BOSTON – Paul Pierce scored 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lift the Boston Celtics to a 110-103 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
Allen Iverson had 40 points for Philadelphia, but was hounded by Celtics guard Delonte West in the fourth quarter and only had two baskets in the period.
Kendrick Perkins, making only his third start of the season, had career highs with 12 points, 19 rebounds and four assists for the Celtics.
With the game tied at 87 and 6:25 remaining, the Celtics went on a 9-1 run capped off by a Raef LaFrentz 3-pointer to give them their biggest lead of the game at 96-88.
Ricky Davis added 26 for Boston, which won for the third time in its last eight games.
Chris Webber had 28 points for Philadelphia, which has lost four straight on the road and five of seven overall.
After Philadelphia outrebounded Portland in its last game 60-30, Boston dominated the glass with a 59-40 edge.
With the Celtics ahead 62-59, Iverson scored nine straight points to tie the game at 68 with 5:31 remaining in the third.
Iverson led all scorers with 20 in the first half including 15 in the second quarter as the 76ers trailed 51-50 at the break.
Perkins had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first half, recording his first career double-double with just under three minutes to go in the second quarter. He received a standing ovation when he fouled out with 2:47 remaining in the game.
Knicks 109, Bulls 101
NEW YORK – Jamal Crawford scored a season-high 28 points, and the New York Knicks used a huge advantage at the free-throw line and some strong fourth-quarter defense to beat the Chicago Bulls 109-101 Wednesday night.
Channing Frye added 21 points and Stephon Marbury had 18 for the Knicks, who lost all four meetings last season. They seemed headed to another loss before shutting out Chicago for nearly 5 minutes to start the final quarter.
Cavs 112, Clippers 105
CLEVELAND – Donyell Marshall made a key three-point play in regulation, then hit consecutive 3-pointers in overtime to help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Los Angeles Clippers 112-105 Wednesday night.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 29 points before fouling out in overtime and LeBron James added 28 for Cleveland, which broke a two-game losing streak and improved to 7-1 at home.
Grizzlies 92, Raptors 66
TORONTO – Damon Stoudamire scored 19 points and Eddie Jones had 18 to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 92-66 rout of the NBA-worst Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.
Chris Bosh had 15 points for the Raptors, who fell to 1-15 after losing their sixth straight.
Heat 96, Hawks 74
ATLANTA – Jason Williams scored 21 points to help the Miami Heat beat the Atlanta Hawks 96-74 on Wednesday night for their first road victory of the season.
The Heat, who began a five-game road trip, improved to 8-5 since losing Shaquille O’Neal to a sprained ankle.
Pistons 93, Nets 83
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Richard Hamilton scored 30 points and Detroit tied a team season high with 10 3-pointers in a 93-83 win over the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night.
The win allowed Detroit (11-2) to maintain the best record in the NBA this season, one-half game ahead of San Antonio (11-3), which was idle Wednesday.
Wizards 96, Blazers 89
WASHINGTON – Gilbert Arenas had 28 points and five assists, leading the Washington Wizards to a 96-89 victory over the road-weary Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.
Antawn Jamison had 20 points and 15 rebounds for his sixth straight double-double. The Wizards forward has totaled 88 rebounds in his last six games.
Hornets 102, Nuggets 95
DENVER – Desmond Mason scored 21 of his season-best 26 points after halftime in the New Orleans’ Hornets 102-95 win over the Denver Nuggets, who were without their star forward and their leader Wednesday night.
Nuggets coach George Karl was suspended two games without pay for publicly criticizing officials after the Nuggets’ loss to New Jersey on Monday night. His suspension began Wednesday night and he’ll miss the team’s trip to Phoenix on Friday night.
Assistant coach Scott Brooks, who went 0-2 in place of a suspended Karl to start the season, was without the services of forward Carmelo Anthony, who sprained his left ankle Monday night.
Suns 109, Pacers 91
PHOENIX – Steve Nash scored a season-high 31 points, including a career-high seven 3-pointers, and the well-rested Phoenix Suns beat the tired Indiana Pacers 109-91 Wednesday night for their fourth straight victory.
The Suns have the NBA’s longest current winning streak, and held an opponent under 100 points for the sixth straight game.
Shawn Marion added 21 points and 12 rebounds, Boris Diaw scored a season high-tying 17, Kurt Thomas had 11 points and nine rebounds, and Eddie House scored 10 points.
Jermaine O’Neal topped the Pacers with 25 points and nine rebounds, Sarunas Jasikevicius scored 16, Fred Jones 13 and Ron Artest 12.
Nash, who finished with nine assists and eight rebounds, had a sensational first half, hitting all five of his 3-point attempts and scoring 18 points, to go with six assists and four rebounds as the Suns built a 61-44 lead.
Phoenix’s first-half total one point more than the Pacers allowed in an 84-60 win at Utah on Tuesday night.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.