Los Angeles - "The Big Ticket" had a big hand as the Boston Celtics turned Sweet 16.

Kevin Garnett scored 10 of his 18 points in the final quarter, and the white-hot Celtics clipped the pesky Atlanta Hawks 88-85 on Wednesday night, extending their winning streak to 16 games.

"We just hung in there, and KG had a tremendous effort down the stretch for us," said Celtics Paul Pierce, who also finished with 18 points. "We were tested and won on the road against a quality team."

Ray Allen added 16 points and Rajon Rondo finished with 15 for the visiting Celtics, who are within two victories of matching the franchise-record 18 set by the 1981-82 squad.

At 24-2, Boston also needs a pair of wins to equal the best-start in NBA history, owned by the 1996-67 Philadelphia 76ers and matched by the '69-70 New York Knicks.

However, the reigning NBA champions aren't giving it much thought.

"I'm not joking, I don't know what record we're trying to break and we don't really care," Celtics coach Rivers admitted. "We're not thinking about it. We just want to win games and get better. If on the way we did it, it's because we're working hard and improving."

Joe Johnson scored 20 points, while Marvin Williams had 16 for Atlanta (15-10) which dropped its second straight heart-breaker in the waning seconds to its Eastern Conference rivals.

"They're the world champs," Williams said. "They're playing really well and have won 16 in a row. We enjoyed playing against Boston. It's a good game for us young guys to focus in mentally."

The Hawks pushed the Celtics to an elimination game seven in the first-round of last year's playoffs. In their first meeting this season, Pierce hit the last second game-winner for a 103-102 win.

Garnett's jump hook in the lane with 30.8 seconds left gave the Celtics the lead for good, 85-84. On the next play, Johnson's layup was blocked by Kendrick Perkins. Rondo grabbed the ball, was fouled and split a pair of free throws with 9.1 seconds, making it a two-point game.

Johnson drew a foul with 2.7 seconds remaining. With a chance to level the score, the Hawks All-Star guard banged the second of two free throws off the back of the iron. Garnett grabbed the rebound and called timeout.

Allen was fouled on an inbound pass, and hit both free throws with seven tenths of a second left. Following a timeout, Mike Bibby launched a desperation three-point try that would have forced overtime. Instead, it bounced off the front of the rim as time expired.

"We didn't play great in a lot of ways, but we just kept grinding the game out," Rivers said. "We executed down the stretch and our composure was terrific."

Elsewhere: New Orleans Hornets 90, San Antonio Spurs 83 David West scored 21 points, including two three-pointers to trigger a late 13-0 run, and the Hornets snapped the Spurs' six-game winning streak.

Chris Paul had 19 points, 12 assists and became the NBA's All-Time thief when the Hornets guard made a steal in his 106th consecutive regular-season game, breaking Alvin Robertson's mark set during the 1985-86 season.

Frenchman Tony Parker led visiting San Antonio (15-9) with 20 points while Tim Duncan finished with 16 and 11 boards.

Utah Jazz 103, New Jersey Nets 92 Turkey's Mehmet Okur scored 23 points while Paul Millsap had 18 along with 12 rebounds as the Jazz overcame a franchise-record low seven-point first-quarter to storm past the Nets.

Deron Williams had 17 points and 11 assists for Utah (16-11) which outscored its hosts 40-23 in the final frame. Vince Carter led New Jersey (12-12) with 32 points.

Cleveland Cavaliers 93, Minnesota Timberwolves 70 LeBron James scored 32 points and the visiting Cavaliers (21-4) rolled to their 12th win in the last 13 games. Al Jefferson scored 21 points for Minnesota (4-21), losers of 11 in a row.

Chicago Bulls 115, LA Clippers 109 (OT) Ben Gordon scored 22 points, including a four-point play to send the game into overtime, and Derrick Rose converted the game-sealing three-point play with 42.6 seconds left in the extra session as Bulls ended the Clippers' season-high three-game winning streak.

Zach Randolph scored 30 points for the Clippers (7-18) while Marcus Camby had 19 and a career-high 27 rebounds.

Philadelphia 76ers 93, Milwaukee Bucks 88 Louis Williams tied his career high with 25 points, and the Sixers overcame the third-quarter loss of Elton Brand (dislocated right shoulder) to improve to 2-0 under interim coach Tony DiLeo

Indiana Pacers 127, Golden State Warriors 120 Danny Granger erupted for 17 of his 41 points in the final quarter as the Pacers handed the reeling Warriors their 13th loss in the last 15 games. Jamal Crawford topped Golden State (7-19) with 29 points.

Dallas Mavericks 96, Toronto Raptors 86 German wunderkind Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry scored 27 points apiece as the visiting Mavericks won for the seventh time in the last nine games.

Detroit Pistons 88, Washington Wizards 74 Allen Iverson scored 28 points and the visiting Pistons beat the Wizards, the worst Eastern Conference team (4-19), for their third straight victory. (dpa)