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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – The Charlotte Hornets moved one step
closer to the postseason, and looked nothing like a playoff team.
|  | | Elden Campbell (5) delivers the winning basket over Vitaly Potapenko, right, and Milt Palacio. |
Charlotte got a hook shot from Elden Campbell with nine seconds
left and Baron Davis blocked Boston's final shot to preserve an
80-79 victory over the Celtics on Sunday and move the Hornets
within one victory of clinching a playoff berth.
"I don't think we got any relief from moving closer to the
playoffs," said David Wesley, who led the Hornets with 21 points.
"I think the light at the end of the tunnel for us is having a
chance to get back to playing well before the playoffs. If the
playoffs started tomorrow, I think there would be a lot of
uncertainty about us because we haven't been playing very good
basketball."
The Hornets snapped a four-game losing streak while beating
Boston for the sixth consecutive time.
But they blew an early lead, had to rally from eight points down
late in the fourth quarter and needed two big plays in the final
seconds to do it.
"We've been playing bad basketball lately," forward P.J. Brown
said. "There's only nine games left so we need to pick up the
intensity before its too late."
So does Boston, which blew a prime opportunity to break its tie
with Indiana in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in
the Eastern Conference.
The Pacers lost to Philadelphia earlier in the day, and the
Celtics would have moved one game ahead of them with a victory.
"We played tough, tough enough to win," said Boston interim
coach Jim O'Brien. "But the Hornets played one point better than
we did."
Davis scored 12 points for Charlotte and Campbell had 10 points
and 12 rebounds for the Hornets, who have won 10 of their last 12
against Boston.
Antoine Walker scored 25 for the Celtics, but he missed a
critical free throw with 19 seconds to play.
Davis tied it at 78 on a driving layup with 33 seconds left
and Walker was fouled by Wesley at the other end. He made the first
free throw to give the Celtics a 79-78 lead, but missed the second
and Jamal Mashburn got the rebound.
The Hornets went ahead at the other end when Mashburn, stuck in
a double-team, passed the ball inside to Campbell, who hooked it in
from just under the basket.
"I yelled for Mash once when I first got open, but he didn't
hear me," Campbell said. "When he didn't have anywhere to go, he
had no choice but to get rid of it and I was right under the
basket."
The Celtics took a timeout and inbounded the ball to Milt
Palacio, who drove through the lane and went up for an attempted
layup. Davis blocked the shot, got the rebound and tossed it into
an empty backcourt, where it rolled down the court as time expired.
The Celtics thought Palacio had been fouled and tried to argue
it, but the officials left the court without comment.
Palacio said he wasn't positive he had been fouled.
"It was a close call," he said. "I thought maybe I was, but
they didn't call it and I can't cry about it now."
Davis called the final play a clean block.
"I actually consider it a steal because he practically put the
ball in my hands," Davis said. "I watched the replay and
thought the no-call was the right call. There should be no
controversy."
Game notes
Charlotte coach Paul Silas said forward Derrick Coleman
could play Tuesday night against New Jersey, depending on how he
performs in Monday's practice. ... The Hornets and Celtics combined
to miss their first 13 shots. Brown was the first to score, on a
putback with 8:59 left in the first. The Celtics didn't score for
another 2:20, when Randy Brown hit a 20-footer. ... Boston center
Mark Blount was scoreless in 18 minutes.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Boston Clubhouse
Charlotte Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 104
Indiana 93
Charlotte 80
Boston 79
Minnesota 99
Portland 95
Utah 92
Vancouver 73
New York 79
LA Lakers 78
Orlando 104
Toronto 101
Detroit 104
Golden State 87
New Jersey 101
Houston 98
Phoenix 106
Milwaukee 99
Dallas 119
Sacramento 107
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Elden Campbell nails the hook shot over three Boston defenders.
avi: 862 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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