Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett both miss game-winners. Paul Pierce finishes with 18 points, Allen adds 14 and KG 12, but the C's finish just one clutch shot short.
The Celtics are now in danger of falling two games back in the Eastern Conference playoff race, pending the result of Bulls-Grizzlies in Chicago.
The C's are off Saturday before heading to Minnesota. They'll take on the Timberwolves on Sunday night.
Fourth quarter, 15.5 seconds, Bobcats 83-81: Paul Pierce can't convert on the go-ahead jumper; the C's are forced to foul, and fouling works. Gerald Henderson makes only one of his two free throws.
The Celtics are still alive. Doc Rivers calls a timeout. His club still has one last chance to win this thing.
Fourth quarter, 33.9 seconds, Bobcats 82-81: Now it's Dante Cunningham's turn to knock down a dagger of a jump shot. The Bobcats reclaim the lead in dramatic fashion.
33.9 seconds is an awkward amount of time left. Not enough to get a good look outside of the final 24 seconds, but not little enough to simply hold the ball for the last shot.
Let's see what Doc Rivers has up his sleeve here. Crucial timeout for the C's.
Fourth quarter, 54.9 seconds, Celtics 81-80: Kevin Garnett hits the shot of the night, a deep two from the wing. The Celtics have reclaimed the lead with under a minute to play.
Now they need a stop.
What a roller-coaster fourth quarter. The C's could still win this thing yet.
Fourth quarter, 2:05, Bobcats 80-79: Nenad Krstic gets inside and draws a big foul. He gets to the line for two crucial shots and makes one of two.
The C's are within one again.
Fourth quarter, 3:03, Bobcats 78-75: Glen Davis is whistled for a charge. That's his sixth foul. He's done.
Things have gone from fine, to a little iffy, to bad, to really bad, to even worse for the Celtics.
Fourth quarter, 3:14, Bobcats 78-75: Ugly shot, ugly miss for Pierce on one end of the floor. Smooth jumper from D.J. Augustin on the other end.
It's a 14-0 run and a three-point lead for the Bobcats.
Unreal.
Fourth quarter, 3:55, Bobcats 76-75: The Celtics nearly force a shot-clock violation out of the Bobcats, and Boris Diaw is forced to jack up an ugly 3 in the final second of the shot clock. It misses, but Gerald Henderson is there for the putback.
It's a 12-0 Charlotte run.
The Bobcats have miraculously taken the lead.
Fourth quarter, 5:46, Celtics 75-69: Talk about a comedy of errors. Paul Pierce gets his shot stuffed by Dante Cunningham; as Kwame Brown recovers the ball, Cunningham takes off down the floor for a fast break.
As Brown lobs it down the floor, Cunningham falls down. The ball rolls out of bounds untouched.
Cunningham enjoys a good-natured laugh at his own expense.
The Celtics enjoy a six-point lead still.
Fourth quarter, 8:57, Celtics 71-62: In case you were expecting the Bobcats to hit a few 3-pointers and put together a run here, this might be a good stat to know: The 'Cats are 0-for-8 from long range tonight.
The one shot-maker they have is on the inactive list. Stephen Jackson is exactly what they need right now.
Fourth quarter, 9:30, Celtics 71-59: The Bobcats try to make their push, and Glen Davis quickly nips that in the bud, knocking down a jumper and drawing a foul as well. Three-point play, and a 12-point Boston lead again.
The C's have the momentum again, and they're sending their starters back in to keep it. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce both retake the floor.
End of third quarter, Celtics 66-53: The Celtics and the Bobcats just traded three-minute scoring droughts. After the C's drop one late in the third quarter, the 'Cats finish the frame with one of their own.
The Celtics close the quarter on an 8-0 run, punctuated by a Rondo drive to the basket for a buzzer-beater. They now lead by 13, and they're in position to finish this thing off if they can start the fourth quarter strong.
Third quarter, 2:47, Celtics 58-53: Quietly, Kwame Brown now has 11 points, and quietly, the Bobcats have snuck back into this game with a 6-0 run.
The Celtics are scoreless in their last three minutes and counting. They've got to get their act together.
Third quarter, 5:09, Celtics 58-47: Nenad Krstic finds himself open for a sweet 17-footer.
Clang.
Krstic is 2-for-7. He's been really ineffective on the offensive end in this game. Really all week, frankly.
In a weird sort of way, I suppose it's impressive that the Celtics can get up by double digits without really trying. This won't work in the playoffs, though.
Third quarter, 6:23, Celtics 56-45: Rajon Rondo just saw an open lane, attacked the basket hard, and then missed an easy layup.
That's tonight in a nutshell. No one can do anything right.
This is one lousy game.
Third quarter, 9:51, Celtics 49-41: After a long wait, we've finally seen the first assist of the night from Rajon Rondo, who pounds the ball inside to Nenad Krstic for a bucket.
Strong start for the Celtics, who open the third quarter with a 7-4 advantage.
As I type this, make it 10-4.
Halftime, Celtics 42-37: It's not pretty, but it's a five-point lead, so I suppose the Celtics will take it.
After a fairly uninspired effort from both sides, the C's limp to the locker room at halftime up 42-37. Ray Allen leads the way with 14 points, including a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.
D.J. White has 11 off the bench for the Bobcats.
No matter what happens in the second half, let's just hope it's better basketball.
Second quarter, 2:48, Celtics 38-31: We're not even to halftime yet, and pretty much everyone on the floor is mailing this game in. The Bobcats are, the Celtics definitely are, and I think even the popcorn vendors are.
