 39 seconds to play, leading to a Celtics timeout.

Off the quick break, Paul Pierce opted for the quick two and made a seven-foot jumper for a one-point difference anew, 92-91. Shaun Livingston was unable to counter, giving their foes the final possession of the game. Off another timeout, the Celtics got exactly what they wanted, as a screen created an open driving lane for Green on the Bradley inbounds, leading to a point-blank shot to win the game.

The Cavs actually trailed by as much as 12 points in the second half, 35-23, but a monumental collapse on the Celtics' part led to them tying the game at 42-all with a minute to play in the first half, before they stretched their advantage in the third period.

Brandon Bass continues to post good numbers, finishing this game with 22 points and five rebounds. Jeff Green added another stacked line with 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block, while Paul Pierce chimed in with 19 points, 10 boards, eight assists and two swats.

The Celtics continued to be without injured big man Kevin Garnett and shooting guard Courtney Lee.

Six Cavs finished with double-digit scoring, led by Wayne Ellington's 16 points on 7-of-16 shooting. CJ Miles and Marreese Speights came off the bench for 13 apiece. - AMD, GMA News