Pierce, Wallce keep Celtics undefeated

The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA -- Paul Pierce scored 21 points, Rasheed Wallace had 20 and the Boston Celtics remained unbeaten with a 105-74 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.

The Celtics improved to 5-0 even without the usual standout performances from Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

Allen didn't score his first field goal until the third quarter and had five points. Garnett made just one basket on seven shots and scored three points when he was yanked with the game out of hand.

Wallace was about the only Celtic who had his normal night, even getting whistled for a technical foul for arguing with the refs in the third quarter.

Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 17 points. Philadelphia missed 15 of 16 3-point attempts.

Wallace, a Philadelphia native who wore a black Phillies jacket to the game, easily had his best game in his short stint with the Celtics. He pretty much caught the ball, let it rip and watched it sink through the net. Wallace made 6 of 8 3-pointers and sank each long attempt about as easily as a layup in the paint.

Wallace got mad late in the third quarter when he appeared to be fouled on a shot. The ref called a foul, he just didn't call it a shooting foul and denied Wallace a trip to the free-throw line.

CAVALIERS 102, WIZARDS 90 — In Cleveland, LeBron James scored 27 points, Shaquille O'Neal added a season-high 21 while wearing out Washington's big men and Cleveland won their third straight.

The Cavs trailed by 18 in the second quarter before turning up their defense and relying on their superstar combo of James and O'Neal to win their sixth straight at home over the Wizards.

NUGGETS 111, PACERS 93 — In Indianapolis, Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points and Chauncey Billups added 24 to help Denver beat Indiana, lifting the Nuggets to their best start in 24 years.

Anthony, who was averaging 38 points, shot just 6-for-17 from the field but made 11 of 14 free throws. Nene added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Nuggets (4-0), who are off to their best start since the 1985-86 season.

SUNS 104, HEAT 96 — In Miami, Steve Nash scored 30 points and added eight assists, and Phoenix used a dominant fourth quarter to beat Miami in a matchup of NBA unbeatens.

Amare Stoudemire finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds for Phoenix, which overcame its largest deficit of the season and used a 13-4 run over the middle portion of the fourth to pull away. Jason Richardson scored 10 of his 14 points in the final period for the Suns, who are 4-0 for the first time since the 2004-05 season.

PISTONS 85, MAGIC 80 — In Auburn Hills, Mich., Ben Gordon scored 23 points and Rodney Stuckey added 20 as shorthanded Detroit beat Orlando, handing the Magic their first loss of the season.

Detroit guard Tayshaun Prince saw his streak of 496 straight games played end as he was sidelined with a back injury. Prince last missed a game on April 13, 2003 — during his rookie season — against Memphis.

Prince will be sidelined for at least three games before his status is re-evaluated this weekend. Richard Hamilton (ankle) also sat out.

The Pistons also got 20 from third guard Will Bynum, while Vince Carter led Orlando with 15. Dwight Howard had just eight points and five rebounds in 17 minutes before fouling out.

BULLS 83, BUCKS 81 — In Chicago, Luol Deng scored 24 points while grabbing a career-high 20 rebounds, and Chicago rallied from 18 down to beat Milwaukee.

The Bucks had a chance to win it after Joakim Noah missed two free throws, but Ersan Ilyasova missed a 3-pointer, the ball landing out of bounds with 1.8 seconds left.

Derrick Rose scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter as the Bulls rebounded from back-to-back losses with a wild win.

Brandon Jennings scored 25 points to lead Milwaukee.

LAKERS 101, THUNDER 98 (OT) — In Oklahoma City, Kobe Bryant scored 31 points and hit the go-ahead jumper in overtime as Los Angeles got tested in its first road game of the season, beating Oklahoma City.

Bryant connected on a turnaround jumper from the left side with 2:29 to play to give the defending NBA champions a 99-97 lead and then hit two free throws with 18 seconds remaining to push the lead to three.

The Thunder had two chances to tie it late, but Thabo Sefolosha and Russell Westbrook each missed 3-pointers surrounding a pair of missed free throws by Lamar Odom.