Boxscore | Play-By-Play | Video

Paul Pierce was the hero for the Celtics on Friday night as he drove the lane for a layup with 0.3 second remaining to hand the Bobcats a heartbreaking 90-89 loss in Boston. Pierce's heroics offset a total team effort and rousing rally by the Bobcats.

Trailing by 10 (75-65) with 9:24 left in the game, Charlotte, sparked by a three-point play from Raymond Felton, outscored the Celtics 10-0 over a two-minute stretch to tie the score at 75. The two teams battled it out over the next 5:53 as the lead exchanged hands several times.

With 1:28 remaining, Charlotte's veteran floor general, Brevin Knight drove to the basket on two consecutive possessions to give the Bobcats an 88-85 lead. Following a free throw by Pierce, Emeka Okafor hit a free throw to extend Charlotte's lead back to three. Pierce, once again stepped up for the Celtics, connecting on a layup to bring Boston back to within one with 29 seconds remaining.

On the Bobcats next possession, Boston forced a jump ball as the shot clock wound down. Raef LaFrentz captured the tip, giving the Celtics control with four seconds remaining. This set up Pierce's last-second bucket. Pierce finished with 27 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter to lead Boston, who snapped a two-game losing skid and improved to 5-7 on the season. In addition to Pierce, the Celtics had two other players finish with 20-plus points. Ricky Davis scored 25 while LaFrentz added 22 and 10 rebounds. Together the trio combined for 74 of Boston's 90 points.

Gerald Wallace and Knight both posted 17 points to lead five Bobcats players in double-figures. Kareem Rush continued his solid play with 14 points, while Okafor tallied his fifth-consecutive and ninth total double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Charlotte's bench was once again impressive as they outscored Boston's bench 28-9.

Boston jumped out early on the Bobcats, connecting on five of their first seven shots to build a 12-6 lead. The Bobcats withstood the Celtics hot shooting, never allowing Boston to gain more than a six-point advantage. As the first quarter ended, Charlotte trailed Boston by just three, 28-25.

The game remained close in the second quarter, with the Bobcats taking a one-point lead at the 9:42 mark. With the score tied at 39 with 5:33 left in the half, the Celtics, behind baskets from Davis, Pierce and LaFrentz, outscored Charlotte 6-0. The Bobcats finished the quarter strong though, going on a 9-2 run in the closing 3:13 to take a one-point lead at the break.

The Bobcats struggled from the field in the third quarter and through the first 2:36 of the fourth connecting on just eight of 29 field goals. Charlotte's poor shooting enabled the Celtics to build their 10-point advantage.

Charlotte returns home to face the Washington Wizards on Saturday, November 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. The first 5,000 fans receive Bobcats basketballs courtesy of Sprite.

NOTES: With the loss, Charlotte falls to 4-9 overall and 1-6 on the road...The Bobcats wore their home white uniforms at TD Banknorth Garden on Friday as the Celtics unveiled secondary road uniforms for the first time in franchise history....Kareem Rush scored in double-figures for the eighth time this season.

INSIDE THE LOCKER ROOM
Head Coach & General Manager Bernie Bickerstaff
(On the final two possessions) I’m looking before then, and it’s basically what I told the guys in the locker room, it didn’t get down to the last two possessions. What it got down to was breakdowns defensively where we didn’t rotate, missed free throws early, so everything is magnified now because the game was at that point. So, I’m not going there about the last two possessions, it’s what you do leading up to the last two possessions and we didn’t get it done. We didn’t make the commitment, some of our guys, on defense in terms of our rotations. Pierce made a great shot and took it all the way to the hole. I don’t know what happened. We were supposed to switch and I think Emeka (Okafor) switched and somebody stepped in front of him in that situation. But that’s what Pierce does. It was a heck of a basketball game, I’m proud of my guys, and we’ve got a game tomorrow night, so we move on.

(Not getting a shot off late in the game) We didn’t get a shot, we didn’t get a shot off. But you’re still going to the same place (the last two possessions of the game) and I’m not going there. It shouldn’t have gotten to that point on that. We had a three point lead again, there were some opportunities for rebounds that we didn’t come up with and we missed some free throws. So that’s were I’m going. So, Boston did it, they gutted it out. Pierce made a great shot, we lose, we move forward and we have Washington tomorrow night, and I’m proud of those guys in that room.

(On Kareem Rush’s play down the stretch) He (Kareem Rush) hung in there. He was shooting it well early in the basketball game. You know the intestinal fortitude of this basketball team. There is no surrender in it. It looks like déjà vu all over again.

Bobcats Guard Brevin Knight
That last possession I think that me and Kareem (Rush) just had a little miscommunication. When I came back to the left, I saw Ricky Davis come at me and Kareem was still in the corner but he had set up behind me. Miscommunication on my part. The last play we just didn’t execute defensively. We were supposed to switch everything and we just didn’t execute. Whoever wins these games you have to execute on both ends down the stretch and we just didn’t get it done.

(What were the things that brought you guys back when you were down by 10?) We don’t quit. We never quit. That is the mark of this organization is that we don’t quit. We just kept grinding and grinding. That group that was in there got us back in the game. We just kept it going from there, straight to the end. It’s just those last two possessions. The one before that (Paul) Pierce got a lay-up. Then our last possession we didn’t get a shot. Then they come down and he gets another lay-up to win it. In this league you can’t do that and expect to win games.

Bobcats Forward Emeka Okafor
(Where do you think that the momentum went?) I don’t think that there was a real momentum shift. It was pretty dead even until that point. So you can't really say that the whole momentum went towards one side. Once we tied it up it was pretty much going back and forth and it was only a one point game. It was pretty dead even until the last four seconds.

(Is there any particular reason for the mental lapses or miscommunication on the defensive end?) Stuff happens in basketball. You can play great defense and they still score. Of course in games there are defensive lapses but you do your best to correct those. As far as this game, we had some defensive lapses early and we fixed it and got back in the game and just fell apart in the end.