New Orleans’ Anthony Davis (23) dunks in front of Boston’s Paul Pierce (34) and teammate Al-Farouq Aminu in the first half of Wednesday’s game. Davis hit the game-winning shot with 1 second left. (Associated Press)
Thursday March 21, 2013

NEW ORLEANS -- Anthony Davis outreached Kevin Garnett and Jeff Green for a last-second tip-in, and the New Orleans Hornets snapped a four-game skid with an 87-86 victory over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.

Davis was playing despite missing the morning shootaround with an illness, and finished with nine points and eight rebounds. Ryan Anderson scored 21 points and Eric Gordon 18 for the Hornets. Gordon's floater to win it in the waning seconds missed, but followed up for the winner.

Paul Pierce scored 11 points of his 28 points in the last six minutes to nearly lead Boston back from a nine-point deficit, but missed a jumper with 16 seconds left that could have put the Celtics up by three.

Garnett, returning from a two game absence caused by a left thigh injury and the flu, scored 20 -- not quite enough to spare Boston from a second straight loss.

Green, coming off a career-high 43 points in Boston's loss to Miami on Monday night, scored 13 points, all in the first half.

The loss dropped Boston into seventh in the Eastern Conference, 31 2 games behind Brooklyn for the fourth seed, which carries with it home advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Nets beat Dallas, while fifth-place Atlanta beat Milwaukee to pull 11 2 games ahead of the Celtics.

Boston had been in control much of the game and led by as many as 13 after Pierce's 3 made it 60-47 early in the third quarter.

Then New

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Orleans steadily whittled away. During a nearly five-minute span, the Hornets went on a 9-2 run that included dunks by Robin Lopez and Al-Farouq Aminu, and tied the game at 65 on Anderson's free throws with 1:02 left in period.

Anderson then answered David Lee's jumper with two more free throws to tie it at 67 heading into the fourth quarter.