Paul Pierce had 18 points and 10 rebounds to help the Boston Celtics overcome their second straight slow start and beat the undermanned Milwaukee Bucks 101-89 on Friday.
Richard Jefferson scored 20 points and Charlie Villanueva added 13 points and 12 rebounds for Milwaukee, playing without the injured Michael Redd. Kevin Garnett had 16 points for Boston.
HAWKS 110, RAPTORS 92
In Atlanta, Mike Bibby scored all of his 19 points in the first half, making four 3-pointers during an 18-4 run that broke open the game, as unbeaten Atlanta routed Toronto.
Bibby added 12 assists for Atlanta, which is off to its best start since 1997, when they won their first 11 games.
BULLS 100, SUNS 83
In Chicago, reserve Ben Gordon scored 23 points as Chicago downed Phoenix.
Bulls rookie Derrick Rose had 18 points, six assists and several dazzling plays.
The Suns played without Shaquille O’Neal, who got the night off as part of a plan to rest him periodically throughout the season.
NETS 103, PISTONS 96
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Devin Harris scored a career-high 38 points to lead New Jersey over Detroit, giving a first start to Allen Iverson, who had 24 points.
New Jersey, which trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half, played some of its best basketball of the season in the final two periods to hand the Pistons their first loss after four wins to open the season.
JAZZ 104, THUNDER 97
In Salt Lake City, Jerry Sloan became the first NBA coach to win 1,000 games with one team as Utah downed Oklahoma City.
Sloan is 1,000-596 with the Jazz, who improved to 5-0 for just the third time in team history despite letting a 31-point lead slip to eight in the fourth quarter.
Andrei Kirilenko led the Jazz with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
CAVALIERS 111, PACERS 107
In Cleveland, LeBron James scored 27 points as Cleveland rallied to beat Indiana.
Anderson Varejao added a career-high 18 for the Cavaliers, including 10 in the fourth quarter.
Cleveland scored 40 points in the fourth quarter.
BOBCATS 92, HORNETS 89
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Jason Richardson and Raymond Felton scored 20 points apiece to spoil Chris Paul’s homecoming by beating New Orleans.
Rookie point guard D.J. Augustin spearheaded a late comeback, as Charlotte regrouped after blowing a 14-point lead.
Paul, who grew up nearby and bought 500 tickets for friends and family, recovered from a scoreless first half to have 20 points and 10 assists, but had a key turnover in the final minute before missing a tying 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
GRIZZLIES 109, WARRIORS 104
In Oakland, California, Hakim Warrick had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Memphis had its best offensive output of the season in beating Golden State.
Rookie O.J. Mayo added 20 points for the Grizzlies, who beat the Warriors for the second time in five days.
Golden State’s Andris Biedrins had 23 points and 12 rebounds.
It’s the 13th consecutive double-double by Biedrins, the longest active streak in the NBA and the longest by a Warriors player since 1973.
NUGGETS 108, MAVERICKS 105
In Denver, Chauncey Billups began his second stint in Denver with 15 points as the Nuggets edged Dallas.
Billups also had three assists and three steals, including two down the stretch, while Carmelo Anthony added 28 points for Denver.
HEAT 99, SPURS 83
In San Antonio, Tony Parker sprained his left ankle and could be out two weeks, while Miami took advantage of his absence to beat San Antonio.
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