Paul Pierce had 26 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his first triple-double of the season to lead Boston past the Milwaukee Bucks 106-96 Friday night, the first time this season the Celtics have scored 100 or more points.
No Boston opponent has scored 100 or more points this season, and Boston's point total ended the longest season-opening streak of a team not being involved in a 100-point game in NBA history at 14.
PHOTO: AFP
The longest overall streak is 18 by the Miami Heat, during the 1988-1989 season.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Raef LaFrentz led Boston's solid bench scoring with 14 points. Eric Williams had 13 points and Marcus Banks scored 11 as the Celtics' reserves outscored Milwaukee's 55-34.
Michael Redd led the Bucks with 20 points, and Joe Smith had 12 points and seven rebounds.
Hawks 95, Heat 83
In Atlanta, Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 34 points, setting a season high for the second straight game, and Atlanta held off Miami.
Abdur-Rahim had 30 two nights earlier in a loss to the Toronto Raptors, and he beat that total by making two free throws with 1:32 left. Jason Terry added 21 for the Hawks, and Stephen Jackson had 15.
Eddie Jones scored 28 for the Heat, who lost for the fourth time in five games.
Atlanta's 18-point lead eventually dwindled to one after a layup by Dwyane Wade with 5:30 left, but the Hawks went on a 7-0 run over the next three minutes to retake control.
Pacers 90, 76ers 77
In Indianapolis, Ron Artest had 20 points, seven rebounds, four steals and four blocks for Indiana, and the Pacers held Philadelphia star Allen Iverson in check.
Jermaine O'Neal added 21 points, six rebounds and six blocks for the Pacers, who improved to 14-2 on the year, setting up a showdown in Los Angeles against the Lakers on Sunday.
Iverson had a season-low 12 points on 4-of-19 shooting. Iverson came into the game averaging a league-leading 28.1 points a game.
Pistons 92, Cavaliers 88
Richard Hamilton scored a career-high 44 points, and Cleveland's LeBron James was held to a season-low six points as Detroit handed Cleveland its 31st straight road loss.
James, the No. 1 pick in the draft, was held to 2-of-8 shooting. He did have seven assists, but had trouble guarding Hamilton in the first quarter when the shooting guard scored 14.
Hamilton, who surpassed his career-high of 41 points, scored 12 points in the final four minutes to seal the win. The Pistons have won six of eight.
Cleveland's Ricky Davis scored 25 points, after being benched by coach Paul Silas in the Cavaliers' previous game for unspecified reasons.
Timberwolves 102, Grizzlies 98
In Memphis, Tennessee, Sam Cassell scored 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting to lead Minnesota over Memphis.
Kevin Garnett had 21 points and 18 rebounds for the Timberwolves, and Latrell Sprewell had 24 points.
Memphis, which trailed by as many as 15 points in the third quarter, got within 85-83 on a 3-pointer by Mike Miller with 4:51 left.
The Timberwolves responded with a 7-0 run and were not seriously challenged the rest of the game -- their fifth straight victory over the Grizzlies in Memphis.
Raptors 87, Magic 86
In Orlando, Florida, Vince Carter had 20 points and the Toronto Raptors held off a furious fourth-quarter rally by Orlando to hand the Magic their 15th consecutive loss.
Toronto appeared to be in control when it was up 79-66 in the fourth quarter, but the Magic went on a 16-2 run and took an 82-81 lead on a pair of free throws by Tracy McGrady with 59 seconds remaining.
Following a field goal by Toronto's Alvin Williams, McGrady banked in a 17-footer to give Orlando an 84-83 lead with 27.3 seconds left. But Carter then put the Raptors ahead for good with a fallaway jumper with 12.5 seconds remaining.
McGrady led the Magic with 31 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter. Juwan Howard added 20.
Warriors 92, Suns 83
In Phoenix, Jason Richardson scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Golden State to its first road victory of the season.
The Warriors, who improved to 7-7 with their third straight victory, had been winless in four previous games away from home.
The loss ended Phoenix's four-game home winning streak. Before Friday, the Suns had a 70-22 record against the Warriors at home, including 15 wins in the previous 16 games.
Mike Dunleavy added 16 points for the Warriors, Nick Van Exel and Speedy Claxton had 12 apiece, and Erick Dampier, the league's leading rebounder, had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Jazz 98, SuperSonics 81
In Salt Lake City, Raja Bell scored a career-high 25 points and Matt Harpring added 24 to lead Utah over slumping Seattle.
The Jazz led by as many as 21 points and handled the Sonics without much trouble despite the benching of starting center Greg Ostertag.
Brent Barry scored 20 points for the Sonics, who played without second-leading scorer Rashard Lewis. Vladimir Radmanovic added 14 points for Seattle, which has lost four of five.
Nuggets 113, Mavericks 103
In Denver, Carmelo Anthony had 26 points, and Voshon Lenard made three key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to help Denver hold off Dallas.
Denver shot 52 percent for its sixth win in eight games and is off to its best start since 1994-1995, its last playoff season. The Nuggets have won five straight at home and are 7-1 there for their best start since opening the 1989-1990 season 9-0.
Nene had 15 points after missing five games with a strained left groin, and Andre Miller added 18 points and seven assists for Denver. Lenard finished with 22 points.
Dallas lost to the Nuggets for the first time in 10 games. Antoine Walker had 30 points and 15 rebounds, and Michael Finley scored 20 for the Mavericks.
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