The Celtics are holding on to a seven-point lead without trying particularly hard.
Both teams are shooting under 40 percent, and it's not because of tough defense. It's all lazy offense.
Second quarter, 5:46, Celtics 33-27: Rajon Rondo flings a no-look pass to no one in particular. That goes out of bounds.
Rondo now has zero assists and four turnovers.
Each team has coughed the ball up seven times already.
Not a pretty game.
Second quarter, 6:32, Celtics 33-27: Delonte West has had four really good looks at open jumpers, but all four have rimmed out. Tough to diagnose the problem with D-West offensively. He seems to be playing well, but the shots just aren't falling.
West is coming out. The C's are going back to their starting five for the last six-plus minutes of this first half.
Second quarter, 8:43, Celtics 31-25: The Bobcats are hanging around. It looked like they'd die quietly tonight when they began the game shooting 1-of-12; they've made nine of 10 shot attempts since then.
Part of that is the Celtics' defense. The second unit still isn't clicking together too well.
Second quarter, 10:15, Celtics 31-23: Carlos Arroyo has come off the bench and played like a spitting image of Rajon Rondo. The former Heat point guard just charged into the paint and drove past Shaun Livingston for a layup.
It's nice to see Rondo benefiting from having a true backup. He's on the bench resting while Arroyo does his thing. He can use the rest.
End of first quarter, Celtics 25-19: Given the ridiculous disparity in the Celtics' and Bobcats' first-quarter shooting numbers, it's a miracle this is only a six-point game.
The Celtics are 8-for-16 from the field. The Bobcats are 7-for-20. They started the game 1-for-12 and were forced to claw their way back.
Ray Allen leads everyone with 10 points so far. D.J. White has nine off the bench for Charlotte.
First quarter, 2:33, Celtics 22-11: For a moment, Ray Allen was singlehandedly outscoring the Bobcats in this game, 10-8. A Kwame Brown three-point play has chnaged matters, but the 'Cats are still in pretty bad shape.
They're shooting 4-of-17 from the field in this one. D.J. Augustin is a particularly ugly 0-for-4, as is Dominic McGuire. Seemingly every possession is a couple of feeble passes followed by a jump shot. There's no structured offense at all, really.
First quarter, 5:58, Celtics 9-4: Kwame Brown isn't doing too well either — he's only touched the ball once, and he missed a good look inside.
But hey, he's the only No. 1 overall draft pick in the building tonight. So he's got that going for him, which is nice.
First quarter, 6:26, Celtics 9-4: Not a good start at all for Nenad Krstic. He's already 0-for-4 from the field, and on top of that, he had a dropped pass inside that led to a broken play.
Krstic is coming out early. Doc Rivers is sending Glen Davis into the game as his first man off the bench.
First quarter, 9:38, Celtics 7-0: When the Celtics move the ball like this, they're just ridiculously good. Rajon Rondo dishes to Paul Pierce, who nails Ray Allen in the corner for an open 3. The Celtics are up 7-0.
The C's execution has been just flawless so far. Their shooting's been solid as well — 3-for-4 to start the ballgame.
First quarter, 11:42, Celtics 2-0: Rajon Rondo knocks down an easy floater in the lane to get the Celtics started. Looks like D.J. Augustin fell asleep and forgot to guard him there.
Good to see Rondo aggressive early. He's showing that competitive fire once again after a brief slump last week.
7:30 p.m.: Time for tipoff. This will be a fun one — no O'Neals, no Troy Murphy, and for the visiting Bobcats, no Stephen Jackson.
Enjoy the ballgame. And the carnage.
5:45 p.m.: Welcome to the TD Garden, where the Celtics are looking for their third win this season over the Charlotte Bobcats.
Neither Shaquille O'Neal nor Jermaine O'Neal is expected to play for Boston.
For Charlotte, there's a big question, though. What's going on with Stephen Jackson?
The Bobcats' leading scorer has been battling a strained left hamstring. There's a chance the Bobcats shut him down for the season. There's also a chance they play him tonight.
We'll find out soon enough. Stay tuned for updates.
9:33 a.m.: Celtics coach Doc Rivers was dismayed to find out Wednesday night, after an agonizing 90-87 loss at home to the Memphis Grizzlies, that his beaten-down interior defense had allowed 52 points in the paint to the Grizz.
Yet he refused to concede that defense was the main problem for a Celtics team that's now lost five of its last nine games.
"I don't know," the coach said. "I mean, they had 90 points. So to me, it says we've got to get better offensively right now, too. I'll take 90 points a night. I think 90 points a night is fine. You know, we've got to score more points."
It's funny because when you take a young two-time All-Star point guard and surround him with Hall of Fame-caliber players, you expect the offense to be automatic. And for most of the season, it was, with the Celtics shooting over 50 percent from the field and blowing other teams away.
But in March, with a tumultuous trade deadline behind them and a tough postseason ahead, the C's are sputtering. And they're running out of time to correct the problem.
The C's remain home Friday night — now 50-20 and a full game behind Chicago for first place in the Eastern Conference, they take on the Charlotte Bobcats at the TD Garden.
The interior defense won't get better overnight. Shaquille O'Neal isn't walking through that door Friday, and neither is his "brother" Jermaine. The C's will have to make do with the bodies they have.
The Celtics are 2-1 this season against the Bobcats, including a 99-94 win the first time they hosted them in Boston on Jan. 14. They'll look to finish the season series strong at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
