Boston ? At this point, the Boston Celtics will take wins any way they can get them.

Paul Pierce made a layup with 0.3 seconds left, giving the struggling Celtics a 90-89 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night.

“This was a much-needed one,” Pierce said. “Regardless of how we got it. We haven’t played well the last five games.”

Pierce took the inbounds pass with four seconds left and drove down the left side of the lane for a layup. He finished with 27 points.

“The play was drawn up good,” said Boston’s Ricky Davis, who finished with 25 points. “We got exactly what we wanted. We got the stop we needed at the end and then executed a great play.”

The Celtics had lost two straight – including a road loss Wednesday that gave the Atlanta Hawks their first victory of the season – and four of five.

The Bobcats fell to 1-6 on the road and 4-9 overall.

“We had some defensive lapses early in the game and then we found a way to get back into the game,” Charlotte’s Emeka Okafor said. “Then we fell apart at the end. We played hard, but I’m not big on taking positives from losses like this.”

Boston Celtics' forward Paul Pierce (34) watches as the ball gets ready to drop into the basket while scoring the game-winning shot, a driving layup, with no time left on the clock. The Celtics beat the Bobcats, 90-89, Friday in Boston. Pierce scored 27 points. At right is Celtics center Raef LaFrentz, who added 22 points.

Raef LaFrentz finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics.

Gerald Wallace and Brevin Knight each had 17 points for Charlotte. Okafor added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Boston led 75-65 early in the fourth quarter, but Charlotte answered with a 10-0 run that tied the game with 7:21 left.

After the teams traded baskets, Kareem Rush knocked down a three-pointer that gave the Bobcats an 80-77 lead. Pierce answered with a three-point play and then stole the ball from Okafor and took it the length of the court for a layup that put Boston back on top 82-80 with 4:17 left.

Okafor tied it at 82 before LaFrentz connected on a three-pointer to give the Celtics an 85-82 lead with 3:38 to go. Knight sliced through the lane for a pair of driving layups and converted a steal that put Charlotte back in front 88-85 with 1:18 remaining.

Pierce and Okafor each sank one of two free throws and Pierce cut the deficit to 89-88 with a drive with 29 seconds left.

“This was an important win for us,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “In our standards, this was like a throwback game defensively. So, it was what we needed. I think this team needed this win.”

Magic 104, Trail Blazers 89

Orlando, Fla. – Jameer Nelson scored a season-high 24 points, and Dwight Howard added 21 points and 18 rebounds for the Magic, who matched their season-high winning streak at two games.

Darius Miles led Portland with 23 points.

Timberwolves 99, Bucks 91

Minneapolis – Kevin Garnett had 17 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, doing most of his damage after receiving six stitches in the chin in the third quarter. Wally Szczerbiak added a season-high 30 points for Minnesota.

Michael Redd scored 28 points to lead the Bucks.

Mavericks 103, Heat 90

Miami – Josh Howard scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Dallas squandered most of a 15-point lead before recovering.

Dirk Nowitzki added 23 points for Dallas, which extended its league-best winning streak to seven games.

Grizzlies 86, Rockets 81

Memphis, Tenn. – Shane Battier scored 20 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, for Memphis, which snapped a two-game losing streak.

The Rockets, again playing without leading scorer Tracy McGrady, lost their sixth straight.

Hawks 87, Pacers 85

Indianapolis – Al Harrington scored 17 points, and Joe Johnson added 16 points, seven rebounds and nine assists as the Hawks held off the Pacers’ late charge and snapped a seven-game road losing streak.

It was Atlanta’s first win over Indiana since March 22, 2003.

Bulls 106, Spurs 99

San Antonio – Chris Duhon scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, Chicago’s zone defense shut down San Antonio in the final minutes, and the Bulls broke a long winless streak against the Spurs.

Ben Gordon led Chicago with 19 points, and Luol Deng added 17.

Wizards 120, Pistons 114

Auburn Hills, Mich. – Gilbert Arenas scored 39 points, and Caron Butler added a season-high 27, helping the Washington Wizards break a five-game losing streak.

Butler was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in the second overtime period – Washington was 14-for-16 – to help the Wizards hang on.

Rasheed Wallace scored a season-high 33 points and had 11 rebounds for the Pistons, who lost at home for the first time after starting the season with five straight

Warriors 94, Jazz 90

Salt Lake City – Derek Fisher made a three-pointer with 24 seconds left, and Golden State avoided its first losing streak of the season.

Jason Richardson scored 29 and made two free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining to clinch it after grabbing the ball off a missed three-pointer by Utah’s Deron Williams.

Williams scored a career-high 24 points and had seven assists for the Jazz, who were trying for their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Nuggets 105, Clippers 95

Denver – Carmelo Anthony scored 35 points, and Denver found another way to win short-handed, beating the Los Angeles Clippers despite the absence of Marcus Camby.

The NBA’s leading rebounder and second-leading shot blocker, Camby was held out of the game because of a bruised right leg.

Corey Maggette led Los Angeles with 22 points. Elton Brand added 20, and Cuttino Mobley had 18. But the Clippers, who led 52-51 at halftime, never led in the second half after Denver’s DerMarr Johnson sank a three-pointer to make it 54-52.

Kings 106, Raptors 104

Sacramento, Calif. – Mike Bibby scored 25 points, and Bonzi Wells made the winning basket with two seconds left for Sacramento.

With the shot clock running down, Wells took a pass from Brad Miller and flipped a left-handed shot over Jalen Rose. Rose missed a three-pointer at the buzzer that would have given Toronto the victory.

Suns 92, Nets 81

Phoenix – Steve Nash scored 25 points, and Kurt Thomas had a season-high 18 rebounds. The Suns’ third straight win and fourth in five games also was their third consecutive win at home after a 1-4 start.

New Jersey’s point total was the lowest allowed by the Suns this season and the fifth straight game Phoenix held an opponent under 100 points.

Jason Kidd led the Nets with 25 points.