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Jose Calderon had a career-high 24 points along with 13 assists and the go-ahead three-point play with 10.5 seconds remaining, as the visiting Raptors edged the mighty Celtics 114-112 on Wednesday night to avoid a season series sweep.

 "This was really important for us," said Calderon, who nailed four of the Raptors' 15 three-pointers. "We played them three times, so we knew how to play this time. We had to show that we can beat them and show we can beat them on their court."

   After the Spanish point guard's driving layup and free throw put the Raptors on top, the Celtics had two opportunities to force overtime. However, Eddie House missed a 22-foot jumper. Ray Allen grabbed the rebound inside, but his nine-foot jumper bounced off the rim at the final buzzer.

 "We were fortunate because nine times out of 10 Ray is going to make that shot," said Raptors forward Chris Bosh. "But we got out of here with the win."

   Bosh and Anthony Parker scored 23 points apiece while Italy's Andre Barganani chipped in with 20 for Toronto (23-19), which hit all 19 free throws and 15-of-21 on three pointers.

 Kevin Garnett led league-best Boston (33-7) with 26 points while Allen and Paul Pierce had 19 apiece.

 "They definitely were in a groove shooting threes, but that's what they do," Garnett said. "They shot 71 per cent from the three-point line, 58 per cent from the field, 100 per cent on free throws and we still had a chance to win. You have to shoot near-damn perfect to beat us, so I'll take that."

   Elsewhere:    Minnesota Timberwolves 117, Phoenix Suns 107    Al Jefferson had a career-high 39 points and 15 rebounds, carrying the league-worst Timberwolves (7-34) to their first two-game winning streak of the season. Amare Stoudemire scored 33 points while Steve Nash had 21 and 16 assists for the Suns (30-13) who had won four straight.

 San Antonio Spurs 103, LA Lakers 91    Tim Duncan collected 28 points with 17 rebounds, and the Spurs used a big third quarter to run past the visiting Lakers.

 Ime Udoka added a season-high 18 points for San Antonio (27-13) which outscored the visitors 31-12 in the decisive period, to turn a nine-point halftime deficit into a 10-point cushion entering the final frame. Kobe Bryant had 29 points, 12 rebounds but nine turnovers for the Lakers (27-13) who had won eight of their previous nine games.

 Cleveland Cavaliers 121, Washington Wizards 85    Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 24 points on 10-of-10 field goal shooting, and LeBron James had 23, leading the hosting Cavaliers to their most-lopsided victory since 1994.

 New Orleans Hornets 96, Portland Trail Blazers 81    Jannero Pargo scored a season-high 24 points off the bench, David West had 22 and the Hornets moved atop the Western Conference standings with their 15th win in the last 17 games. LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 points for the Trail Blazers (25-17) who finished 3-4 on their road trip.

 Detroit Pistons 86, Philadelphia 76ers 78    Richard Hamilton scored 21 points, Chauncey Billups had 19 and the visiting Pistons ended a modest three-game slide. Willie Green scored 16 points for the 76ers (16-27) who have lost 10th of their last 12 games.

  Orlando Magic 112, Memphis Grizzlies 85   Hedo Turkoglu scored 26 points with six of the Magic's franchise- record 18 3-pointers to shoot down the host Grizzlies for the sixth straight time. Rudy Gay led the Grizzlies (12-30) with 20 points and Spain's Pau Gasol had 17 with 11 rebounds.

 Dallas Mavericks 102, Charlotte Bobcats 95    Devin Harris scored 23 points, Josh Howard had 21 with 12 rebounds and the visiting Mavericks improved to 7-0 all-time against Charlotte. Jason Richardson led the Bobcats with 22 points while Gerald Wallace had 22 points and 11 rebounds.

  Chicago Bulls 108, Indiana Pacers 95   Kirk Hinrich scored a career-high 38 points, Argentine Andres Nocioni added 24 and the Bulls overcame the absence of two starters to pound the visiting Pacers.

 Earlier in the day, the Bulls learned that Luol Deng would be sidelined for up to hree weeks due to left Achilles' tendinitis. Gordon, meanwhile, missed the game with a sprained right wrist. Danny Granger led the Pacers (19-24) with a career-best 33 points.

 Denver Nuggets 107, Atlanta Hawks 100    Allen Iverson scored 29 points, Marcus Camby grabbed 24 rebounds and the Nuggets, without Carmelo Anthony (left ankle sprain), handed the Hawks their fourth straight defeat. Josh Smith led the Hawks (17- 21) with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

 LA Clippers 111, Sacramento Kings 85    Al Thornton scored 23 points, Chris Kaman had 20 with 21 rebounds and the Clippers stopped the visiting Kings' season-high three-game winning streak.

 Houston Rockets 109, Seattle SuperSonics 107    Tracy McGrady scored 28 points and assisted on Rafer Alston's fifth three-pointer with 19 seconds remaining, as the visiting Rockets sent the Sonics to a franchise-record 12th straight loss.

 Houston's Yao Ming had 26 points with 12 rebounds while Alston finished with 18 points. Kevin Durant led Seattle (9-33) with 25 points, but missed a game-winning three-pointer at the final buzzer.

By Paul Levine, dpa