Die Macht » Pekka Rinne wanted to play the puck behind his

BOSTON -- Phil Pressey had a career-high 13 assists, dove for loose balls and tipped a missed shot to a teammate with three seconds left. Not bad for Bostons 5-foot-11 undrafted rookie who learned after pregame warmups that he would start for just the ninth time. "I started before, so it really wasnt that big a deal," he said. It was to the Celtics, who held off a late surge and broke a season-long nine-game losing streak with a 106-103 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night. Pressey got the call when Rajon Rondo realized his left shin was too sore for him to play. "Phil Pressey gave us a great lift on the defensive end," said Avery Bradley, who led Boston with 22 points. "I feel like thats why we won the game." Boston led 104-103 before Jared Sullinger made two free throws with 2.5 seconds left. Charlotte called timeout then got the ball to Jannero Pargo, who missed a straightaway 3-point shot as time expired. "I put my hands up to make him make a tough shot," Pressey said. "He was kind of fading away. If he made that shot we would have gone into overtime. If not, we win." The Bobcats were led by Al Jefferson with 32 points and 10 rebounds and Gary Neal with 13 points. "We got what we deserved," Jefferson said. "There was no way we can go in the playoffs with that type of mindset." Charlottes season-best five-game winning streak ended as it dropped into the seventh and the next-to-last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. It trails Washington by one game after the Wizards beat Orlando 96-86 Friday night. Boston has the fourth-worst record in the NBA after entering the game tied with Orlando for the third-worst. Sullinger scored 20 points and Pressey had 10 with three steals. Charlotte also was missing its top guard, Kemba Walker, who sat out with a sore right groin. Coach Steve Clifford didnt know if he would play Saturday night against Philadelphia. "Im really more concerned about the guys on the floor," Clifford said. "We had very little defence." In a game of surges, Jeffersons short jumper gave Charlotte a 97-96 lead with 4:01 remaining. Boston went ahead 104-97 by scoring the next eight points on a 3-pointer by Sullinger, a layup by Jeff Green and a 3-pointer by Bradley. Luke Ridnours basket with 1:39 to go stopped the run and Jeffersons follow of a missed shot made it 104-101 with 51 seconds left. Then Jeffersons layup cut the lead to one point with 29 seconds to play. With the 24-second clock about to expire, Sullinger missed a 3-pointer, but Pressey tipped the rebound to Brandon Bass. The Bobcats fouled him and Boston took the ball out from the side. Sullinger was fouled immediately when he took the inbounds pass. "Thats just one of the winning plays that coach (Brad) Stevens talks about," Pressey said of his tip, "diving for a loose ball, boxing out, taking the charge, getting offensive rebounds." The Bobcats didnt do enough of that. "We just didnt put much into the game," Clifford said. Boston led 57-55 at halftime and scored the last 12 points of the third quarter, turning a 75-72 deficit into an 84-75 lead. Bass had five points and Green added four during the rally. The Celtics stretched that to 90-77 before the Bobcats came back with a 10-point run to cut the lead to three. Bradleys basket stopped the surge, but Charlotte tied it at 92 with 5:13 to go on a layup by Jefferson and a 3-pointer by Gerald Henderson. But two days after wasting a nine-point lead with 5:44 left and losing to Atlanta 105-97, the Celtics held on. "We learned our lesson," Sullinger said. "We stayed poised." NOTES: Boston F Kris Humphries returned after missing two games with a sore right knee. ... Sullinger suffered a mild left ankle sprain in the third quarter and returned in the fourth. ... Presseys previous high was 11 assists. ... Jefferson is 1-12 in his career against the Celtics. He has a double-double in 10 of his past 12 games. 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Cheap Jerseys .com) - The Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics both entered Wednesday nights game riding lengthy losing streaks.MINSK, Belarus -- Defenceman Ryan Ellis scored in overtime to give Canada a 3-2 comeback victory over defending champion Sweden at the at the ice hockey world championship on Sunday, while two goals from Tyler Johnson lifted the United States 3-1 over Finland. In the late games, Russia blanked Germany 3-0 for its sixth straight victory of the tournament and the Czech Republic overcame Norway 1-0. After a stunning loss to France in its tournament opener, Canada has answered with five consecutive wins and took the lead in Group A ahead of Sweden with one more game to play before the knockout stage. Ellis netted 2:38 into overtime on a breakaway after second-period goals from Brayden Schenn and captain Kevin Bieksa on a power play erased Swedens 2-0 lead. "Good play by (Mark) Scheifele," Ellis said about his teammate, who assisted with his goal. "The patience from Scheifele was unbelievable for such a young guy. He put it right on my tape and I just had to touch it." Joakim Lindstrom and Linus Klasen scored the Swedish goals. Swedish goaltender Anders Nilsson saved a penalty shot by Jonathan Huberdeau in the first period. In the other early game, Johnson scored in the third to make it 2-0 with a wrist shot and added his second into an empty net with 46 seconds left for the U.S. to move into the second place in Group B. Russias victory then secured the Americans a place among the toop four teams which advance to the quarterfinals from each group.dddddddddddd "It was a good game by our team," Johnson said. "Obviously, it was a must win for us to advance." Brock Nelson opened the scoring just 19 seconds into the game when goaltender Pekka Rinne wanted to play the puck behind his goal but it deflected off the boards to Nelson right in front of the empty net to knock it in. "It was a crazy bounce," Nelson said. "Youve got to be ready for anything. It was a good start for us. We did a solid job of playing smart defensively in this game compared with some of the previous (ones)." Tuukka Mantyla cut the U.S. lead to 2-1 with 3:14 remaining in regulation. Germany held Russia at bay for two periods before Vadim Shipachyov finally netted 3:58 into the third on a power play. Sergei Shirokov added the second and Viktor Tikhonov scored into an empty net for his seventh goal in Minsk. Russias 19-year-old goalie Andrei Vasilevski stopped 27 shots for the shutout. Russias star forward Alex Ovechkin left the ice midway through the third with an apparent leg injury. Vladimir Sobotka scored the lone goal 39 seconds into the game for the Czechs to move to the third position in Group A. Norway is tied for fourth with France and Slovakia. Czech goaltender Alexander Salak saved a penalty shot in the second and made 21 saves for the shutout. ' ' '