Chris Paul almost single-handedly rallied the New Orleans Hornets to a victory over the Bulls. Boston needed a team effort to make a comeback and hand the Spurs their season-high fourth straight loss.

Paul made the tying 3-pointer with 2:47 left in the fourth quarter then tossed an alley-oop to Tyson Chandler on the next possession to give the Hornets their first lead since halftime. Host New Orleans went on to beat Chicago 107-98 Monday night.

"It was all Chris Paul," Chandler said. "The little man was all over the floor. It was incredible. It's one of the best performances I've seen from him yet. He, at least to me, made his bid (Monday night) to consider him the MVP."

Paul had 37 points, on 15-of-21 shooting, and 13 assists.

"He took the game over single-handedly," said Bulls guard Ben Gordon, who scored 31 points. "Every basket he made, they needed it to win."

At San Antonio, the Celtics trailed by as many as 22 points in the first half of a 93-91 win, and didn't have the lead in the fourth quarter until there were just 46 seconds left.

"A lot of teams may have buckled," said Rajon Rondo, who scored 20 points for the Celtics. "But we knew we had to execute. Continue to get stops on defense and we knew the game would change for us, and it did."

Veteran Sam Cassell had 17 points, his biggest shot being the 3-pointer that gave the Celtics the lead in the fourth.

"He's got a lot of experience. That's why we brought him in," Paul Pierce said of Cassell. "Late in the game, that's what he does, he knocks down the big shot that puts us up two. That's what you can expect from him."

Drew Gooden had 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulls, who opened the second half on a 14-4 run.

New Orleans trailed 84-75 entering the fourth, but behind Paul's leadership outscored Chicago 33-13 in the quarter — including 24-4 over the final 7:01.

"I usually never start the fourth quarter, but I went up to coach and said, 'Coach, let me stay,"' Paul said.

Manu Ginobili had 32 points for the Spurs, who have dropped six of seven. Tony Parker added 17 points and Tim Duncan scored 10.

The Spurs had a chance to win it when Bruce Bowen stole the ball from Garnett on the inbounds play with 2 seconds left and passed to Robert Horry, whose 3-point attempt missed. Horry sank to the ground, his head in his hands.

Magic 104, Cavaliers 90

At Orlando, Fla., Dwight Howard had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Rashard Lewis scored 21 for the Magic, which shot better from 3-point range (43.8 percent) than it did overall (39.5 percent).

LeBron James had 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists for Cleveland. Delonte West had 16 points and Sasha Pavlovic added 14.

Hawks 105, Wizards 96

At Washington, Mike Bibby scored 23 points and Joe Johnson added 18 points and 10 assists to lead Atlanta to its third straight win and move them a half-game ahead of idle New Jersey for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Antawn Jamison led the Wizards with 25 points.

Pacers 110, Knicks 98

At Indianapolis, Mike Dunleavy tied his career high with 36 points for the Pacers, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

Grizzlies 98, Bobcats 80

At Memphis, Tenn., Mike Miller had 18 points and 13 rebounds, helping the Grizzlies snap a four-game losing streak.

Timberwolves 99, Clippers 90

At Minneapolis, Al Jefferson had his 48th double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds and Ryan Gomes scored 19 points for Minnesota.

Jazz 96, Raptors 79

At Salt Lake City, Deron Williams scored 21 points and his backup, Ronnie Price, had 13 points and five assists as Utah tied a franchise record with their 19th straight home victory.