Luka Doncic drained a three-pointer with one-tenth of a second remaining to earn a 110-107 win for the Dallas Mavericks over the Boston Celtics.
The Slovenian had given the Mavericks a 107-105 lead with a three-pointer seconds earlier but his game-winning effort sparked wild celebrations.
His 31 points helped the Mavs to a sixth win in seven matches.
“He’s just a very unique player, a very unique person,” Mavericks’ coach Rick Carlisle said of Doncic.
“The wiring of people like Luka Doncic, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant, guys that have this laser-like focus in these situations. It’s difficult to explain how their minds and their brains work.”
Harden an All-Star (again)
Elsewhere, James Harden shone as the Brooklyn Nets beat Sacramento Kings 127-118 for a seventh win in a row.
Harden finished with 29 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds for his sixth triple-double since joining the Nets in January.
Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have all been named to play in the NBA’s All-Star game on 7 March, the first time the Nets have had three representatives in their history.
Harden has now been named an All-Star nine times, the second-longest active streak of such selections behind LeBron James’ 17 straight.
The Nets now sit second in the Eastern Conference behind the Philadelphia 76ers, who beat the Toronto Raptors 109-102 on Tuesday.
Lamar Stevens’ slam dunk with 4.1 seconds left lifted the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 112-111 win over the Atlanta Haws and ended a 10-game losing streak.
Steph Curry scored 37 points as the Golden State Warriors beat the New York Knicks 114-106.
The Eastern Conference’s bottom team – Detroit Pistons – had rookie Saben Lee to thank after his career-high 21 points and four assists off the bench helped them beat the Orlando Magic 105-93.
The Milwaukee Bucks sit third in the East and now have three wins in a row after Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 37 points to help them beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 139-112.
And Nikola Jokic scored 41 points as the Denver Nuggets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 111-106, while Kawhi Leonard scored 32 points and Paul George contributed 30 points in the Los Angeles Clippers’ 135-116 win over the Washington Wizards.
The result ended the Wizards’ five-game winning streak and leaves the Clippers second in the Western Conference.
